The Circus Comes to little Indiana
Jul 20th, 2010 | By Jessica Nunemaker | Category: Extras
Why do I live in a small town in Indiana? I think the knock on my door the other night can help explain this one. To start with, most people don’t knock on our door, they walk right in! For another – it was a neighbor a street and a half over inviting us to a circus put on by her visiting grandkids…who also happen to be in a circus club (and to bring a side dish to share)!
We had no idea what to expect. I threw together a red potato and green bean vinegar and oil salad with my farmer’s market purchases from that morning and, well, you can imagine my surprise when – the street was hopping! Fifty people minimum, no problem. They actually had the street closed off at each end – only in a small town, right?
There were chairs set up across the street from the house (as well as chairs that people brought from home), a water and punch table, various large framed circus prints, and a makeshift spotlight over it all. Plus a very long table laden with yummy stuff: pasta salads and dessert pizza, layer cakes and veggie trays.
I didn’t know everyone but it didn’t matter. The kids all played together or chatted while the performers got ready, the grown-ups mingled, chatted, and ate. After the sound check – the circus was on!
What a circus this was! These kids juggled, they juggled while one girl walked slowly between two jugglers, they juggled on unicycles, with balls and clubs — and did figure-8’s (then reversed it!).
A girl stood on a ball and managed to move it between colorful cones. They performed classic skits and walked on stilts. It. Was. Fun! Especially after the show when we could try out everything! Yes, I rode the clown bike which is a lot harder than you’d think! Hubs learned how to juggle and he could even balance on the ball. The circus definitely brought out his inner Carnie!
It’s nights like that that remind us why we chose to live in a small town. Sure, we don’t have twenty brands of orange juice to chose from at the grocery store, yes, you could sit in a lawn chair in the middle of the street on a Sunday in town and not have to get out of the way very often, and yup, you will always see someone you know no matter where you go (two people if you leave the house without make-up), and Cornhole is pretty big in these parts, too. But, then again, so is the sense of community.
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July 20th, 2010 at 10:08 am
What a great story!
July 20th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Thank you! It was a *perfect* summer night.
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Perfect post, envious life! I love “little Indiana” and my family and I are trying to work out a way to visit every place you’ve gone so far. We’ve only gotten to Fair Oaks Farm, but hopefully we’ll soon pick up the pace. Thanks for this great travel guide.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:07 am
That is probably one of the nicest comments I have ever received! Thank you so much! I’m glad that little Indiana has motivated you to check out small towns. There’s a lot to do in little!
August 2nd, 2010 at 7:20 am
That is really cool. Makes me wish that I lived there.