Venardos Circus: A Small Circus With Big Family Fun

One of my most fond memories as a kid was going to the circus. It was like being transported to a magical land of wonder and awe as I watched all the performers do their tricks. My favorite was the tightrope walker. I would gaze at her in wonder, certain that she was going to fall. She never did, and even if she did, there was a net below to catch her. Did that ruin the magic? Not at all.

When I had my daughter, I wanted to take her to take her to the circus, so she too could experience the magic. But to my dismay, the circus of old didn’t exist anymore. Instead, you were in a large coliseum, far away from the acts, and the magic seemed to have disappeared.

But then, I heard of a small circus coming through the Orlando area, which seemed a lot more like my circus of old, so I decided to give them a try.

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The Venardos Circus

The Venardos Circus was started by Kevin Venardos, who worked for Barnum and Bailey once upon a time. That experience was transformative for him, and so in 2014, he decided to start his own traveling circus. The Venardos Circus is a small circus, held in a single tent with only a few performers. While the circus may be small, the experience, the performers and the fun are definitely big.

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The circus starts with a 1-hour pre-show. To be honest, it should just be considered part of the regular show, so I recommend that you show up for the start of the pre-show. A performer does different tricks with juggling pins, cubes, sticks, etc. Both the 7-year old and 12-year old found it fascinating.

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The main show starts with song and dance number and an introduction to the entire cast and then the circus acts begin. The entire show is about 1 hour and 20 minutes with a 10 – 15 minute intermission. There is a trapeze artist, tightrope walker, a clown, juggler and more. There is even a death-defying escape from a straight jacket at the end! (well, not really-death defying as she was clipped in the whole time, but pretty awesome nonetheless) At the Venardos Circus, you will see a lot of the acts that you are used to seeing at the circus, but with a little bit of a twist.

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Pricing for the Venardos Circus

The tickets for the Venardos Circus were very well priced with pricing starting at $17 for kids and $27 for adults. If you want to get as close as possible to the action, you can pay for VIP seats which are $47 per person for all ages.

Good to Note

When ordering tickets, you can pre-pay for treats such as popcorn, cotton candy and drinks. You can also pay when you get there if you prefer. If you forget your wallet, they do accept CashApp for purchases. They also sell lights and fun circus items, so you might want to set a limit with the kids before getting to the circus as to what they can and cannot have.

What’s Nearby Venardos Circus

The circus is being held in the parking lot of Hamlin Town Center. You can grab dinner after the show at The Pizza Press or Bosphorous or stop in for some pre-show pastries at The French Café.

Pinspiration just recently opened at Hamlin Town Center. You can take the kids there to create some fun works of art prior to attending the show.

Go or No Go

The Venardos Circus is a definite go for us. When I find something that both the kid and the tween enjoy, then it gets two giant thumbs up from me.