Circus magic underway in Wicker Park: One weekend = four performances

The big top is up and the magic will be happening this weekend in Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen. Midnight Circus in the Parks (MCIP) will perform four shows. With two on Saturday, Sept. 19, and  two on Sunday, Sept. 20, each day one show begins at 2 p.m. and another at 5 p.m. 

In a 75 foot diameter purple and blue 30 foot high tent, 18 plus performers will dazzle hundreds at each performance. While there are no traditional clowns, there is a lot of "clowning around" and a line-up of internationally known acrobats. 

Performing in ensembles, it is an action packed experience with almost every act. 

"The cast this year is really unprecedented," says Jeff Jenkins, the show's co-creator. Last year the MCIP was the first American company to be invited to play the Montreal Circus Festival. 

"That is akin to headlining Lollapalooza in the music world," says Jenkins. "That really opened up a whole new world for us. Now world class acrobats reach out and say, 'I want to be part of that.' Many play Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 Doigts and other premiere companies." 

The tale of the purple and blue big top
The tale of this big top began in 1995 and meshed with the Chicago Park District in 2007. Welles Park had a lack of funding for their playground. Julie Greenberg, a classically trained actress who played in Shakespeare productions, and her husband Jeff Jenkins, who was a Ringling Brothers Circus clown, decided to help out. It was a personal connection. Their son Maxwell was one and their daughter Samantha was about to be born. 

This year Max is 10 and has his own act and Samantha, now 8, has her own act working with "beautiful hula hoops…it's gorgeous," says her unprejudiced dad. 

In 2010, MCIP expanded its Chicago Park District venues to include Holstein Park. The experience was an open air event, subject to the whims of mother nature. But in 2011 Jeff's dream for a tent came true. Commercial Park joined the park list that year. Last year, Smith Park had its first Midnight Circus. This year's Smith Park weekend will be Oct. 10 and 11. The rest of the locations are listed online. 

"Attendance is over the top this year," says Jenkins, we actually had to stop selling tickets." This year they have been in three other parks so far. 

 Tickets are available online or at the gate. Adults are $20 and kids to and up are $15. 

Each of the participating parks receives a portion of all ticket sales. Additional income goes to each park from advertising sales and all the concession sales in each respective park. 

The Wicker Park Advisory Council's participation in this year's circus circuit are Doug Wood and Denise Browning. 

*Midnight Circus in the Parks is a community building and fund raising event that throughout  Chicago Park District sites each year. To date it has raised over $800,000 for local park improvements!