SARASOTA, Fla.—John Ringling brought his Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—elephants and all—to Sarasota in 1927 to escape the cold northern winters of Bridgeport, Conn. And more than 80 years later, his legacy is felt throughout the city in its architecture, landmarks, people and culture. Due to Ringling's influence, Sarasota has earned its chops as America's Circus City.

Ringling's legacy is seen first and foremost at the 66-acre Ringling estate, which houses the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Ringlings' Ca' d'Zan mansion, the Historic Asolo Theater and the Tibbals Learning Center. The art museum, mansion and theater reflect the Italian Renaissance architecture Ringling adored. The Tibbals Learning Center contains the Ringling Museum of the American Circus, the first museum to document the circus and its rich heritage.
The circus museum contains original memorabilia such as posters, rare handbills and circus records that parallel American history. Personal artifacts from the homes of P.T. Barnum show photographs of General Tom and his wife Lavinia, and newspaper clippings that date as far back as 1816. Other displays include original circus wagons, costumes and personal artifacts belonging to clowns long gone but forever remembered.

However, the museum's signature exhibit is its 3,800-square-foot miniature circus, constructed over a 50-year time span by master builder and philanthropist Howard Tibbals. The Howard Bros. Circus Model is a replica of The Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1919 to 1938. Its miniature circus grounds are built to scale and contain eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 performers and workers and more than 800 animals, as well as a 59-car train.

Although Ringling's love of the arts continues to inspire and inform Sarasota's vibrant arts scene, the legacy of the circus he brought to town can be seen and experienced through a number of attractions and landmarks inspired by Ringling himself and the performers he brought with him. To get an overview of these people and places, hop aboard Sarasota's Big Top Tours for two hours of mesmerizing "transportainment."

Guests of the tour are greeted in the parking lot of the Ringling estate by Toby "Circus" Ballantine, dressed in full clown regalia amid the merry chords of circus calliope music playing in the background, who beckons the curious to climb aboard the mini-bus, which is painted in bright circus colors, its top bearing the outline of an elephant. Ballantine, born into the Ringling, Barnum & Bailey circus family, is a veritable encyclopedia of circus facts and folklore who leads the tour that includes such landmarks as Sarasota's Circus Ring of Fame, the Ringling & Barnum winter quarters, the historic Sarasota Opera house, where Cecile B. DeMille's 1952 Hollywood blockbuster The Greatest Show on Earth made its world premiere, and an original circus train that includes Ringling's private railroad car as well as a priceless collection of circus memorabilia and a restaurant car. Throughout the tour, Ballantine offers tantalizing stories about circus folk while performing tricks for the kids.

Two working circuses still call Sarasota home. Circus Sarasota is a resident one-ring European-style circus that performs each February under its mammoth 139-foot tent as well as conducting educational outreach programs throughout the year. Sailor Circus is the oldest continually run youth circus, training young performers from grades 3 through 12, who work an average of 20 hours a week after school to perfect their circus skills, which include everything from aerial acts to fire eating. Founded in 1949, the Sailor Circus performs two seasons each year, one in December and the other during the spring.

Two locations on Florida's Southwest coast served as winter grounds for circus folks in need of a respite. From 1927 to 1959, the city of Sarasota dedicated 155 acres in exchange for free advertising in the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus programs. Ringling's Winter Quarters became one of the first tourist attractions in the country, attracting 100,000 visitors per season by 1940. In 1958, Ringling moved the winter quarters just down the road to Venice. Today, the Tito Gaona Flying Trapeze Park at the Venice Circus Arena grounds offers classes where kids ages 8 to 14 can learn the art of the trapeze from the master artist of the Ringling circus himself.

The city of Sarasota and its islands bear Ringling's mark nearly everywhere. Several streets, avenues and plazas bear the Ringling name. Having bought property on Longboat and St. Armands keys, Ringling used his elephants to construct Sarasota's first bridge across the bay, connecting St. Armands to the mainland. Today it bears his name as the John Ringling Causeway. St. Armands Circle, a collection of boutiques and restaurants, bear Ringling's statue and a Circus Ring of Fame at center of the circle serves as a veritable "Who's Who" of circus performers, both living and dead. In January of each year, circus elite travel from all over the world to celebrate new inductees.

Showfolks of Sarasota, formed in 1964, is an active international alliance of circus artists, executives and associates. The group holds monthly meetings and a circus performance once a year. Its clubhouse houses another stockpile of memorabilia. Among the famous families still living in Sarasota are England's Rosaire family, known for its renowned show horses. Kay Rosaire founded and runs the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, a nonprofit refuge for rescued lions, tigers, bears, monkeys and more. Guests to the habitat can thrill to the sight of Kay's son Clayton placing his head in a lion's mouth.

For more information on discovering the rich circus heritage of Sarasota and Florida's Gulf Coast, call the VISIT SARASOTA COUNTY at 800-522-9799 or visit www.visitsarasota.org, as well as www.sarasotacircushistory.com.

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CONTACT:
LYNN HOBECK BATES
VISIT SARASOTA COUNTY
941.955.0991 EXT. 103
LHOBECK@VISITSARASOTA.ORG