Germany’s Great Bavarian Circus is set to kick off two weeks of performances in Stone Mountain, Ga., in the first stop of an 18-city North American tour.
Starting March 15 and running through March 31, the long-running circus will make its North American debut in the Yellow Daisies Lot in Stone Mountain. It is a major venture for the long-standing European circus run by brothers Benjamin and David Spindler.
The Spindler brothers come from a long line of circus performers: their parents started Circus Safari in the 1970s, and their great-grandparents started Circus Belloni and Circus Aramant.
In Europe, where the Bavarian circus tours, the family has seen great success. But member Damien Spindler said it was “the wish of the family” to come to the United States.
The show itself is a classic big-top experience with German touches. The tent features a maypole adorned with ribbons in the center to greet guests, alongside classic German concessions and beer. Crowds will see trapeze artists and aerial performers flying through the air, dogs and clowns performing, and more acts set to a mix of German and American music.
Like most of the circuses from their lineage, the Spindlers’ show is a family operation. 13 family members participate in every part of the show, including an aerial act, a chair balancing act and a knife juggling performance.
The family also puts the circus together — setting up a tent that seats 1,300 people, running a concession section dedicated to German foods like pretzels, sauerkraut and beer, and putting on all-ages performances.
Agent, interpreter and Circus Ring of Fame recipient Jeanettte Williams said the familial approach is essential to the production.
“Circus people really stick together, and it’s a different environment when you deal with your own people,” Williams said.
She said that keeps people from walking off the production, even when the circus faces challenges — and it’s seen plenty.
“It seems like there is no ending to it,” Williams said.
Every location needs different permits, according to Williams, and all of the show equipment needs to be imported to the tour locations. The team hasn’t been able to bring all of their animals to Georgia, either.
The show focuses heavily on animals with horses, camels, ponies, donkeys and dogs. The full animal staff must be quarantined, but in the meantime, Williams promised “hot dogs” and goats would be at the show.
Williams assured the circus is what people would expect from a traditional European circus rather than modern iterations like Cirque du Soleil. To her, it’s closer to Disneyland with a focus on children.
“We’re trying to keep the family and the traditions together to entertain other families with children,” Williams said.
She said the show is “family-minded, very soft and cute” entertainment aimed at providing an alternative to their phones. Benjamin Spindler hopes the show will resonate enough to establish their circus lineage in the United States.
“We’re very happy to come to this country, the greatest country in the world, and we would like to establish a circus and the family here,” Benjamin Spindler said.
Previews of the circus will run from March 15 to 21, and regular shows will run from March 22 to 31. There will be 26 performances total, starting at $12.49 for pre-sales and $19.99 for full-price tickets.
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