Raleigh residents say their farewells as ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ nears end

Attending circus performances was one of the highlights of North Carolina native Holly Edwards’ childhood.

After watching the acrobats from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus fly through the air, tumbling and twisting in their sparkling leotards, Edwards would try to copy their moves on her backyard swing set in Clinton, a town of less than 10,000 in Sampson County.

When she learned that the circus was passing through North Carolina one last time, Edwards knew she had to take her 3-year-old daughter, Aubrey, to see it. During Friday’s show at the PNC Arena, the mother and daughter watched clowns goof off and lions and tigers strut and pose.

Members of the King Charles Troupe, the first all-African-American act in circus history, dribbled, passed and dunked a basketball, all while riding unicycles. In keeping with the show’s theme, “Out of This World,” performers dressed as space cadets and astronauts darted around on ice, dancing and twirling. One by one, eight motorcyclists filed into a 16-foot-wide metal cage, crisscrossing and revving their engines while the audience gasped.

The experience was bittersweet.

“As a parent, I’m happy I get to have that experience with Aubrey that my parents gave to me, but I’m saddened knowing that she can’t provide that experience to her kids when she’s an adult,” Edwards said. “It’s a childhood rite of passage.”

Raleigh is one of the last stops for the Ringling Bros. circus as it rumbles up the East Coast by train on its final tour of the United States. The final appearances will be in Uniondale, N.Y., in May.

After 146 years of performances, the circus announced in January that the curtain was coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” High operating costs, pressure from animal rights groups and consumers’ declining attention spans were several of the factors that contributed to the company’s decision.

“When we looked at ticket sales for 2016 and estimates for 2017, we came to the conclusion that the Ringling Bros. as a business model is no longer sustainable,” said Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the circus’ producer.

After a lengthy legal battle with animal rights activists, the company discontinued its elephant acts in May 2016 and sent the animals to live on a conservation farm in Florida. Ticket sales already had been suffering, but after elephants were removed from the shows, “we saw an even more dramatic drop,” said Kenneth Feld, chief executive of Feld Entertainment, in a statement issued in January.

‘Outpouring of fans’

Though he wouldn’t disclose ticket amounts, Payne said that since the January announcement of the final shows, “there’s been an outpouring of fans” who want to see the circus one last time.

That certainly has proved true in Raleigh, Payne added. There are five more shows Saturday and Sunday at PNC Arena, and officials are expecting robust crowds at the venue, which seats more than 19,000.

“We’re always grateful for the support and fans in Raleigh, and the PNC Arena is a great venue,” he said. “The performers are energized when they see a packed house, and everyone’s looking forward to these performances.”

About 400 employees and 50 animals were affected by the circus’s closing, and the company is working to help the performers transition into new jobs and find housing, as well as searching for permanent homes for the animals, Payne said.

Though the company has tried to keep the circus “fresh and contemporary,” it has struggled to appeal to modern Americans who have Netflix and video games at their fingertips.

“When the circus started 146 years ago, there wasn’t television, internet or cellphones,” Payne said. “There are so many more entertainment options now. Despite trying different techniques, marketing and promotions, we just couldn’t turn the tide.”

‘Hard saying goodbye’

During Friday’s performance, tweets from audience members flashed across a large screen. Some praised the circus for putting on a riveting show, while others lamented its closing.

“The circus is better than work or school any day!” one Twitter user wrote.

“Thank you for the wonderful year of memories,” someone else posted.

Diana Swearengin, who lives in Raleigh, has attended Ringling Bros. circus performances since she was 3.

Now 74, she was heartbroken when she learned that the circus would be closing this year.

“I loved the clowns and elephants. There are generations and generations of performers,” Swearengin said, wiping away tears before Friday’s show.

“It’s hard saying goodbye.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Raleigh residents say their farewells as ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ nears end."