Week 10

Week 10: March 14, 2017 - March 19, 2017

Number of Shows: 7

Location: Cincinnati, OH

            On Tuesday some of the clowns had a PR for Pi(e) Day. Several local celebrities agreed to take a pie to the face in exchange for 100 tickets to the show to be donated to the charity of their choice. There were kids from the selected charities in attendance to cheer on their representative, and the clowns spent the first part of the PR helping them make posters and banners celebrating the event. All in all it was a wonderful event and both the performers and patrons had a wonderful time.

            After the PR I decided to go to Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati staple, for lunch. I had the 5-way, which is a mound of spaghetti covered in chili, beans, onions, and cheese. It was...interesting. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't hate it either. After lunch I walked across the bridge to Kentucky and just sat in Barnes and Noble reading for a few hours before heading back to the train.

            On Wednesday I walked a mile and a half to an antique "mall." It was mostly furniture, so I didn't buy anything. I then took a bus a few miles to the arena, and then went over to Barnes and Noble again to do some more reading. For lunch I went to Hofbräuhaus, a German restaurant that was highly recommended by other people on the show. I had a sausage sandwich on a pretzel bun with a side of warm homemade sauerkraut and potato soup. The food was amazing, and quite possibly the best food I've had so far on the tour. The theming was also quite impressive, and appeared to be authentic.

Before taking the van back to the train, I visited Holtman, a local donut shop, where I tasted a German chocolate cake donut and a red velvet cake donut. Both were extremely good, the frosting being particularly tasty.

           

            Thursday was our second "opening day," so we had a very brief meeting in the seats. Clowns also had rehearsal and I got to practice fire juggling. I got approved to juggle fire in the show, so in the event that one of the fire jugglers in unable to perform during spec, I am the understudy. The show went very well that night and the crowd was extremely loud and energetic.

            On Friday we received a very big barbeque free roll from a Clown College graduate, which we enjoyed during the second act of the show (we spend almost no time in the alley during act one, but during act two we have two fifteen minute breaks). Saturday was a standard three show day, and the arena treated everyone to circus cookies as a thank you.

            Sunday we had just two shows, which were a piece of cake after doing three the previous day. It was also Stephen's birthday on Sunday, so he got pied four times before the first show even started.

            After two weeks of shows, I can say that Cincinnati had amazing crowds and was a great city for exploring and more importantly, eating. Next stop: Norfolk!