They say that America’s favorite pastime is baseball and as an avid baseball fan I'd have to agree. However, I would definitely have to add in a pastime that is even older than baseball; the c ircus. Circuses have been around for ages and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is one of the oldest with roots dating all the way back to 1871. There is a feeling that you get at the circus that is unlike anything else. The mystery, the intrigue, the excitement, and that connection to the past are electrifying. We have been to see Ringling Bros. a few times over the past three years and though some shows are better than others; we have enjoyed the experience every time. This year Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s show is called Fully Charged, a performance filled with electricity and charged movement.. When we told Lucas we were going to see Fully Charged; he was so excited!

Some of our favorite characters of the show are the comic power duo of Stas and Vas. They show up throughout the night doing their own funny impressions of certain acts--they are goofballs and a general nuisance to the ringmaster. They start the show by plugging together a huge power cord to get things powered up, which leads to the huge opening act. 

The Fully Charged show features some of the classic favorite animal acts like the horses, the tigers, and of course the elephants. And no circus would be complete without a massive juggling act, a high tightrope performance, and clowns.

Sprinkled in between these classic acts are some new ones like the Brothers of Brawn. This act features Dmitriy and Ruslan. A super strong due that twirls telephone poles and lifts each other in the air. It was amazing to see them. They handled those huge poles like they were batons. Another new act is the Human Fuse. They light a guy on fire and launch him 100 feet into the air across the arena.

Our favorite act (Lucas’ too) was the Fernandez Brothers and the Twin Turbines of Steel. They have done similar acts in past shows, but every time you see it, it is just incredible. The Turbines were hanging right in front of where we were sitting so we had the best view. The two brothers walk and do stunts and tricks inside and outside of these circular cages as the cages rotate in the air. It is breathtaking!

To be honest, of the three Ringling Bros. circus’ we have been to, Fully Charged was our second favorite. There were some slow moments when some of the acts felt like they dragged on a bit too much. That being said, the exciting moments more than made up for it and Lucas loved every second of the show. He did not want to leave and was talking about the show all the way home and even as he crawled into bed at 11 pm.

I'm pretty sure that Lucas thinks that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is the "greatest show on earth".