Circus Flora

And the flying Wallendas

I have heard about Circus Flora for years, but it took one of our friends to suggest that we go. And oh, was I so glad that we did. It is a unique, one-ring circus based in St. Louis It is a non-profit organization, and they also do a lot of good in the community. It has also become a touring show, but it performs annually in St. Louis, usually at the beginning of the month of June.

It combines the venue of a one-ring circus with the performance trappings of theatre. Performances include acrobatics, aerialists, a contortionist, walking the tight rope, and agility dogs. Each performance is accompanied by a live band which adds the drama.

Circus Flora is styled after old Eastern European circuses. One of the most amazing things for me was to find that for many years, the circus has featured various members of the renowned Flying Wallendas family.

According to the history on their website, Circus Flora was first performed as a commissioned work for the 1986 Spoleto Festival, an annual celebration of the performing and visual arts in South Carolina. Based upon its favorable reception, it was then founded as a permanent organization with a mission to both entertain and to educate.

Circus Flora made St Louis its home in 1987 with assistance from Vince Schoemehl, who was then the mayor of St. Louis at that time. I wasn’t able to find out any more details about exactly how that happened. The circus has a close relationship with the St. Louis’s creative and cultural district, and the Circus Arts Foundation of Missouri has been the parent non-profit organization under which Circus Flora operates. In 2018 Circus Flora developed a permanent location in the Grand Center Arts District.

The circus was named after Flora, an orphaned baby African elephant that was rescued when ivory poachers in Africa killed her mother. For 15 years, Flora the elephant was a star of the circus. In 2000, she retired from stage life and is now a resident of the Elephant Sanctuary.

They even shot a guy out of a cannon. This was on the parking lot during intermission.