Tigers, elephants headline Shrine Circus

MOSES LAKE - All Nicu Dragomir wanted, when he was kid at school, was to go back to the circus.

Dragomir grew up in Romania and is the son - and grandson - of circus performers. And the circus atmosphere that was his childhood home was a lot more fun than school, he said. People had a good time at the circus. "You want every day to be like that day," he said.

Dragomir is the leader of a seven-person troupe of acrobats that were in town as part of the El Katif Shrine Circus, which made its third trip to Moses Lake over the weekend. Proceeds from the circus go to support the El Katif Shrine chapter, which raises money for the Shriners Children's Hospital in Spokane, circus chair Gary Van Dyke said.

The circus brought tigers and elephants to the center ring, aerialists, a trapeze act, clowns and horses. Dragomir and his troupe were the finale.

Kayser Dempsey, of Moses Lake, definitely had fun. Saturday was her fourth birthday and she wanted to celebrate it at the circus, her mom said. "She is loving this," Mom said.

Kayser was a big fan of the elephant ride; she hopped up and down in excitement after the turn around the ring.

"We're still the oldest form of family entertainment," said Joseph Bauer, the ringmaster and one of the circus managers. He's recovering from injuries, he said, but plans to bring his act back on the road in 2015.

"Something for the whole family," Bauer said.

"I liked the tigers. I liked it when they set the ring on fire and the tigers jumped through the fire ring," Gracie Morris, of Othello, said. Corbin Blake was so excited that he didn't listen and ran ahead of his grandma to pop the bubbles floating in the wake of the guy selling bubble pistols.

Corbin's favorite part was the acrobats; the pirate jugglers appealed to his cousin Gavin Grigg and Sheldon Grigg liked the elephant ride.

James Cano, of Warden, was so excited he just nodded when asked if he liked the elephant ride. His sister Ashley wasn't as impressed. It was bumpy, she said.

The circus acts came from Argentina and Mexico, Germany, Hungary as well as the U.S. The Shriners set up on land donated for use by Dave Sparks, Van Dyke said.

The Shrine circus dates back 60 years, Van Dyke said. "The circus is one of our main financial functions for operating expenses," he said. All participants, the ushers and ticket takers, are Shrine Club volunteers, he said.

The Shriners contract with a professional circus for the show, he said. Currently it's the Zirbini Family Circus, which traces its roots in the business back to 1763.