Opinion – One of the laws of being a Baraboo resident is that you must be a Circus World Museum booster.  The un-written rule states that the press must only ask powder-puff questions and only speak of CWM in a way which will inspire tourism. Ok. I get that too. Loyalty is a good thing.  Loyalty to Circus World Museum is loyalty to Baraboo and Baraboo certainly has a legitimate claim to a piece of circus history. On the other hand you’d have to be blind not to see the obvious. There’s a problem here.

The closing of the museum over the winter, (Which I may add was probably a good budgetary move.) as far as I can tell came as a surprise not only to fans, but to staff members as well.  In fact the first inclination of the closing came from Twitter.  (Even small towns shouldn’t ignore social media.) A day later the doors were shut and a shortened (May 22nd, thru August 29th) 2010 season was posted on the glass soon after.  Talk about bad PR!

Now here’s my take. It seems there are two problems with CWM. First, it’s run by people who love the circus so much that they are simply too close to the subject. Second, everyone seems to think CWM’s problems have to do with budgets & politics.  I respectfully disagree.  While everyone could use more cash, I think the real problem is much deeper than that. It’s cultural.  If those in charge don’t take this head on, they may as well get used to a slow and heart wrenching demise.

To be fair there are lots of folks who love Circus World Museum. Just not enough to sustain it. I’m a GenXer.  For me circuses and clowns were not defined by the Ringling Brothers generation but by Stephen King generation. Clowns are those crazy psychopaths that appear outside your bedroom window or bobble headed monsters stare at you from the top of your dresser.  You could be tempted to think I was just off my nut if not for the fact that you’ll hear the same story over and over from people my age and younger.  In the 21st century the circus is more “Insane Clown Posse” than “Everybody Loves A Clown”.  Circ du Solei came onto the scene and found success with a sharp awareness of this shift in perception. Between the cultural changes, animal rights concerns, rock concert “freak shows” and of course video games, the classic or “historic” circus just ain’t what it used to be.

It seems to me Circus World Museum is reacting to cultural shifts like an old ocean steamer trying to turn a corner. Their audience is aging quickly and they are not able to react to replace them quickly enough. It’s simple math. Soon enough the bus tours of retirees, and moms and dads with circus memories will also be relegated to history.

Now, I don’t think it’s fair to be critical without offering some solutions.  That’s another part of loyalty after all.  Of course there are no quick answers, certainly not that you can jot down in a couple quick sentences.  However, I can tell you this;  We took our young son to Circus World Museum 2 times so far in his young life.  Both times, he spent more time playing on the free playground equipment or feeding ducks with lots of other children than watching shows or seeing exhibits.  He loved the rides and the animals but they take less than an hour’s time in a 21st century kid’s time scale. The shows, well to be honest they bored him both times.  Now at 9 years old, he’s not interested in seeing Circus World Museum any longer. Well, other than to watch the elephants play in the river when we drive by.   If I were on the board of directors for Circus World Museum, I’d set one goal for 2010. Win over the 5-9 year-olds… let their parents eat cake! (Well, cotton candy anyway.) If the children don’t want to leave at the end of the day, maybe, just maybe you’ll have a chance. For what it’s worth, for the sake of our community, and for the sake of our shared history, I want Circus World to succeed.

More

• Circus World Museum
• Circ du Solei
• Skillet Creek CWM Gallery

Discussion - Have you been to Circus World Museum recently?  What was your experience?  What generation are you from?  Are you into Circuses and clowns?

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