Circus Parade returns to Milwaukee after 6 years

Circus Parade returns to Milwaukee after 6 years

MILWAUKEE — The Great Circus Parade is returning to the streets of Milwaukee July 12 after a six-year hiatus.

It was last held in Milwaukee in 2003, but organizers couldn’t raise enough money for it to return until this year. In 2004 and 2005 it was staged in Baraboo, about 150 miles west of Milwaukee.

The Ringling Bros. Circus was founded in Baraboo in 1884, and the state Historical Society’s Circus World Museum sits on a former winter home for the circus.

Several hundred thousand people typically turn out for the parades, which include antique circus wagons, horses, musical bands, exotic animals, clowns and hundreds of performers.

The parade tradition dates to 1963. This will be the 30th time it will be held in Milwaukee.

Actor Ernest Borgnine, 92, was a part of past parades and plans to return this year.

Bill Fox, whose uncle Chappie Fox was a parade founder, helped raise $1.5 million for the parade. In the future, it will likely be held every second or third year to allow for fundraising, he said.

Milwaukee Public Television is producing live coverage to be shown live or later on many public stations including Tampa, Fla., Denver, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Boston and Spokane, Wash., said the station’s broadcasting director, Tom Dvorak.

The Great Circus Parade Wagon Roll-Out Days will be in Baraboo June 28-July 5, for people to watch as the wagons are readied for Milwaukee. Admission for adults is $14.95, children 5-11 $7.95 and senior citizens $12.95

In Milwaukee, the Great Circus Parade Festival will be at the lakefront’s Veterans Park July 8-11 and include wagons, a petting zoo, souvenirs, and animal, carousel and ferris wheel rides. The Kelly Miller Circus will also perform. Admission to show grounds is free. Circus performances cost $10 for general admission and $12 for box seats.

The two-hour parade starts at 1:30 p.m. July 12 and winds it way around downtown Milwaukee.

Links to parade information and related events are at circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org/.