The Mizpah Shrine Circus is back! 

Over the course of five shows from Friday, Jan. 24, to Sunday, Jan. 26, Memorial Coliseum will be filled with animals, flying trapeze artists, and performances that go beyond your imagination. 

Shriners host annual event

Mizpah Shrine Center was built at 1015 Memorial Way in Fort Wayne in 1925 after much discussion of needing a location in northeast Indiana. Prior to the new building, Shriners were meeting at The Murat in Indianapolis. 

The center has become a well-known location for Shriners in the northern area. The past 78 years, the Mizpah Shriners has brought the circus to Fort Wayne residents.

In past performances, the circus has featured clowns, high-wire acts, flying trapeze artists, a globe of death, aerial artistry, feats of dexterity, and so much more. 

On top of the amazing show, there will also be a free circus fair with a petting zoo, moon bounce, pony and elephant rides, face painting, and more. 

While the fair itself is completely free, some of the activities have a cost associated with them. This event runs an hour prior to the circus and an hour after the performance.

Something for all ages

I had the opportunity to speak with Michael Hardiek, who serves on the Mizpah Shrine Circus committee, about the upcoming circus and what he is looking forward to the most. 

“Our circus is unique because it is the kickoff of the circus season,” he said. “Tarzan Zerbini, our circus producer, brings in tons of performers every year, and oftentimes our circus is sort of used as an audition for the rest of the year. 

“A lot of the performers fly in from Europe to Fort Wayne to start their season, and it’s just something that makes our circus so special. We try to keep our event family-friendly and affordable while also switching it up every year. 

“The days of just watching a juggler and a clown are gone. We’ve had to bring in special lighting, faster-paced performances, higher risk performances, and just keep improving.” 

Over its existence, the circus has become a regular for school field trips, as well as family entertainment.

“When we say the circus is for all ages, it really is,” Hardiek said. “I love when I can see a family show up, from young children to their grandparents, and they all smile and watch the show together. We have grandparents tell us all the time how this is a family tradition for them, and it just is great to see it continuing.” 

It takes plenty of manpower to bring this tradition back year after year.

“It takes about 100 Shriner volunteers to put on this show every year, and it’s so wonderful to bring the Northeast Indiana Shriners together,” Hardieck said.

Changes in the industry

The history of circuses goes back further than what we know as the modern show.

The initial circus dates back to 2500 B.C. in ancient Egypt and Greece, featuring jugglers, acrobats, and even animals much like what we see today. 

Getting closer to modern times, a lot of what we see now is based on the Barnum & Bailey Circus that began entertaining the United States in the late 1800s. 

But, in the last 20 years or so, there has been a lot of push-back on the use of animals. While there have been a lot of instances of animal abuse in other shows, the Mizpah Shriner Circus takes the safety and well-being of the animals very seriously. 

Mizpah uses elephants from the Zerbini Family, which get their elephants from Two Tails Ranch, an elephant sanctuary that has a positive history of caring for them.

Circuses are nostalgic for families, and they bring happiness for all ages. Parents get a sense of childhood wonder and it takes them back to a much simpler time. Children’s minds are blown away by the amazing and unbelievable events happening right in front of them. 

So, if you are looking for something to do with the family or just enjoy an awesome show with friends, grab your tickets for the Mizpah Shrine Circus.