• Intro: Karnie Christmas 2007
• Its Beginning To Look Like Karnie Kristmas
• Its The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• Commercial: Nochance & Hell
• O Come Be A Karnie
• PSA: Santa Elvis
• Vicki Got Run Over by a Golf Cart *
• Glass House
• Commercial: Rent A Karnie
• Ode To The Karnie Diet
• Terror of the Loop
• Anything Thats Fried We Love
• Commercial: eIncestry
• Wonderful Shirtless Time
• We Wish You A Karnie Kristmas
• Its The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (’munk re-mix)

* We are deeply saddened by the death of Vicki and are pondering:

• Will this be the end of Karnie Christmas?
• Will Omar step up and take Vicki’s place?
• Will Vicki rise from the ashes?
• Will the Future Karnies finally become full-fledged Karnies?

Stay tuned to find out.

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• Rockin’ Around the Tilt-A-Whirl
• Bumper Cars
• Do You Smell What I Smell
• The Karnie Song
• While By My Ducks
• Santa’s Using Karnies Now
• A Visit From Karnie Klaus
• Here Comes Uncle Elmo
• Oh Tilt-a-Whirl
• Christmas with the Karnies
• The Karnie Song (’munk re-mix)

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Be the talk of the Christmas season by sporting Future Karnies of America Christmas Apparel!

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We’re currently seeking ghost and alien stories for the Trolley Dodgers Podcast Halloween Podcrash. So if you have one (or want to make one up) please either record it and e-mail it to us or leave a message on our voice mail.

Contact us at: trolleydodgers -= at =- gmail -=dot=- com OR (317) 215-7078 OR Skype watershedstudio

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There are three ways to get recorded audio to us:

• Give us a call within the USA at 317-215-7078 and leave a voice mail.
• Skype our friends at watershedstudio and leave a message.
• E-mail us the audio file or a link to the audio file at karnies – [at] – gmail – dot – com

And the legal mumbo jumbo…

• By submitting anything to us you are granting us to permission to include it in a future podcast without monetary compensation.
• If it was obtained from another source, you must inform us of that.
• We will credit you for your submission, so be sure to leave any pertinent information you’d like us to include.
• We reserve the right to edit for any reason.
• We don’t guarantee inclusion.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Several elephants were treated to a fancy lunch Thursday at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Following a morning performance for local school children, elephants from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus chowed down on a lavish spread that included fruits, vegetables and bread courtesy of Levy Restaurants.

Carnival ordered to shut down [02-24-2006]

BEIJING, Feb. 24 — A carnival named “Happy” could not have chosen a less appropriate name.

Fuzhou Happy International Carnival, the first touring amusement event to come to the city, capital of East China’s Fujian Province, was ordered to shut down on Wednesday as it was operating illegally.

Despite claiming to be the city’s largest amusement park, the carnival, which opened January 14, did not even have a business licence, according to Fujian Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The park did not obtain approval from relevant departments concerning sanitation, environmental protection and public security, said Chen Zhanghua, an official with the bureau.

PETA Asks Indiana State Fairgrounds To Make Circus’ Visit Its Last In Light Of Deadly Animal Attacks [03-01-2006]

Press Release
Indianapolis, Ind.—This morning, PETA sent an urgent letter to Indiana State Fairgrounds Executive Director Cindy Hoye warning her that the upcoming Shrine Circus is both dangerous and cruel and urging her not to host circuses such as the Shrine Circus in the future. PETA points out that since 1997, there have been at least 10 dangerous incidents involving animals used in Shrine Circuses.

Last year, a trainer was stomped to death by an elephant used in a Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Ind. In 2004, an elephant attacked an arena worker following a Shrine Circus performance in El Paso, Texas. In 2002 and again in 2003, elephants bolted from Shrine Circus tents and went on rampages in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively. In other incidents at Shrine Circuses, a circusgoer was bitten on the face by a chimpanzee, the tip of a 2-year-old girl’s finger was bitten off by a bear, and a tiger who had been allowed near children later killed two people.

Trunk call saves circus elephants [03-04-2006]

Firefighters were called in to help hydrate two thirsty circus elephants after their drinking water froze.

Members of the Ozzz Circus, currently in Omagh, woke up on Thursday morning to find that, after the frosty night, their entire water supply had frozen over, leaving them - and their animals - with nothing to drink.

The two African elephants, which weigh about 12 and a half tonnes, were particularly affected as they need to drink 500 litres of water every morning.

So a fire crew were called in to provide water to the drought- stricken animals.

JanErik Brenner, company manager of Circus Ozzz, said the arrival of the firecrew stopped staff heading to the nearest supermarket to buy out the shop’s supply of water.

