Piccadilly Circus draws out smiles with animals, acrobats

Smiling children with their bellies full of cotton candy clapped as acrobats flew through the air Thursday as the Piccadilly Circus performed at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tina Lowe of Sikeston, Mo., brought her grandson to see his first circus.

"I rode the elephant and got to pet his ear," said Peyton Mitchel, 4.

Along with elephant rides available before the show and during intermission, children could purchase cups of peanuts to feed to the elephant.

When his trainer wasn't looking, the elephant stuck his trunk into the peanut bucket and helped himself to a big scoop.

Other performing animals included a kangaroo that hopped into a boxing ring to take on human competitors and cats that jumped through hoops and walked tightropes.

Pony rides and face painting were popular with children in the audience.

For brothers Banner Meyer, 10, and Brett Meyer, 8, the "Motorcycle Madness Chamber of Doom" was their favorite part of the Piccadilly Circus performance.

"I want to do it too," Brett Meyer said. The boys' grandmother, Molesia Crittenden of Jackson, brought them to the circus where they enjoyed popcorn and snow cones.

In the "Chamber of Doom" two motorcyclists rode together, criss-crossing each other's paths as they went around and upside-down inside a large steel ball.

The show featured several Cirque du. Soleil-style acrobatic performers in shimmering costumes using poles, ropes and rings suspended from the ceiling.

The show's clowns kept the crowd laughing in between acts with their slapstick comedy routines that included unsuspecting audience volunteers.

The Piccadilly Circus gave two evening performances, one at 4:30 p.m. and a second at 7:30. Together, the shows brought in just more than 3,500 people.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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