Bread and Circuses: The Circus Festival in Normandy

The entrance to the Circus Knie. Lausanne, Switzerland. October 10, 2021.

Imagine two very much grown women very much beyond what anyone would call the target-audience age crowded into a circus tent and you’ll have a good mental image of a friend and me a few years back after a very over-the-top (get the pun?) pennant-topped set-up lured us in.

And it was amazing.

The animal stuff at circuses of old (tigers, elephants, and bears—oh my) depressed me even before those elements dropped off the program. I was always more interested in the acrobatics—and wow, did this circus deliver.

So color me curious when I bumped into an advertisement for…

…an international circus festival.

On reflection, it makes sense that every industry we can imagine has its own conference somewhere, no? So why not the circus?

The International Circus Festival

The International Circus Festival takes place over a week of March every year in Bayeux, France.

The festival attracts circuses from all over the world, including France (obviously), North Africa, South America, China, and western, central, and eastern Europe. Performers include acrobats of all kinds, contortionists, high-wire acts, juggling and roller skating and acts that involve horses and birds, and, yes, clowns.

Sound niche? Not as niche as you might think. Every year, almost 20,000 spectators come to Bayeux in Normandy to watch the show in heated tents. (And if you know Normandy in March, you’ll understand the reason the festival promotes its heated tents.)

I guess, just like my friend and I a few years back, people of all ages love the circus and love to see the best of the best of anything perform.

The Bayern Circus School

Bonus! If you attend and become so enamored that you want to run off to join the circus, you’re in luck: Bayern has its very own circus school to get you started.

Now, I can’t say I’ve ever been tempted to join the circus, just attend them, but having seen the acts at that circus I attended recently with my friend convinced me that there is a high level of art and physical ability involved in each of the acts, and I can definitely see how that would appeal. When I went to the circus as a child, I didn’t fully appreciate the creativity and sheer physical skill required for so many of the performances.

At the Bayern Circus School, children and adults can train in the art of the circus in classes that take place weekly or in multiday intensive courses.

How’s the idea of a circus-class vacation sound?

TIME TO GO BACK TO the Circus

If you haven’t been to a circus since your childhood, as I hadn’t, I beg you to reconsider. My friend and I had so much more fun than we expected.

I haven’t been to a circus since, but that’s more due to lack of opportunity than interest. If I find another circus out on my travels (or here in town), I will definitely go.