“We woke up on Thursday morning to find that the tank of water had completely frozen over, so we called in the Fire Service,” he said.

“All of us and the outside animals were all affected, but the elephants particularly like to stick to their routine, and like to drink their water every morning.

“They can actually drink up to 1000 litres of water a day so we really need to get them that water.”

Carnival attendees celebrate Purim [03-06-2006]

KINGSTON — More than 100 people got a jump start on their Purim festivities Sunday during a carnival at Congregation Agudas Achim.

Groups of youngsters could be seen running around the synagogue during the first Purim Carnival, which was sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch of Ulster County. The event featured games, food and a petting zoo.

“I went to the petting zoo and rode a pony,” 8-year-old Jordana Maidenbaum said. “I really liked getting my face painted. My favorite was when I gave my mom a candygram.”

Purim, which takes place March 13-14, celebrates the Jews’ ability to survive a plot calling for their extermination in ancient Persia.

The plot was orchestrated by Haman, who was the king’s adviser. The Jews were saved when Esther, herself a Jew and the wife of the king, told the king of the adviser’s plot against her people.

Many of the activities at Sunday’s carnival centered around the story, with games such as “Bowl over Haman” and “Pin the crown on Esther.” Children were also encouraged to dress in costumes. People who provided entertainment at the event, including professional clown Cecilia St. King and workers from the Catskill Equestrian Center, did so as volunteers.

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Read the press release.

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Indian elephants performing for a circus in Mongolia are being given vodka each day to ward off the cold.

The elephants are working for the Moscow State Circus which is holding its first show in Mongolia in 25 years, reports UB Post

Local circus officials are giving elephants two litres of vodka each daily to help them survive freezing temperatures as low as -28C, during the week-long show.

Coney Island School Keeps Carnival Skills Alive [01-16-2006]

NEW YORK — Todd Robbins stands on a wooden stage in a drafty old building in Coney Island, nonchalantly hammering a nail up his nose.

“It’s called the human blockhead,” he says, as the nail slowly disappears, “because you have to be a complete blockhead to do something this dangerous. The nail is real. The hammer is real. Only the head is fake.”

Jokes are no extra charge at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow School, the only one of its kind in the country. Classes are held in the fall, spring and summer in a building that doubles as the Coney Island Museum. Lurid sideshow banners advertise Madame Twisto, Serpentina, Insectavora and other performers of sideshows past.

Robbins — part carny, part comedian, all showman — is the instructor. There are no textbooks save for a 24-page handout. The school is all show and tell, with Robbins demonstrating the literal ins and outs of fire-eating and sword-swallowing, plus other un-MBA-like skills.

Licensing Act variations ‘killing’ touring circus [01-17-2006]

Circuses could find themselves paying up to six times more than originally expected for permits under the new Licensing Act, because of varying interpretations of the law by local authorities.

In some areas, circuses are being charged increased rates for premises licences if they are on land shared with other facilities, such as air strips or leisure centres, while those who have opted for temporary event licences have found themselves limited to opening for just four days a week.

Leading figures from the circus industry are set to meet licensing minister James Purnell at the end of the month to urge him to tackle the anomalies, which they say present “great difficulties” for the industry.

It’s a Winn win for Nokomis circus family [01-18-2006]

Members of the famous circus family of aerialists came down to Earth to pick up the biggest award of the Circus Celebrity Committee of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and its Circus Museum — The Circus Celebrity Award.

Following in the footsteps of such famous stars as the late Gunther Gebel-Williams of Venice, Dolly Jacobs of Sarasota and the late Karl Wallenda, the Winns were honored for the thrills and chills they have provided to circus fans all over the world for seven generations.

Thrill and daring have been and continue to be the hallmark of Winn performances, which have included such daredevil stunts as the slide for life, double skywalks, double sway poles, the giant wheel with fireworks somersaulting, and their trademark inclined wire with its roaring, rotating motorcycle.

As if that were not enough, the motorcycle rider does it while performing a headstand as he is wheeling back to Earth.

New circus school opens in Cardiff [01-18-2006]

Cardiff people are to be given the chance to be a high flying trapeze artist, balance on a tightwire or try their hand at juggling when new circus school is launched today.

Internationally renowned NoFit State Circus have just opened the school in Central Cardiff to train the local community to walk, hop and swing on the wild side. Their exciting new premises at Ebeneser AnneXe, Charles Street is a dedicated training space for circus arts – the only one in Wales.

Classes include trapeze and aerial, acrobalance and circus skills. A Youth Circus will run for 8 – 16 year olds, and the space will also be available for circus parties where you and you friends can try out all the skills above plus knife throwing, whips, lassos, unicycling and stilts.]

