Circus Smirkus comes to town July 2-3
June 26, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Aerials are a big part of the Circus Smirkus show. Photo by Gordon Miller
For the third year, Waterbury is at the top of the summer schedule for the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour which will set up at Farr’s Field on U.S. Route 2 for four shows on July 2 and 3.
Now in its 38th year, the tour opens this Saturday at The Circus Barn in Greensboro before hitting the road for what will be a total of 65 shows across 15 towns in four New England states this summer.
Smirkus is the nation’s only traveling tented youth circus in the U.S. Performances are presented under a traditional European-style 750-seat circus tent for audiences of all ages. (Note: There are no animal acts.)
Circus Smirkus has long visited Central Vermont on its summer tour. In 2023, it moved from Montpelier to Waterbury. This year, it plans four two-hour performances in Waterbury: At noon and 6 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday, July 2 and 3.
In the run-up to tour stops, the organization seeks out community members to host Circus Smirkus youth performers. In addition, local volunteers are recruited to help with publicity, putting up signs.
This year’s troupe features 29 performers, ages 12 to 18, who have honed their circus skills. They hail from 14 states: California (6), Colorado (1), Florida (1), Kentucky (1), Maine (2), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (3), New Hampshire (1), Pennsylvania (4), Rhode Island (2), Vermont (1), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (4).
Circus Smirkus also relies on local volunteers to help on the days of their performances to assist with tasks such as directing parking, handing out programs, and serving as ushers inside the tent. Volunteers also get to attend the show free of charge. So far, the Waterbury shows need volunteers for all of those roles. See the online signup form here.
The theme for this year’s Big Top Tour is Game On! in which popular board games to life. Smirkus is known for its high-energy acts and colorful costumes. Each year’s performances also feature an original score.
Circus Smirkus is known for its action-packed, colorful performances. Photo by Gordon Miller
In Game On!, a checkerboard bursts with acrobats leaping and tumbling while aerial chess queens plot their bold moves from high above. Contortionists twist into impossible shapes as a barrel of monkeys swings to the trapeze. Jugglers race through a candy-colored wonderland and clowns dodge a life-sized mouse trap. There’s something brewing in the library with a candlestick and a man in a top hat hands out $200 every time someone passes GO.
The director this year is Fritz Grobe, who brings 35 years of experience to the role as a professional performer, creative director, and choreographer for award-winning circus acts and stage performances.
Circus Smirkus will travel to Waterbury after its opening shows in Greensboro with a caravan of 23 support vehicles and 80 people, including performers, coaches, cooks, tech and tent crew members. Middlebury (July 5-6) and Milton (Aug. 14-15) are the two other Vermont towns on the tour schedule. Other stops are in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. By the time the tour comes to a close, it will have entertained approximately 35,000 patrons.
Tickets: $25 for children ages 2-12; $40 for ages 13 and up; kids under 2 are free and do not need a ticket. Purchase tickets online or by calling 1-877-SMIRKUS.
Founded in 1987 in Greensboro, Circus Smirkus is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to promoting circus skills, culture and traditions. In addition to its traveling circus, Smirkus runs youth circus camps and a school residency program. For more information about Circus Smirkus including the complete tour schedule visit smirkus.org.
Circus-goers line up at Farr's Field for an afternoon show. Photo by Gordon Miller