Posted 2/14/2006 8:34:37 PM by Ed Limbach
News from Robert Sugarman viewed 1688 times
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - Shaftsbury, VT
CFA President Mary-Jane Foote Announces the creation of a CFA Youth Circus Committee
CIRCUS FANS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES NEW YOUTH COMMITTEE Mary-Jane Foote, President of the Circus Fans Association of America, announces the creation of the CFA Circus Youth Committee. In recent years, youth circuses and youth skills circus programs have become increasingly popular. The new committee hopes to enhance the experience and enjoyment of circus for these young people by sharing with them CFA members’ knowledge of the rich tradition of the circus. The committee also hopes to reach young people who are not involved in circus skills programs. Big Apple Circus and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey have produced materials demonstrating how circus can be integrated into many subject areas in school. The committee hopes to enrich the understanding of youngsters who are already interested in circus and introduce others to the fascinating world of circus. The committee hopes that some of the young people who are, or will become interested in circus, will retain their interest into adulthood and will share their skills and appreciation of circus tradition with the next generation as trainers, support staff and volunteers. Of, course the committee hopes that some may join CFA as they spread the circus legacy. One of the committee’s first projects will be establishing a second CFA website for youth circus participants and other young people who might become interested in circus programs..
The committee is chaired by long time circus fan Jim Cole who says, “When I first saw the Peru, Indiana Youth Circus two years ago, I thought, maybe some of these kids will become future CFA members and thus came the idea for this project. Maybe we will be able to develop a group that will enable old and young to share our love of circus.” Other members of the group are Jim Allison who has been a video circus historian within the Peru area and is a past board member of the Circus City Festival; Dick Hamilton, director of the Berkshire Camp and Children’s Circus at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA; Gary Payne who operated the “Kids Backyard Circus’ for several years that often performed at CFA functions in Connecticut; Paul Pugh, founder and manager of the Wenatchee Youth Circus, now in its 54th season in Washington; Ed Sheehan, founder of the Kosciuszko Park Youth Circus and the Windy City Circus Troupe with the Illinois Youth Circus; and Bob Sugarman, author of “Circus for Everyone: Circus Learning Around the World,” a book about youth and adult training programs.
The committee will encourage CFA members to establish relationships with youth programs in their areas, make themselves and their collections available to the programs and volunteer to help the programs. Finally, the committee will encourage CFA members and the youth circus participants to explore together the past, present and future of circus. ### Robert Sugarman, P.O. Box 407, Shaftsbury, VT 05262 (802) 447-7179 bobsugar@adelphia.net
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