Big top coming to Confederation Park?

scotto

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Posted with permission from the Hamilton Spectator

January 12, 2010
Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 12, 2010)
There are plans to have the big top join campers, swimmers and picnickers at Confederation Park this summer.

The Zacada Circus School of Stoney Creek wants to set up a circus tent in the Lake Ontario park to house a summer school for kids and five weekend performances that can entertain 500 people per show.

The owners of the Cirque du Soleil-type school, husband and wife Christine Cadeau and Kosta Zakharenko, are looking to raise a tent on the soccer field of the 83-hectare park, which is already home to Wild Waterworks, five food outlets, 50 camping sites, hundreds of picnic tables, batting cages, mini-golf and a climbing wall.

The couple want to operate between May and September and, if successful, one day build a permanent facility in the Van Wagners Beach Road park after 2014.

Zakharenko, who opened the Barton Street and Fruitland Road school with his wife in 2007, outlined his vision last week to the board of the Hamilton Conservation Authority, which runs Confederation Park.

The board approved the idea in principle and many directors expressed excitement at the scheme, which staff said meets plans to redevelop the park under a new master plan.

Negotiations are now under way, including the feasibility and cost of staging the circus. Zakharenko said afterwards it could cost upwards of $1 million to stage the shows.

"I think it's time we invited other groups to share our resources, especially in these economic times," said authority board member Tony Perri.

"I think it's wonderful."

Board chair Chris Firth-Eagland called it "a brilliant opportunity."

Zakharenko, who met his wife while both were performers with Cirque du Soleil, said 15,000 people have passed through the doors of the circus school since it opened in May 2007. He also said the school has staged two shows, for which they sold 2,400 tickets. He said, based on the success of the shows "we decided to go bigger and present to a bigger audience" and developed the idea of using Confederation Park.

He said they have been approached to stage shows in Niagara Falls and Toronto. "We keep coming back," he said. "We're from Hamilton."

Zakharenko was asked about the feasibility of staging a Cirque du Soleil-style show given that one failed in Niagara Falls. Cirque Niagara closed at the end of 2007 after two years. Its backers lost $6.7 million.

He said the Niagara circus was "a very ambitious project." He said its six daily shows were based on reports that 11 million tourists visit Niagara Falls every year, but it did not consider the majority only stay between 45 minutes to two hours. Zakharenko also said only one investor knew how to run a circus and "our company has two owners and we both know how to run a circus."

dnolan@thespec.com

905-526-3351
 

Sharla1

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Oct 15, 2009
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#2
I hope they won't be using wild animals for this. I am an animal activist and think wild animals should be left in the wild unless they are injured and are unable to live to live in the wild.

Here is how I think a circus should be:

Make this more hands on for the children. Have the acrobatic acts and also teach the children an easy acrobatic act they can perform. Let the children choose who they would love to put a clown face on. Children would have so much fun putting a clown face on daddy or mommy, and even let the kids dressup as clowns. Have magic acts and have the magicians teach the children some tricks. Kids love new and exciting things that are hands on.
 

scotto

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Since it is real close I will get the kids and have a look, they call it a "Cirque du Soleil-type school" so I would doubt they will have any animals there. I will let you know.
 

Sharla1

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#5
It almost sounds like it's going to be a school of learing how to do juggling, acrobats and being a clown etc I think I worked with a few of those clowns. LOL

Anyhow, I hope that is what it is going to be.
 
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