Woodward got a taste of genuine pre-digital entertainment Sunday morning when the Culpepper and Merriweather Great Combined Circus raised its tent near the E. Fourth Street ball diamonds in preparation for its two afternoon shows.
Founded in 1985, the Hugo, O.K.-based circus troupe staged two 90-minute performances in Woodward, with trapeze artists and lion tamers, jugglers and clown, dogs and ponies, high-wire performers and balancing acts and ladies in gorgeous costumes — all under a “classic push-pole circus tent,” according to Leon Acton, tour guide for the morning tent raising.
The tent measures 120 feet long by 80 feet wide, Acton said, and it stands 30 feet tall.
About 30 Woodward area residents attended the morning tent raising, and many more attended the 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. performances.
The midway opened about one hour before the show, with midway rides such as a 22-foot inflatable slide, the moon bounce and pony rides. A concession stand offered traditional circus treats, such as cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones.
A 500-pound, black-maned African lion named Francis and a pair of tigers, Solomon and Delilah, 12-year-old siblings, were among the animal performers.
Acton said the welfare of the Culpepper and Merriweather animals is monitored by federal, state and local regulators. He said animal-rights activists sometimes protest the shows but are more often seen at the larger circuses.
Culpepper and Merriweather is “a small, family-owned circus and attracts less attention from the protesters,” Acton said. The circus tours 32 weeks a year, giving about 200 performances across 17 states, he said.
