Along with the sweet scent of cotton candy, a whiff of danger and hint of wistful excitement, the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus brought a little magic to Conifer. But for the performers at the traveling circus, it’s just another day on the job.
Trey Key, owner, general manager and lion tamer for the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus hails from Columbia, S.C., and after 20-years of circus-performances, he’s still hooked on the big-top world.
“To me, this is still magical and I wouldn’t do anything else,” said Key.
Small tears in the worn C&M tent turn the spring sunshine into summer starlight and added to the ambiance of the one-day-only performance on June 21 at Beaver Ranch. The circus showcased a lion-taming act, clowns, jugglers, aerial acts, unicycling and a small carnival.
Key’s duties as the lion-tamer take him inside the lion’s den, and as he enters the cage during each performance, there’s only one thing on his mind.
“The only thing to think about when I go into the cage,” said Key, “is the lion.”
“You can’t think about anything else.”
Francis, an African lion and the feline-star of the show, is content to receive a pre-performance back-scratch from Key or his handler, Phil Manus, 23, from Sarasota Fla., though he’s a fully grown carnivore. According to Key, it’s imperative to watch Francis at all times.
“If you can’t respect what they can do to you, then you have no business going in there,” said Key.
Manus, who likes the high-wire acts best, has performed with the circus for two years and besides cat-handler duties, performs a gorilla-on-the-loose-act with agility and pinpoint accuracy with a water-cannon. He admits he likes to scare the audience but insists it’s all for fun.
“We’re good people, with good stories and we’re friendly,” said Manus.
Key began working with the traveling circus eight years ago and said the entourage is a family, complete with homes, kids, pets and plenty of responsibility.
This year’s company consists of 30 show-people and six-office staff members who layout the road and stops in advance of the show. Circus transport vehicles consist of a recreational vehicle for support personnel, a series of private house trailers, six support vehicles and six house trailers.
“We’re not the circus stereo-type,” said Key, “we don’t drink, pass out and sleep under the trucks.”
Key said the C&M Circus is a good place for kids to grow up – there are several families in the caravan and the kids quickly learn responsibility and help the circus at each performance.
“It’s the best place to have pets and kids,” said Key, “Everyone knows where everyone is, who’s supposed to be around and who isn’t.”
Lana Dykes, 10, is from Sarasota Fla., and after her performance in the unicycle routine and her own show with the fan-tail pigeons, she expertly handles the money from kids wanting to enter the jumping castle and insists, “this is fun, you don’t need money.”
Still wearing bright blue eye shadow and her hair tightly styled, Lana said she is home-schooled year round loves the circus life.
Lana said she’s not paid for her time in the ring or for manning the jumping castle after the show, but that’s all right, it feeds her dream for her future. When she grows up, if she stays with the circus, she’d like to work with elephants, if not the circus, she’d like to train animals at Sea World.
“You have to keep working on it, to be in a circus,” said Lana.
Key said that Lana is a good kid who still gets to be a kid though she travels with her family throughout the year. She still gets to play, and she’s in charge of the family’s puppies, according to Key.
“She still gets to be a kid,” said Key. “It’s a good thing.”
Lana may have to wait to work with elephants with the C&M circus. Key said that in June 2008, in Wakini, Kan., one of their elephants got loose, and he said it’s a sinking, helpless feeling when that happens.
“All you can do is keep people away and let the handlers do their thing,” said Key. “No more elephants.”
Another animal the circus won’t include is camels. The circus did have a camel-act but Key said they learned their lesson about the nomadic animals with 12-inch-wide feet that are great for walking straight for 100-miles, but are lousy when it comes to being in a ring. They have no traction on grass surfaces and Key sweat the season when C&M enjoined the camel-act. The animals fell on a regular basis, and he worried a camel would fall and break and leg and that would the end of that circus performance.
Key said that all the current animals at his circus are part of the family.
“The animals are well-cared for, and it’s a nice escape from the circus-business to go and be with the animals,” said Key.
Seeing the circus
Conifer resident Jim Faucett, said he liked the performance, especially the hula-hoop wrangler, and brought his uncle who at 65, has never seen a circus. His uncle enjoyed the performance and Faucett said, “It beats sitting home watching the Flintstones.”
Ianna DeBrunner, 10, of Conifer also liked the performance, and thought is was pretty amazing. She likes the circus so much that she recently attended a circus camp to learn how to juggle and ride a unicycle.
The circus was sponsored by Biggie Wine & Liquor in Conifer and promoted through the Conifer Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Board Member Stan Foxx, played guest ringmaster for the event and said he was glad the circus, that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, came to Conifer.
“It was a stupendous circus, everything you could expect,” Foxx said.
On the road
The troupe is heading west, on a trek through a 33-week season that ends in the third week of October. The crew will winter over in Hugo Okla., one of the circus-town Meccas in the U.S.
Next year, the performers will pull up tent stakes and head out on the road once again, possibly with a few new acts to wow the crowds.
Key said there’s a very limited talent pool and a lot of the performers have worked for Ringling Brothers Circus but choose to work at the C&M.
“This is a good, clean show,” said Key.
“If you want to join the circus, be at least 18-years-old and send a video and resume to the different shows around the country,” said Key. He said the circus is always looking for new and interesting acts.
As the circus left town around 5 a.m. the next morning after the Conifer performance, there were no reports of anyone who left Conifer behind to join the circus.
This story was printed in the July 7, 2010 edition of the High Timber Times and as Upslope in the Canyon Courier. This version is my original story, to see the edited version, go to www.hightimbertimes.com
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