The Wenatchee Youth Circus

These pictures are of my favorite performers in the Circus, namely, my granddaughters, so this blog post is from my perspective! We were able to attend the Wenatchee Youth Circus home performance, the only time during the summer that they perform in Wenatchee. (Click on the title to go to the web page for the Circus.) It coincided with our days off, so to our great joy we were able to make the 4 hour trip over to see them. We took hundreds of photos of all the acts. This first one is of Natalie, age 10. I like it because she is pensive, thinking over what she's about to do on the high wire while she sits by the practice wire.

 Here is Katy, dressed for her part in the Circus. She's a new member, so for now her main job is to look pretty, which she does wonderfully! She 'styles', which means she points gracefully to the other acts as they are going on, and she helps with the set-up and take-down, also. Katy says she aspires to become a 'fire-eater', truly a breath-taking act to watch.

 The Wenatchee Youth Circus has been in existence for nearly 60 years, and here is the founder, Guppo the Clown, now 84, also known as Paul Pugh. He has done a fantastic job training the kids and keeping the group together each year as one big family, even though the faces change from year to year. The kids all are held to high standards and are given lots of love along with the discipline it takes to do these awesome circus acts. Their team work is inspiring.

 Natalie with her face painted for her part in the clown act.

 This high wire act is called 'the wheelbarrow'. That's Nat hanging below, looking as if she's touching the hills above East Wenatchee. It is truly a heart-pounding experience to watch this, as well as the other high wire stunts Nat does. She walks the wire with no fear! Mr. Keith and I may not get to see another performance this year, but next summer the Circus will be on the road again, thrilling audiences throughout Washington! Hopefully we will close enough that we can go, too.

And last, my favorite mother-daughter photo, taken after Nat descended from the high wire. It's priceless. All the parents of the circus kids are equally dedicated to the excellence of the Wenatchee Youth Circus.