Cole Bros. Circus makes three-day return to S.B.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – The local Lions Club is sending in the clowns, as the Cole Brothers Circus is set to arrive this Labor Day weekend.

The show, which will be the 10th the Lions Club has hosted and the third specifically featuring the Cole Brothers Circus, will feature exotic animals, acrobats, clowns, jugglers, miniature horses and stunts such as the human cannonball.

In its 122nd year of operation, the circus, making its latest tour, will stop through Monmouth Junction at Crossroads North Middle School. Performing Saturday, Sunday and Monday, ticket sales will benefit the South Brunswick Lions Club, an organization that performs community service and raises funds for charitable causes.

According to the circus’ marketing director Bill Tebbetts, Cole Brothers is the longest running circus act in America.

“We’ve been through the wars, the Depression and everything else in between,” said Tebbetts.

The 200 or so traveling performers in the circus performs seven days a week for 10 months out of the year, starting in Florida and following I-95 up to Maine and then back down.

The circus will be in town on Saturday through Monday, with shows at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday; 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday; and 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Tickets purchased before Friday will benefit the Lions Club with a higher percentage of the revenue than tickets purchased at the door. Adult tickets cost $15 and child tickets are $10.

– Chris Gaetano