By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – Carson & Barnes Circus is coming to Columbiana on Saturday, Sept. 17, to put on two shows as part of their 80^th tour across the United States.

The circus has been around for four generations now and is bringing a traditional Big Top Circus to the city of Columbiana.

“The mayor talked about bringing in something to fill the void between the end of Music on Main and the (Shelby County) Fair in October because there isn’t much going on during that time,” said Columbiana marketing director Elizabeth Smith.

Carson & Barnes pride themselves in being “A real circus,” bringing several Asian elephants with them as well as motorcycle cage riders, trapeze specialists, “PINKY” the clown and so many more action packed stunts and adventures all under a massive circus tent.

“We wanted to find something to bring our community together so I started doing research and came across this circus,” Smith said. “I thought it was something different from our typical music stuff and didn’t want to bring a carnival or fair into town with the big fair coming up in less than a month.”

The circus will take place on the big open lot at Old Mill Square and the first show will begin at 2 p.m. while the second will start at 5 p.m.

“It’s nice for our residents to have the opportunity to go to a local circus because the Barnum and Bailey show in Birmingham is so far away and can get a little pricey,” Smith said. “This is something more reasonably priced right here in their backyard and is something that they might not normally get the opportunity to do.”

Smith also said the circus is a real circus and big in size, adding that after reaching out to several other places that have hosted the show she has heard nothing but positive reviews about what they do.

Advance tickets are on sale to adults for $12 and kids for $6 and are available at Piggly Wiggly, Busy Hands, Elvin Hill Elementary, Wilsonville Elementary and Shelby Elementary.

A percentage of the circus proceeds will go to the schools in Columbiana.

“I was trying to decide how to get our schools involved and when I found out that the city would get some of the profit, I thought that it would be great to give some back to our schools as well,” Smith said. “It’s a way to help out not only the city that our residents live in, but the schools that their children attend.”

Tickets at the door will be $16 for adults and $10 for children. Kids under the age of two can attend the event for free.