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RALEIGH, N.C. - Downwind from the cotton candy, the caramel apples and the deep-fried Oreos, carnival worker Robert Weaver stepped into a mobile dentist’s office on the state fair midway to pay the price for his love of sweets: three pulled teeth.

For carnies like Weaver, who runs a saltwater taffy concession, the long hours, low pay and sugary temptations of the carnival life can produce a mouthful of misery.

So every year, volunteer dentists come to the North Carolina State Fair in a bus, offering free care to any fair worker with the time - and the courage - to walk in.

“It hurt all day and all night,” said Weaver, whose stubbly beard did little to hide the bulge in his cheek. While bad teeth run in his family, he admitted that his taste for taffy, chocolate-covered bananas and deep-fried Twinkies didn’t help.

Running away with the circus [01-05-2006]

The National Circus School is auditioning young Vancouverites within the next month, at a time when trapeze-riding, trampoline-jumping, and juggling are becoming legitimate full-time careers. The post-secondary circus-arts program places more than 90 percent of its graduates in jobs at Cirque du Soleil and other smaller troupes—a fact that attracted West Vancouverite Alexander Grant. The 18-year-old Sentinel High School Grad was accepted into the school this fall after last winter’s round of tryouts. “The best part is it’s wonderful to see the people in each year of the program—to see everyone from the very beginner to someone on the trapeze,” he said. “You can see what you could become if you stay there. It’s very motivating.” Grant said his courses include a well-rounded blend of gymnastics, trampoline, basic fitness, dance, acting, nutrition, and other areas.

Bent on performing [01-10-2006]

Meaghan Wegg chuckles when she recounts her decision to run away and join the circus.

The 20-year-old native of Teeswater, Ont., had been an acrobatic dancer since the age of 2, but after watching a performance of Cirque De Soleil on television, the contortion and aerial hoop specialist turned to her mother and declared her goal.

“I said, ‘Mom, I want to do that,’.

Gymnast Ponor considers circus career [01-10-2006]

Gymnast Catalina Ponor said in an interview for Mediafax news agency that she would be tempted to be part of the “Cirque du Soleil” circus group, as she received a proposal in this respect while she was participating in last year’s European Gymnastics Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. “I do not dislike the idea. On the contrary, I am quite tempted by the idea and do not exclude this option. I also saw some tape recordings of them and I think the whole thing is very beautiful. And there is also a lot of money that can come out of this,” Ponor said.

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And now, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, step right up and meet the no-ring circus.

For the first time in its history, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will present a new show to its audiences without three rings, or two - or even one.

When the 136th edition of the circus opens on Wednesday at the St. Pete Times Forum here in Tampa, where Ringling maintains its winter quarters, the elephants, clowns, aerialists and acrobats will roam an arena floor. In as big a departure, the show will have a story line instead of being simply a cavalcade of acts.

The changes seem to echo the format of the circus’s new-age rival, Cirque du Soleil, which in a few decades has grown into as mammoth an enterprise as Ringling Brothers, though the promoters of both shows discourage the comparison. Instead, Kenneth Feld, Ringling’s producer and chief executive, attributes the overhaul to market research: The circus’s family audiences say their lives are already three-ring circuses, so they want something less distracting. And “they also wanted to connect with a story in an emotional way,” Mr. Feld said.

Arlette Gruss, 75, ran French circus [January 3, 2006]

PARIS — Arlette Gruss, an animal trainer who went on to run her own traveling circus, died Monday, her troupe said. She was 75.

Gruss died of cancer at her home in Fontaine-Saint-Martin, in the Sarthe region of western France, said Dominique Texier, tour director of the troupe.

Born into a circus family, Gruss was a well-known animal trainer — especially panthers — who retired from the ring in 1984 to found a touring troupe that bears her name.

“We all admired the incredible courage and presence of this panther trainer whose love of animals was as strong as her passion for the circus arts and their constant renewal,” said French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.

From center stage to center ring [January 5, 2006]

Jennifer Fuentes has been on the track to show biz success since she was an American Idol contender three years ago.

For now, she’s also on the track of the railroad. She just signed on for a two-year stint as the featured vocalist and co-ringmaster for the 136th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

La Crosse family seeks carnival worker, DNA testing to find missing pug [January 5, 2006]

“My pug (Bosley) was taken by a carnival worker!!”

On Oct. 9, the fawn-colored pug managed to find his way out of the fenced yard at the Lundts’ Charles Street home.

Some neighborhood kids said Bosley followed them to the North Side Oktoberfest grounds, where the event was in its final day.

There, the kids told Lundt, they saw a carnival worker tuck little Bosley into a trailer.

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