All Rileyed Up

I went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Zing! Zang! Zoom! circus show over the summer. It’s the circus show that does a lot of magic. Some highlights: the elephants painted a watercolor that my sister-in-law and I debated recreating and claiming came directly from the elephant (it was a bunch of vertical lines, so recreating it was a strong possiblity). I also bought a bag of cotton candy that came with its own magician’s hat (a blue cone-shaped kind a la the Magician’s Apprentice). I somehow also wound up buying the kids light-up toys — a sword and wand for The Boy and Little No Limit respectively. And then there was the show itself — full of magic that left me and my sister-in-law scratching our heads wondering “How did they do that?”

But nothing — NOTHING — topped the start of the event.

For an hour before the show starts, the audience is invited to walk on the center floor, try on costumes, and take up-close pictures of and with circus performers.

Ahem.

DID SOMEONE SAY I COULD TRY ON THE CIRCUS COSTUMES?????

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…

Le chupacabra! Ole!

My turn, Mom!

Little Bo Peep goes wistful…

I’m the Magician’s Apprentice!

Um… Mom, why are you in this picture?

Just because! Ole!

***

To see upcoming show dates and buy tickets, visit the Ringling site here.

***

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Feld Entertainment. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.