High-flying acts wow Copperas Cove Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 5 2009 04:51 AM By Alicia Lacy
Killeen Daily Herald

COPPERAS COVE – Performing poodles, high-flying acrobats, and don't forget the elephants.

The Carson & Barnes Circus left its mark on the city Wednesday.

The circus, which hadn't been in Copperas Cove since 1988, came back for a day, performing a pair of two-hour shows.

The largest traveling circus under a big top traveled into Copperas Cove early Wednesday morning and quickly set up the big top at Ogletree Gap Park.

Nostalgia set in for many of the spectators who hadn't seen the circus in years.

"It was fabulous," Charles "Chuck" Downard said. "I'm 60-plus years, and I haven't seen this since I was 3 years old and it hasn't changed since."

"The excitement of everything made me feel like a kid again," Marty Smith, Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce president, said.

Sonya Sheehan of Kempner attended the early show with her daughter Thalia, 12. Both said they were astounded by the acts.

The traveling circus features Freddy "Alex" Acero, known as the "King of Circus Comedy." He made several appearances during the shows. He performed a juggling act and his "high-bounding feats on the trampoline."

David Smith of St. Louis, Mo., said Wednesday was his fifth time seeing the Carson & Barnes Circus.

"This is the largest traveling circus under a big top," he said. "This stuff doesn't exist in America anymore."