Head out to see the Venardos Circus!

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a show at the Venardos Circus when they visit your home state, I highly suggest taking the chance and attending the show. The Venardos Circus offers a nostalgic circus experience the whole family is sure to enjoy. We've taken our children to two different circus shows in the past but both were in big building venues and not quite the same as being in the big stop so we were very excited to learn the Venardos circus performs in its own custom-made big-top, a classic red-and-white striped tent, with an intimate feel and limited seating. 

 

Seating under the big top is limited spacing so you'll want to be sure to buy your tickets online before the show time of your choice. As you can see there are three different seating options, the ringmaster VIP is right next to the stage and when I say it is close I mean it is close! You could put your feet up right on the stage you are so close. The ringmaster seats are the first row followed by two rows of premium seating, with four rows of general admission behind that, But don't let the general admission fool you because no matter where you sit you are quite close to the stage. The photo above was a photo I took from the concession stand line, as you can see all of the seats have a great view of the show.

This circus is a 15-person traveling tour that is completely self-contained, much with the original circus tradition. There are no animals in this circus, it is completely animal free. Not only do the performers put on a show for the audience but they also set up for the different acts/set up the tent, they also scan admission tickets, offer face panting and more so you have a chance to seeing and speaking with all of them before and after the show.  Parking is generally free however depending on the location they set up at, there may be a small parking fee. They offer a pre-show that starts one hour before show time. I recommend arriving early to see the pre-show especially if you have younger children.  Entering was easy as could be, since the audience is smaller there aren't as many cars to deal with in the parking lot or giant lines waiting to get in/to get food, it took us about five minutes to park, walk up, get our tickets scanned and get into line to get food while spotting where we were going to sit. Sometimes big crowds can be a little intimidating and may make people feel uncomfortable, you won't have any of those feelings here!

During the pre-show children and adults are invited to join a few of the performers on stage to learn how to juggle using a fabric scarf. My son decided to join them up on the stage and he had so much fun, he kept saying all night how he couldn't believe he was able to get on the stage. As soon as we got home he was so excited to tell his dad about being on stage as well (he was going to come with us but sadly he was sick and wasn't able to attend). The entire show was interactive, many of the performers either went into the crowd or brought a member from the audience up on stage to participate. One of the acts had us in stitches we were laughing so much our cheeks hurt, other acts had us on the edge of our seat watching the talented ladies balancing on a beam and fabric high up in the air without a net below them or a harness around their waists. We were also very excited when we spotted a cross-bow set up because it always means a dangerous stunt! I won't go too much into each act because I want you to visit this circus and experience it for yourself.

My children and I had a fantastic time, we were smiling, laughing and amazed the whole time. The entire two hour show went smoothly and efficient,  some of the crew members were moving around setting up for the next performance at the end of the current performance it didn't distract from the show itself. You'll be entertained through-out the whole show, in fact the intermission happened quicker than expected because you are having so much fun you lose track of time. The experience and performances are one hundred percent worth purchasing a ticket for, as I stated all of the seats are great but it would have been neat to be in a VIP seat as well, so if you can I'd opt for VIP. 

They had plenty to offer food and drink wise, and they had different merchandise to buy as well. My kids were pretty excited to pick up some popcorn and cotton candy from the concession area and we bought a lemonade to share. All of the crew members were happy and seemed to be in great moods which also helps boost the experience, because when you see them excited to perform for you it makes you happy and excited as well. There were only two small things I had a little issue with the first is the amount of fog their fog machines were putting out, mainly because my camera did not like fog so it didn't want to adjust properly for me so I resorted to using my phone to capture photos for this post. The second was the lemonade tasted quite a bit off, I am unsure if it is due to the way it was made, the water used to make it or another factor but children and myself were a bit bummed out about it. Otherwise this event will be one we will remember for a very long time, the kids are still talking about it two days later and can't wait to tell more people about their circus experience. Keep an eye on my Instagram page, I will be sharing a video or two from the event!

The Venardos Circus will be in Tempe,Arizona from April 11th 2019 until April 28th 2019 and will be located at Singh Medows 1490 E Weber Dr Tempe, AZ 85281. Tickets are $25 per adult and $15 (12 or younger) if you buy them online, Premium reserved seating + VIP seating is available for purchase as well.

Disclaimer- Tickets were provided by The Venardos Circus to check out their show in exchange for my review. No other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.