Lions and tigers and....dragons?! Oh my.
Check out ChiIL Mama's original photo filled circus adventures right here. We highly recommend seeing Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Presents Dragons! 2012, year of the dragon is coming to an end, so make some fantastic memories and celebrate NOW.
Sage was elated to bring her school friends, Lucy & Ruby, and they all thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Of course, if you check out ChiIL Mama often at all, you already know we're circus freaks. Du-Jay and Sagezilla have been taking circus arts classes for two years with CircEsteem, and we go to, review, and shoot photos at every circus that comes through Chi-Town. We truly adore the circus.
Highlights of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Presents Dragons!
Ringling has the budget, talent, and creativity to put on a world class show. There were so many stellar moments we hardly know where to begin.
We've seen the motorcycles in the dome of doom many times over the years, and it never fails to impress. But this run, they've changed it up yet again, fitting a world record setting EIGHT bikes in the metal globe and starting them all once they're inside instead of riding in and adding on. Uber impressive!!
We met some of the bikers before the show and told them that fearless Sagezilla might be joining them in a decade or so. She's the kid who asked for a motorcycle for her 7th birthday. When I told her she was waaaay too young, she didn't miss a beat and quipped, "OK then. How 'bout a moped?" For her 6th birthday she asked for a "real, sharp, metal Samurai sword." We compromised with a kids' compound bow.
Sage was super stoked one of the daredevil bikers is a GIRL!
The lions and tigers were pretty impressive, as were the dog and pony show tricks...
and the gentle giants....the elephants.
We thought they were a ton of fun to photograph and see perform.
We're also always suckers for cool aerial arts and Ringling has some of the best. We totally dug the aerial balls
and the motorcycle high wire aerial arts.
As many circus shows as we've seen, I don't recall EVER seeing anyone hang by their hair!! This act was extra cool since we met the stars before the show, so we felt more invested.
We highly recommend going early. There's a free pre show open to the public and we had the best time chatting with the performers and hearing about the numerous countries they've come from.
After getting their autographs and getting to know them a bit, we saw them as real people when they got out in the ring to perform their super human feats.
The Dragons incarnation of Ringling was particularly cool because of all the colorful, multicultural elements. We loved that this year had less schtick and more substance. And who doesn't love a dragon! Check it out. With pro hockey still on strike, the circus has the big arenas unchallenged. They're still at Allstate Arena through this weekend. Then they pull up stakes for a short move to United Center Nov 14-25th. Use the code MOM for week day ticket discounts and go already, before the circus leaves town. Parking is free. Highly recommended!
Stealing sucks
It hurts your soul and sets a terrible example for your children whether you do it or let them get away with it. This is the SECOND year Sage's signed circus program has been stolen when we made a bathroom run, and that just sucks.
Benefit of the doubt for a minute--if it was picked up by accident or found, please hit the blue contact button in the right side bar and we'll tell you where to return it, anonymously if you like. If you took it on purpose, I hope you feel guilty every time you look at the personalized signatures Sage worked diligently for 2 hours to collect. How are you explaining to your kids why the book is personalized to Sage and has references to her Gogol Bordello gypsy punk dress?!
It was very special to her. Two of the clowns had a back n forth doodle battle in her program...defacing each other's faces in clever, funny ways. If you're the one who stole this program, just know that you made a little girl cry.
Lessons Learned
Sure, it sucked to lose something special TWICE. When we realized the program was gone, there were more than a few tears and anger, a lot of frantic looking, and help from our seat row mates. Sagezilla got schooled in appreciating what she has, not letting a loss or disappointment ruin an otherwise rockin' evening, and not trusting the general public at a big event with anything you want to keep. This also gave her brother an excellent chance to step up and share his.
Sage did have a ton of fun getting her book signed and getting to know the performers. And we got a bunch of rockin' photos for posterity. Sometimes the process is more important than the final product....the journey is cooler than the destination.
These are all great lessons to learn at a young age and ones that will serve my kids well in life. You're never too old to learn something new or remember things you should have already mastered. I vow next time to bring a back pack big enough for our programs, swag and valuables and to leave nothing in our seats at Allstate Arena--even for a quick trip to the bathroom!
Feld Rocks
That said, it's not all bad. We're so stoked to be part of the Feld Field Moms Blogger Program. It's important to me to raise grateful children who don't take things for granted, so I make sure they know how special the opportunities they have really are. We were super lucky to get an advanced meet n greet with the performers and make some great, lasting memories.
Sure, we did a lot of advance press, writing, photos, and well....work, but we were given free tickets for our readers to win and for our family. And this time Feld treated us like royalty and really outdid themselves, with awesome swag bags for the kids which included the gorgeous programs, stuffed dragons and play swords. Fun fun! The kids greatly appreciated the goodies and made it home with everything intact....except that 1 program. It coulda been worse!
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