On Thursday we headed out to the XL Center in Hartford to see the Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey circus. The Ringling Bros circus we saw was Legends.

I haven’t been to the circus since I were kids. While the circus remains consistent with clowns, high wire acts, animals and lots of thrills, this circus has definitely feel very modern. Pop music is used throughout the circus, played by a live band and the entertainers have upped their game when it comes to thrilling the audience. Take a look at this video to see what I’m talking about. How do you even get 12 motorcycles in such a small sphere? It was beyond amazing!

The Torres Family

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Ringling Bros takes great care of the animals in their care. The animals we saw weren’t stressed out or in distress. You can read more about the care Ringling Bros takes here

The pre-show allows kids to get in the ring and “clown around” with the acts. Some of the animals even get in on the fun and the audience does too, wearing bright red clown noses.

There were so many great acts in the Ringling Bros circus. There isn’t enough time to write about them all but take a look at some of these photos to get an idea what fun awaits you at the circus.

Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson

Paulo dos Santos

The clowns were so funny too. When I was growing up I didn’t like clowns. Like so many other children, I was scared of them. These clowns were hilarious and made me laugh all night.