DIY CIRCUS

DIY Circus

“That's my circus and those are my monkeys,” I whispered into the laughter and whooping, proudly pointing to my grandkids twisting and spinning several feet off the floor in giant loops of colorful fabric. The Fort Collins Circus Center was putting the frenetic energy of the six cousins (ages four to 21) to good use.  

This magical place is hidden in a business park warehouse behind a tall garage door. Stepping through this portal transports

you to center stage at a Cirque du Soleil performance. Swathes of brightly colored material, the silks, hang from ceiling to floor, which is covered with thickly padded mats. 

We’d come for our second oldest granddaughter’s ninth birthday party. She chose the venue.

After warming up and receiving instructions, the grandkids, a few of their friends, and several adults, ran to the silks and the aerial tricks began. For an hour, they swung, balanced, twisted and stretched up above the mats. They took turns, graciously sharing the lush silks with each other.

Then, it was on to the next room and the trapezes and lyras (metal hoops suspended from the ceiling by knotted fabric). Then, it was time for birthday cake and free play. 

In a world where kids depend on screens for entertainment, I cherished seeing the young ones making their own fun. They pushed their bodies and minds to learn challenging tricks. The encouraging staff helped each aerialist, even the four-year-old, find a way to keep going and not melt down. Our time passed way too quickly.

None of us had ever been to a make your own circus party before. It’s a testimony to how much fun we were having that no one thought to take pictures until the very end! We’re looking forward to making the Circus Center our new birthday celebration destination.

My books are creating a three ring circus of their own in my brain. The mystery novel’s on hold for a bit while I work on two other books. They’re coming along well; let’s just leave it at that, lol. In the meantime, thanks to Amazon’s generosity, my book, “God, I’m a Jerk,” is now entirely free. You can read it on the Vella platform, where the first 10 chapters of any book are free. My whole book’s only 10 chapters, so, you’re welcome! It would really help me if you could please read my book, and, this is important, leave an honest review. I thank you in advance! 

I’ve also started a news podcast, which will put my dusty j-school education to good use, finally. The podcast, FC Public Media Snapshot News, will be available at fcpublicmedia.org. In the show, I share highlights from the reports on governmental meetings by the citizen reporters from the League of Women Voters Citizens Observer Corps. I’m also going to interview special guests from time to time. Tune in, and, if you’re in Larimer County, take out a free subscription to the Observer’s reports. (As of publication time, the first podcast is not quite listener ready. I’ll share the link on social media when it is.)

As always, thanks for reading this blog and for being part of my writing journey!