The circus came to Bridgeport's Harbor Yard, and if you missed it, don't worry, it comes every year.
But there are many things going on behind the scenes, that a show-goer would never see, like, for instance, the religious sisters helping the performers and their children.
The circus is like a travelling city. The train in which the families live is a mile and a half long. There are food carts, animal carts, living space carts, equipment carts, all lined up and all moving across the country at a fairly decent clip. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the circus crew travels, on Wednesdays - Sundays, they put on a show in a new location.
Many take their families with them. 10-year-old Katherine Stuart says the circus life is "not so weird." She goes to school, five days a week, for five hours a day. Sr. Dolores Fabritze teaches her history, math, English and geography, to name just a few subjects. The school day looks a bit different from a circus train, though. They are in "school" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and that school is really whatever back room the venue provided them. They must unpack their books and tools from movable carts, and then pack them all back up again five days later when they leave. After school, the children can't really do sports or participate in extra curricular activities, but they spend time in the nursery and with the performers, as their parents ready for that night's show.
Sr. Fabritze and other religious personalities make sure that the sacraments are provided to the performers who request them. They also provide bible studies and personal healing for those on-board the train.
If you'd like to see more of what goes on behind the scenes at the circus, tune in to Crossroads Magazine, at 10:30 a.m. on TXX and 10:30 p.m. on MyTV9.
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