Culpepper & Merriweather Circus brings its lions and tiger to Bears country

BREWSTER – Despite competition from a pair of graduations, a baseball tournament, and the annual Bridgeport Daze celebration, the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus with its lions and tiger slipped in a successful two-show performance last Sunday, June 9, in Bears country.

Chamber of Commerce Director Anna Marie Dalbey has worked since last February to bring the semi-annual show back for another stand in Brewster. She wrapped up city council approval of the event application and secured site approval from Gebbers Farms in mid-May, just in time to keep the scheduled June 9 appointment with the traveling show.

“We sold 1,258 tickets,” said Anna Marie Dalbey. “We sold 773 in four store locations, 149 online, and 336 the day of the show.”

The ticket taker to the shows, Luella Smith, is a University of Idaho sociology major who is spending her summer traveling with the show.

“Both of my parents were clowns with Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey,” said Smith. “I picked my major too late to get an internship and my mom brought this idea up to me. It’s kind of awesome.” 

While the shows did not sell out like they did the first time the circus returned in 2019, sales were more than sufficient to please both sides and judged as comparable to previous visits.

“The first time we brought it back, we did a sellout,” said Dalbey of that 2019 visit. “That was the first they have ever had where they had to stop selling tickets.”

Dalbey said show organizers told her they want to return in two years when the show books its West Coast schedule again in 2026.

According to its website, cmcircus.com, Culpepper & Merriweather Circus visits some 200 communities in 17 states during its 32-week annual circuit. 

Dalbey was asked to step in as co-ringmaster during the second performance and used the opportunity to thank the chamber for hosting, the community for coming, and Gebbers Farms for providing the site.

The spacious site at the large parking area along N. Bridge Street provided ample room for the attractions, which included the Moon Bounce and slide inflatables and a face-painting booth.

Heavy rainfall was an unexpected guest during the final performance but did not dampen any spirits.

“It came down in buckets,” said Dalbey. “The water came in a little bit on the floor, but the tent didn’t leak.”

The wet weather did not delay dismantling when the show ended to head for its next engagement in Oroville.

“We had some people here for their first year, and they had never been to a small-town circus before, and they really liked it,” said Dalbey. “Hopefully we can do this again.”

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media