37th annual Children's Circus of Middletown Performance

The Middletown Commission on the Arts and Oddfellows Playhouse present the 37th Children’s Circus of Middletown: Whatever the Weather!

This annual, unique show will take place August 1st at 5PM outdoors at Macdonough School, 66 Spring St. Middletown, CT. In case of rain, the performance will take place August 2nd at 5PM. 

This performance is the culmination of a 5 week day camp for 175 kids ages 5 - 15, in which they work with professional circus artists to learn juggling, stilting, unicycling, dance, clowning, acrobatics, puppetry and other circus skills. The annual performance includes the 175 youth performers, 40 staff and a live circus band of 15 adults and teenagers. The Children's Circus of Middletown has been an annual collaboration between Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater and the Middletown Commission on the Arts since 1989. In 2018 the Children's Circus was awarded the NY Life Foundation's Excellence in Summer Learning Award.

Children’s Circus director Jason Leinwand lays out the scenario for this year’s circus: “From windy days to epic rainstorms to full on tornados, floods and more, “Whatever the Weather” will be an epic look at how the weather affects us and our planet. The show will feature a dysfunctional family of weather patterns, who wreak havoc on the children’s circus in order to stop the fun. Will it be too hot for the Teeny Tiny Troupe or will the frost stop them cold? Can the jugglers withstand a rainstorm of hens or will they be yoked? From the calm before the storm to the passing of the eye, it’s sure to be a whirlwind of a show!”

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids. They may be purchased in advance at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/oddfellowsplayhouse/37th-annual-children-s-circus-of-middletown-whatever-the-weather, or with cash only at the day of performance. Please call (860) 347-6143 to reserve wheelchair seating. Bring lawn chairs or blankets and a picnic. Street parking around the neighborhood. Handicapped & Elderly parking only in the school lot.

The Children’s Circus is part of the Kids Arts Program of the City of Middletown’s Office of the Arts and Culture and is directed and produced by Oddfellows Playhouse. Major support is provided by the City of Middletown Commission on the Arts, Middlesex United Way, Middletown Public Schools, and the M. Jones Fund at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. Oddfellows is also supported by the Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD, The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, The Fund for Greater Hartford, Liberty Bank Foundation, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, American Savings Foundation,  Middletown Youth Services Bureau, Middletown Department of Health, George & Grace Long Foundation, and many generous individual donors.

Oddfellows Playhouse offers year-round programs in theater, circus, music, dance, technical theater, and visual arts to young people ages 3-20. For additional information, contact info@oddfellows.org, call (860) 347-6143 or go to www.oddfellows.org.