The circus came to the town of Walton on Friday.
As part of the Walton & Tipton Township Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, the Peru Circus performed a variety of tricks for a crowd in the Walton Fire Station lot.
According to Kristi Hileman, the Director of the Walton & Tipton Township Public Library, the Summer Reading Program this year is titled “All Together Now.” She said the circus ties into the reading event and the library because these all bring the community together.
“[The event is] beneficial because it allows for everybody to get together, to interact, to enjoy some entertainment and to just have some comradery,” Hileman said.
During the event, members of the Peru Circus performed acrobatic tricks such as balancing on balls and flipping off of trampolines. Juggling and aerial acts were also performed. Azalea Montano Crane, a child who attended the performance, said she enjoyed the torch juggling the most.
“It was awesome when they did the little fire torches and start[ed] juggling. That was crazy,” Montano said.
The Peru Amateur Circus, according to their website, consists of members from the ages of 7 to 21. Hileman said the Peru Circus gives young children another creative outlet and the opportunity to learn new skills.
“In offering this as a way for the community, it kind of brings about that entertainment value but also something that the young kids may be striving for,” Hileman said. “So, they’ll see something that’s a little bit different from their everyday lives and think that ‘hey this looks like fun. Maybe someday I’ll be able to try this too.’ It’s really a neat event and they do such a good job.”
The Summer Reading Program, according to a May library newsletter, has participants read as many books as they can before the end of the event. People of all ages can participate, although the book requirement amount changes depending on grade level. At the end of the event, the top three readers from each age group receive a prize, according to the newsletter. Hileman said that the program is going great and that have had many participants.
“We’ve had so many families come in, we have a lot of new people become new patrons of the library and it’s wonderful to see all these people come together and just want to involve themselves in reading…,” Hileman said. “So, it’s a way that I think families can do something together, that again gets families involved in talking about certain subjects or getting the kids involved in understanding the love of language. So, it’s been going well and we’ve had a lot of youngsters who are not even in kindergarten yet through adults who’ve all come in and they’re taking part in the program.”
Hileman said that this program is a team effort between the staff of the library. She said staff members including Beth Sullivan, Kathy Naphew, Kay Kunkle, Kari Bennett and Cora Epperhart have assisted with the event.
“I’m the director, but they’re the ones who make these events happen,” Hileman said.
The enrollment period for the Summer Reading Program has concluded, however, there will still be events from the program occurring throughout June. The next event will be a petting zoo on June 16 in the Walton Library lot. The Peru Circus will also be performing from July 15 through July 23 as part of the Circus City Festival in Peru.
Source : Pharos Tribune
