Clown around town: SLO circus arts

San Luis Obispo has a sense of humor.  Where else can you spend the night in a caveman-themed hotel room or eat a five pound hamburger solely for sport and the respect of your peers?  In addition a visit to the Madonna Inn and a meal at Sylvester’s Burgers, residents of San Luis Obispo enjoy a fledgling circus scene.  From clowns to aerial dancers, the county is home to a surprising number of performance artists.

Suspended Motion: Ever dreamed of flying?  Now you can spin, flip and glide through the air with classes from Suspended Motion, a collective of Central Coast aerial dancers. These  performers offer instruction in aerial silks, hoop, trapeze, net, rope and hammock. Exhilarating and challenging, aerial performance is a creative way to build strength and flexibility through the arts.

Bike Happening: Each first Thursday of the month, after Farmers Market, bicycles, tall cycles and unicycles swarm downtown.  Decked out in costumes in accordance to each month’s theme, riders make a loop beginning at the Mission and extending through Higuera and Marsh streets. For themes, routes, and rules of the ride, visit the Bike Happening website.

Juggling and Circus Skills Club: Every Friday afternoon, join jugglers, acrobats, unicyclists, hoopers and spinners meet for skill training  and hang-out sessions on the Cal Poly campus near the Architecture building. Practice begins  at 5:30.  Come trade tricks and have a great time learning something new!

Circus Vargas: This month, the circus is coming to town!  Circus Vargas will be pitching a tent at the Madonna Inn from June 30- July 4.  Marvel at the flying trapeze, laugh at clowns, and thrill over the death-defying feats of acrobats, contortionists and motorcyclists.  Tickets are on sale now.

If all of those diversions weren’t exciting enough, keep an eye out in the coming months for Circus Open-Mic nights, tall-bike riding pandas and subversive whoopee cushions — you never know where they’ll strike next!