Step Right Up: Wenatchee Youth Circus Is in Town

Circus fans can catch a show in Edmonds today and Wednesday as the Wenatchee Youth Circus is in town.

The performers, who range in age from five to 19, will hold outdoor performances at the Edmonds Civic Center Playfield.

Circus members begin practicing in October of every year. During the winter months, they rehearse tumbling, trapeze, and teeter board in the Orchard Middle School gym in Wenatchee. In the spring, they head outdoors, where they are able to practice high rigging acts. Performances begin in May and last through the summer.

The Wenatchee Youth Circus dates back 60 years, when Orchard Junior High principal Paul Pugh started the group as an after school tumbling group for his students. The gymnasts performed at basketball games, schools assemblies, and community service club meetings.

Pugh eventually began to add more acrobatic disciplines to his group. After retiring from Orchard Junior High, he began to focus full-time on running the circus. 

The Wenatchee Youth Circus now travels around the state with a flatbed trailer that hauls five small circus wagons. One wagon converts into a raised covered bandstand, and the others haul equipment. A separate trailer serves as a cook shack with a refrigerator and two large freezers. Cooks prepare three meals a day for 100 to 150 performers, chaperones, and guests. 

Parents of the performers design and create the costumes. Parents also serve on a board to help manage the circus and travel with the circus as chaperones.  

The Wenatchee Youth Circus performs today at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m, and is sponsored by the Edmonds Exchange Club and Edmonds Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services. Tickets are $6 for adults 17 and older, $4 for those 2-16. The family rate, for two adults and up to four children, is $19. A group rate for 10 or more is $3 per ticket.