Military Appreciation Night

The night began as the families headed down to the arena floor for some early entertainment and to meet some of the cast members before the lights dimmed for the big show. The children and their parents were thrilled to meet the clowns, acrobats and animals, try on costumes, participate in some of the acts and watch an elephant paint a picture.

"Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is a proud sponsor of America Supports You. As a long-time supporter of America's military community, Ringling Bros. appreciates the sacrifices made by our U.S. Armed Forces and their families. As our way of saying thanks, we are pleased to provide Jacksonville with a special night devoted to spending time together as a family and offering a special ticket price that makes live entertainment more affordable," said Heidi Keirn, manager, event marketing and sales for South Feld Entertainment.

A group of elephants parade around the arena at the beginning of the show.

"We've been trying to bring out family to the circus for the last three years but haven't been able to because, with both my wife and I in the Navy, one of us was always deployed. So this is great that our whole family could spend some time together here tonight," said PS1(SW/AW) Rodney Locke of Naval Hospital Jax.

The circus began with a group of clowns performing followed by Guest Ringmaster IT1(AW) Stacey Thinn, the NAS Jax 2008 Sailor of the Year, who welcomed the crowd. As the NAS Jax Honor Support Team presented the colors during the national anthem, an elephant also parade the floor displaying the nation's colors. As the crowd cheered, the entire floor was suddenly alive with performers and animals showcasing their talents. This year's theme, "Zing, Zang, Zoom" incorporated a little magic to the show as Alex the Zingmaster used the magic words to make Asia the elephant disappear in front of the stunned crowd. Other magical events included disappearing dogs and clowns, student wizards (children from the audience) who made their parents levitate and a battle between Alex and the dreadful Mr. Gravity who kept trying to bring the show down.

From right, ADAN Samuel Kibiko of VP-30 and his family, Waverly and Jewel Kibiko enjoy a night at the circus.

Other highlights included flying aerobatics by the Chi Chi Har family, two human cannonballs flung across the arena, a menagerie of dogs displaying their talents and the Hernandez brothers jump roping and flipping on giant spinning wheels. In between each act, groups of clowns performed numerous skits. Of course, there were also the elephants, tigers, horses and zebras.

"This was really awesome. The kids were so excited about all this and loved meeting the clowns and trying on costumes before the show. And, I was thrilled to participate as the guest ringmaster. It's definitely an experience that I have not had before and I'm very proud to represent NAS Jacksonville," said Thinn.

"This is really amazing and great for the kids to be able to come here and do something recreational and meet some of the cast members," added ADAN Samuel Kibiko of VP-30 and a member of the base Honor Support Team who presented the colors to kick off the circus.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be in Jacksonville again in January 2010.

NAS Jax Sailor of the Year and Guest Ringmaster IT1(AW) Stacey Thinn, welcomes the crowd to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus Military Appreciation Night as Zingmaster Alex stands by.

Members of the NAS Jax Honor Support Team proudly display the colors during the national anthem as an elephant draped in patriotic attire parades around the arena.