animal cruelty free circus type events?

groovygrl

I love cirque du soleil and MH and I try to go whenever it comes to town but I am not sure my four yr olds would really appreciate it and might even get scared bc of the darkness and the music...Ds has been asking to go to the circus (thank you Sofia the first) but to my knowledge, there aren't really any "circuses" out there that don't abuse or misuse animals, are there? I told mh I wouldn't take them to the big name ones but I thought maybe there was something else that might be along the lines of a circus, without the animal acts for littler kids, by some chance?

LSU628

Do you have a Renaissance Fair anywhere near you? They would probably have the jugglers that your LO saw in Sofia plus a few other games and competitions.

groovygrl

Oh yes perfect I forgot about those! I think there is one in fall around here, thanks!

VTbride05

If you are in the Northeast I HIGHLY recommend you checking out the BEST circus ever...... with all kid performers! It's based here in VT but they travel. Seeing Circus Smirkus is our FAVORITE day of the summer!

groovygrl

Bummer, from the NE but no longer living there... sounds fun, will look it up anyway!

lite-bright

It's not exactly a circus environment, but our local zoo does a lot of animal training programs every day. With their elephants, hippo, rhino, birds, seals, etc. They schedule many of them as "shows" but are both educating people about the animal and running the animal through natural behaviors that allow the zookeepers to care for them properly, with positive reinforcement. 

If she really wants to see animals, that's where I'd go. If you're looking for more of a performance/stage environment, I'd check out local resources. In my area, we have several aerial gyms/trapeze places where people go to learn how to do cirque-type things for fun, and every so often they put on a show, kind of like a dance studio would. 

groovygrl

Thanks! I think he wants to see clowns & jugglers & acrobats... we do visit our local zoo quite a bit.