Eyes on the club

Eyes on the club
Originally uploaded by DigiNik13

Here's one of my favorite photos so far from the Austin Shrine circus. This lady is a fantastic juggler.

Austin Shrine Circus 2012

We had a good time at the Shrine Circus this year - I think I am getting more acquainted with how they run the show and that makes it easier. For example, this time we did not buy floor seats because the setup never matches the seating chart and that always frustrated us. This time we bought seats in the first row of the arena and they were good seats. It was nice to be a little higher than the floor seats because it was easier to see over equipment and people walking around during the show. So I never had a problem with my view being blocked while they setup for the elephant rides (which happened last year).

Another advantage of the non-floor seats is not getting trampled while the elephant rides are happening. I mean trampled by people pushing to get into line - not trampled by elephants :-)

Some of the acts are the same every year - like one of the clown acts but it's a great act so I don't mind seeing it again. My favorite acts had to be the Wheel of Death and the juggling. The female juggler in the center ring was very good and engaging to watch. I enjoyed seeing the Wheel of Death up close for the first time. Other acts included trampoline, horse riding, motorcycles, dogs and a human cannon ball. My best suggestion for this circus would be to include less animal acts and more aerial acts - like Ringling Brothers has been doing over the years.

I took quite a few photos and I'm slowly editing them and posting them on Flickr. I'm always grateful for the shows that allow cameras because I love taking photos of circus, gymnastics, acrobatics etc!

The next circus event at the Cedar Park Center is Quidam by Cirque du Soleil in March - can't wait!

Shrine Circus this weekend

This weekend the Shrine Circus returns to the Cedar Park Center. I'm hoping for some good photo-ops!

And don't forget Cirque Du Soleil's Quidam will be at the Cedar Park Center in early March (no photo ops there since they don't allow cameras but it's still worth it). Quidam is a beautiful show with breath taking acrobatics - I can't wait!

Shrine Circus returning to Cedar Park Center

The Austin Shrine Circus is returning to the Cedar Park Event Center next January (Friday January 13th - Monday January 16th, 2012). Those of you that have read my blog before know that I've had really mixed experiences at this show. The performers are always wonderful! My issues are with the Elephant Rides (and the chaos they create) and the inconsistent seating chart through the Cedar Park Event Center. But I love the circus and they allow cameras so I will always go. This year I decided against playing the roulette game of buying floor seats (every time I buy floor seats they never match the seating chart and I always end up in a worse seat than I expected). This year I'm sitting in the regular seats and I hope my seat matches what I think I bought. I'm looking forward to it and I'm hoping to get some nice pictures!

Here's a link to Shrine Circus tickets.

Don't forget that Quidam is coming to the Cedar Park Center in March 2012. I took the "floor seat" gamble again this year. Supposedly I'm in row A although there is no row A on the seating chart. I don't know what this means but it's becoming standard procedure at the Cedar Park Center (sorry Cedar Park Center- I'm glad you are here but I wish your seating charts matched the tickets I bought!!). But Quidam is worth the risk. It's a great show with fantastic acrobatics!

Cirque du Soleil's Quidam is coming to Austin

Cirque Du Soleil's show Quidam is coming to the Cedar Park Center February 29 - March 4, 2012. Presale tickets are already available for Cirque Club members (it's free to join). Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 30.

I saw Quidam in 1997 when it was a tent show and the acrobatics were fantastic - especially the Banquine act at the end of the show. I'm really looking forward to seeing this show again.

I just bought my tickets and I hope I got good seats. I'm in row A but the seating chart doesn't show a row A (only rows 1-5). I seem to have this complaint about the Cedar Park Center often (their seating chart does not match what I purchased). Hopefully they will come out with an updated chart soon and my seats will still be good seats.

Photos from Ringling Brothers Barnum 200 Tour

Ringling Brothers 2011, a set on Flickr.

Here's a link to my Ringling Brothers set on Flickr. I really enjoyed taking pictures at the show and I want to thank Ringling Brothers for being camera friendly. I went twice this year and I'll definitely go twice next year (if the photo policy doesn't change).

Had a great time at Ringling Brothers

I really enjoyed the recently Ringling Brothers show in Austin, TX this past weekend (it was the Barnum 200 show). What made this show stand out compared to other Ringling Brothers shows was the number and quality of the acrobatic acts - fantastic! There was a Russian Bar act, contortion, hand balancing, aerial hoops, aerial straps, high wire, flying trapeze, teeterboard and trampoline! It was like all of my favorite acts in one show. I highly recommend this show for anyone who is fond of gymnastics, acrobatics etc.

One of the highlights was the performer who did strap "bar" giants on the high wire. Even with gloves on, this has to be somewhat uncomfortable on the hands.

The only downside was the photography policy was a little confusing this time. I'm not sure if it was Ringling Brothers or the Frank Erwin Center. Usually the policy is "no commercial photography" (which is fine). This time it said something like "no professional cameras, no detachable lenses". I wasn't sure if that meant all SLR's would be turned away? I didn't think that was possible since many parents have SLR's to take pictures of their kids. So I put a small lens on my SLR and hoped for the best. I saw many SLR cameras there so I assume the policy was meant to say "no large detachable lenses". I wish they would make this more clear by saying something like "no lenses greater than 6 inches" instead of just "no detachable lenses".

I took lots of photos and I'm slowly putting them on Flickr. I'll post a link to the whole set once it's complete.