Family Friendly Cincinnati

KristinG 16 March 2010 Downtown, Family Friendly Activities 845 views 4 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

What kid doesn’t love the circus?

K & S meeting a beautiful circus performer!

Many of you may have recently seen Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Zing Zang Zoom at US Bank Arena.  My girls loved the show and they keep asking me when will they get to go see “Zing Zoom” again.  For those of you who missed Cincinnati’s show, you can head up to the Nutter Center in Dayton from April 29-May 2.  Make sure you arrive early for the all access pre-show and you can get up close to the performers and some of the animals. If you use coupon code MOM with http://www.ticketmaster.com/ , you can get discounted admission tickets (family 4 pack for only $44 for their weekday matinee M-F or $4 off their weekend performances).  You also have a chance to get free tickets to the circus if you bring in 10 cans of food to the Nutter Center, you can get a free ticket voucher to the circus.  It’s the “Taking the Zing Out of Hunger” canned food drive and will be held at the Nutter Center, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, this Saturday, March 20th from 10 a.m. to noon.  The circus is working in conjunction with the The Foodbank, Inc in Dayton. There’s a limit of 4 tickets per family and only 300 vouchers are available so get there early to get those free tickets and support a great cause.

Now, for those of you who have kids who really love the circus and want more circus involvement, we are fortunate enough to have some local “circus schools” in the Greater Cincinnati area.  Circus Mojo is at the top of the list.  Paul Miller, the founder of Circus Mojo has a degree in Higher Hilarity from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and he actually toured with them so he really knows how to “clown around”. He’s Circus Mojo’s motivational clown and will get your kids excited and involved in juggling, hat tricks, partner acrobatics, plate spinning, balancing, stilt walking, creative expression, hilarious fun and so much more. Pauly the Clown has been delighting both children and adults for many years and is available to bring the circus to major events, corporate trainings, festivals, birthday parties and more. Pauly along with resident artist, Emmanuel Tawiah, and the rest of the Circus Mojo staff have recently located to the Tri-State Circus Center in Ludlow, KY (about 3.3 miles south of downtown Cincinnati).  Here they offer circus classes for ages 7 and up.  Circus Mojo will have weekly summer day camps starting June 7 through Aug. 9 and each camp has an end of the week performance to delight parents and friends. Costs range from $100 (half day) to $175 (full day).

If you’re not able to get to their Ludlow, KY location, Circus Mojo, may be turning up elsewhere in Cincinnati.  They’ll be heading to my stomping grounds in Mason, Ohio this summer and will be hosting summer circus camps through the City of Mason and at Cincinnati Country Day School, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Boone County Park District in Kentucky. And remember, you can always contact Circus Mojo to come to one of your events.

For parents of preschoolers (ages 2-6 years), Paul also has lots of great circus adventures with Circus Silly Willy.  Here adults participate with the kids to develop the “Theory of Silly Willy”. Mix “cooperation & coordination with imagination & inspiration” and you’ll get C² + I² which equals the Theory of Silly Willy.  Looks like a terrific combination to me.

For other circus time fun and summer camp circus opportunities, visit My Nose Turns Red Theatre Company or The Amazing Portable Circus.