Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus Has Made History By Setting Up On Coney Island's Famed Boardwalk Offering A Summer Season Of Coney Island Boom-A-Ring Performances


The Circus Makes a Coney Island Debut

Coney Island Boom-A-Ring

It’s summer; the sun is shining, so it must be time for…the circus! Wait...what? Yes, it’s true: For the first time in its 139-year history, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has set up shop on the famed boardwalk of New York’s Coney Island. The summer season runs through September 7, so you still have time to catch a seaside performance of “Coney Island Boom-A-Ring.”

The show features acts including the Urias Family, billed as “The First Family of the Motorcycle Globe” (clearly, Second and Third Families need not apply, especially those who can’t keep up with the 65-mile-per-hour speeds the Uriases achieve); Justin Case, trumpeted as “Eccentric Personality Extraordinaire” (it involves a bicycle, and trust us; he’s funny); and the New York debut of The Negrey troupe, world-renowned Russian acrobats. (Are there any other kind?)

A Closer Look at the Circus

Plus, of course, miniature acrobatic Dachshunds (don’t go there); a trio of Asian elephants, and some white Bengal tigers, all presented in an air-conditioned tent. In short, everything a circus should have. Boom-A-Ring, located at Surf Avenue and 21st Street, also offers an all-access pre-show one hour before the performance, in which visitors can mingle with circus performers and animals alike. Call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 to reserve seats and check the performance schedule (there’s generally a matinee and evening performance); seats start at $10. Ladies and gentleman! Children of all ages...you know the drill.