Posted 8/26/2005 2:02:40 PM by Editor
News from Franco Kossa viewed 801 times
Friday, August 26, 2005 - Wilkes-Barre, PA
PERFORMERS AND FANS CELEBRATE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE CIRCUS SIDESHOW AT 4th ANNUAL SIDESHOW GATHERING, SEPTEMBER 1st through 4th, 2005. GLASS EATERS, SWORD SWALLOWERS, TATTOO ARTISTS AND MORE GATHER OVER LABOR DAY WEEKEND TO SHARE THEIR BIZARRE CRAFT.
WILKES-BARRE
PA
– From September 1st through
4th, the strange, the unusual and the freakish will take center
stage at the 4th Annual
Sideshow Gathering. Showmen
from across the country will congregate in northeastern
Pennsylvania to celebrate
the giddy thrills and forbidden mysteries of the circus and carnival sideshow.
Over the holiday weekend, these
carnies will swap lies (or “cut up jackpots”, as they say), perform
outrageous feats of physical daring – swallowing swords, eating razor blades,
walking on broken glass, and more – and allow the public to watch.
Franco
Kossa, founder and
organizer of the event has said, “These guys really pull out all the stops
because they’re showing off for their peers. I look forward to this all year, because
it’s always a show you’ll never forget!”
Performers at
the 4th Annual Sideshow Gathering will include: New York’s Bindlestiff Family Cirkus; Sideshow Bennie, the One-man
Ten-in-one; The Pickled Brothers
from Ohio; The Great Nippulini,
World’s Strongest Nipples; Natasha
Veruschka, Queen of Swords; Matt the
Knife; Denver’s Crispy Family
Carnival; Ses Carny; George the Giant; and carny
jack-of-all-trades Red Stuart. Additionally, members of the Sword Swallowers’ Association
International (SSAI) will attempt to break their own world record for the
greatest number of swords swallowed at one time with “The Big Swallow”. Vendors will also be on hand to display
unusual items such as two-headed animals and freakshow memorabilia.
Concurrent with
the 12th Annual Inkin’ the
Valley tattoo convention at Wilkes-Barre’s Ramada Plaza Hotel, the
4th Annual Sideshow Gathering begins with private events on September
1st but opens to the public
on Friday, September 2nd, with live sideshow performances starting at 7:00
p.m. and culminating in The Big Swallow at midnight. Performances will resume at
3:00
p.m. on Saturday,
followed by an awards breakfast and encore performance on Sunday. Daily passes are available for $12, or a
three-day weekend pass may be had for $25. Tickets provide entry to both the
Sideshow Gathering and Inkin’ the Valley, and all those purchasing tickets will
be entered in a raffle to win a 2005 Sportster motorcycle from Electric City
Harley Davidson. For more information about acquiring tickets, please visit www.thesideshowgathering.com.
Generations of
Americans once stood in line on their local fairgrounds to stare at human freaks
and strange feats under a canvas tent.
Every big circus had a sideshow full of odd attractions, and dime museums
flourished in every city. The golden days of the sideshow are
long gone, but for this dedicated group of fans and performers the tradition is
still very much alive.
When asked what
makes the Sideshow Gathering different from any other convention, James Taylor (show historian and editor
of the journal Shocked & Amazed! On
and Off the Midway) said, “Who'd guess you could go to
Wilkes-Barre to watch three
days of sword swallowers, glass eaters and people willing to risk their lives
for your entertainment and amusement?”
It’s a treat
for the audience, but for performers the Sideshow Gathering is also an
opportunity to meet fellow acts.
Philadelphia’s Sage Werbock,
who performs as The Great Nippulini and holds a Guinness World Record for
lifting heavy objects with his nipples, describes the Sideshow Gathering
as “THE place for like minds – be they performers, fans, artists, or
show owners -- to assemble and promote the continuing tradition of sideshow
performance art, exhibits, history, and carnival culture. It is the
one time that we can put a face to the name of someone we've been speaking
with on-line for years.”
Franco Kossa
feels that events like this are vital to keeping the tradition alive. “This is a
tough business, and a lot of people get burned out after a season or two. The sideshow world is a fairly small and
tight-knit community. The Sideshow
Gathering gives these folks a place to get together, relax, share war stories,
and refresh their spirits. Not just anybody can go out there day after day
nailing spikes into their face or letting people puncture them with a staple
gun. As they say in the business, ‘It’s a hard way to make an easy
living!’”
For more about
the 4th Annual Sideshow Gathering, including performance schedules
and ticket information, please visit the official website: www.thesideshowgathering.com.
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