It Was a Bellobration!

I was so excited when my family got offered tickets to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus as part of the Bellobration tour. H had not ever been to one, but is completely obsessed with elephants, the zoo, and movies like Dumbo and The Wild so I was really looking forward to his reaction. I remember being a little girl and watching the girls in their glittery costumes riding the elephants and just knowing that's what I would do someday. I've always been fascinated with the circus life, devouring books like Like Water for Elephants and Geek Love.

We arrived on d-day, or should I say c-day, to TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and were immediately suckered into the $20 parking space by the man with the big orange flag waving us into the parking lot. Oh well, it was a really great spot.

After picking up our tickets at will-call, we made our way to the Club Seats. With C in his sling and H ready to go, we arrived with just enough time to get settled but not so early we had a long wait...so far, so good.

As soon as the music started, H's eyes lit up, and he was clapping and very excited. When the elephants made their entrance it was as great as I'd hoped (I think I was almost more excited about it than Henry). I think that H's favorite was Bello, as he's been running around the house singing "It's a Bello Bello Bello Bello Bello Bello Bello Bello (you get the idea) braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaation" ever since. Watching him, you realize how athletic and amazing he must be because he participated in a huge variety of acts.

As H got hungry, I bought a hot dog and pink lemonade, so only spent $7 plus parking...not bad, considering the lemonades in the comemorative cup were $10 alone. I didn't get any souvenirs for H, but that's not what we went for, and he didn't even ask so it was fine. You could definitely drop some serious money at one of those things, though.

When I told my mom and the rest of my family about our chance to see the circus (and I italicize it because when people talk about the circus, their really talking about Ringling) and they were so excited. Jealous, but excited. My mom reiterated that everyone needs to see a Ringling circus at least once in their lives. After going, I can say that I heartily agree. The thing that most impressed me was that the simple circus elements were still all there. There were a couple modern things added in, but for the most part it was all about the tight-rope walkers, the high-flyers, the contortionists, and the animal tamers. They don't need to beef up their show with a ton of pyrotechnics (there were just a couple of mass musical numbers in which they shot out confetti, etc) because the circus, in and of itself, is enough.

Just in case you're wondering, it's still the greatest show on earth. If it's in a city near you, and you've been contemplating going, I would definitely recommend it!