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Those words are not enough!
Hero's, Angels, Inspirational, Fear Not, Love, Hard Workers, Into the lions den, Wind beneath our wings! These words barely describe those who came and conquered! I am in awe of each and everyone of you who worked so hard on Saturday May 18, 2013.
Thank you guys, you really do care enough to do something BIG!
"NO FEAR"
Renata & Tito Gaona
Larry Ryan
Larry Ivey
Nancy Berman
Jack Staas
Dennis Neil
Jerry from the Airport
Thank you for rescuing thousands of authentic Venice Arena Bleacher Seats! Our battle continues to Save the Venice Circus Arena!
What will you do?please join us
www.venicecircusarena.com941-485-7675 Our next meeting is Tuesday July 2, 2013 at 6 pm at the Caitlyn Center Venice YMCA We need your help. Post a sign in your yard, a bumper sticker on your car. Purchase an authentic Arena Bleacher Seat Set. All available online or locally through Collectors Gallery & Framery 114 S. Nokomis Ave. Venice, 34285 941-488-3029 THANK YOU LEAH, YOU ARE AMAZING!!! Tito's Circus Trapeze Park at the Arena Sponsor a "Circus Walk-of-Fame" paver
www.venicecircusarena.com
"A Foot-at-a-time" squares Send a Thank you Email to the Venice City Council and Mayor Holiccitycouncil@venicecitygov.com
VCAFI Presents the City of Venice a set of rescued authentic arena bleacher seats
Thank you Larry Ivey and Tom Whittaker VCAFI and Mayor John Holic.
special to the Venice Gondolier
A Foot in the Past, Eyes on the Future
Saving the historic Venice Circus Arena is not a nostalgic indulgence as some critics have charged. Rather, it's a vision of a future that builds on a rich entertainment legacy. It's a legacy that should not be squandered by destruction of a physical structure, still imposing despite its dilapidated condition.
Likewise, the drive to restore the Arena is not a misguided preservation effort. Instead, it's the mission of the Venice Circus Arts Foundation, Inc. to redevelop this economic asset to enrich Venice and Sarasota County culturally and economically. The feasibility study completed earlier this year has the facts to back this up. (To read this feasibility study, either a short summary or the entire report, go to www.venicecircusarena.com).
October 10 of this year will be a red letter day when the Ringling Clown College Alumni convenes in Venice. It will be a return of hundreds of these mirth makers who got their professional credentials here. Clown College was based at the Venice Arena from 1968 to 1992, and it was literally a boot camp to learn juggling, stilt walking, and how to ride on unicycles and tiny bicycles.
While in Venice, plans call for attendees to leave handprints and signatures in squares of cement, similar to the Hollywood stars whose hand and footprints are featured at the world famous Grauman's (now TLC) Chinese Theatre. This "Circus Walk of Fame" will also memorialize some of the clown "greats" who are no longer with us, such as Emmett Kelly and Lou Jacobs.
The physical presence of these Ringling Clown College Alumni is sure to be an entertainment treat for area residents but more on that later as the event gets closer.
On the fund-raising side, the Foundation continues to plug away. The City of Venice recently gifted the Foundation with some of the Arena's bleacher seats and they are being sold ($100 each) to raise renovation money. You can be a bleacher seat owner. Details and payment can be made on line at www.venicecircusarena.com or by phoning (941) 485-7675. Several have already been sold and a limited number of them are still available.
You can show support in other ways. An attractive yard sign is available for $10 each. If you live in a neighborhood where yard signs are not permitted, consider a bumper sticker, maybe one for each car in your household. Cost of these is only $3 each and will help spread the word throughout the area as you drive around. Both of these are also available at the same website and phone number as bleacher seats.
All of us are headed for the future, no matter how much we prefer to keep things exactly the way they are in the present. How we get there and how we try to shape it can influence the outcome. Those of us who have chosen to share our time and efforts to saving the historic Venice Circus Arena believe it will be a better future for our entire area if we can redevelop this $12 million treasure for years to come.
Judy Houston is a writer and volunteer with the Venice Circus Arts Foundation.
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