The New England Center for Circus Arts’ Inaugural Vermont Circus Festival Comes to Town

Where can you go to see dozens of clowns on ice skates or learn about the history of circus in Vermont? The inaugural Vermont Circus Festival presented by The New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) set to take place Nov. 2 through 9 in Brattleboro. This regional event with an international appeal celebrates the vibrant world of circus arts with circus performances, workshops, seminars, pop-ups and manyorkshops, seminars and free activities for the whole family in and around Brattleboro. The goal of the festival is "to culturally and economically enliven New England's rural community through circus arts." The seed of the festival began 15 years ago as an annual weekend of circus activities. "For many years we've been doing what we call circus workshop weekends … twice a year and during the pandemic we had them once a year. We'd offer 50 different workshops, and we'd have 100 + people come up and enjoy them," says Serenity Smith Forchion, NECCA co-founder and producing director, in a recent phone call with The Keene Sentinel. "That became so successful that we started inviting a guest company to come up and perform as part of it. Last year we added an alumni cabaret and the leadership said, "You know what? This is starting to feel more like a circus festival, and we have a desire to add more community engagement," she explains. Forchion adds that "NECCA is rebranding in 2025 and expanding the experience with the Vermont Circus Festival, adding guest company performances and a variety of activities beyond the walls of NECCA's trapezium. By partnering with local organizations NECCA is offering many ways to engage with the circus in town." According to publicity materials, the festival will draw 200+ participants in 50+ workshops, five performances of three different shows, 20+ free classes, seminars, exhibits and discussions, one clown crawl at Friday night Gallery Walk and hundreds of free clown noses! In addition to workshops in aerials, acrobatics, flying trapeze, mime and more, free activities for the community include: Circus classes at NECCA for youth and adults "Clowns on Ice" at Nelson Withington Skating Facility supported by Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department Circus-themed book reading discussion with Brooks Memorial Library Circus painting exhibit and art discussion featuring longtime circus performer and globally celebrated fine artist and illustrator Karen E. Gersch at 118 Elliot Gallery History of Circus in Vermont seminar with Circus Smirkus founder Rob Mermin Silver Circus classes for age 50+ sponsored by AARP Vermont "Directing for Circus" roundtable with internationally recognized directors supported by Vermont Humanities Council Clown Crawl at Gallery Walk with Downtown Brattleboro Alliance Figure Drawing with acrobat models at The Drawing Studio Student shows at retirement homes sponsored by Ben & Jerry's Foundation Three different shows will grace the stage at NECCA's trapezium featuring guest company Parallel Exit's new show "I'll Take It" on Friday, Nov. 7, an Alumni Cabaret on Saturday, Nov. 8, and a Beta Night Open Stage on Sunday, Nov. 9. "Rob Mermin of Montpelier is the founder of Circus Smirkis and one of the reasons why we knew that Vermont was going to be a good place for us to settle down and he is our first honorary ring master. We have a social gathering on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at 118 Elliot Gallery and he will be receiving the first honorary ring master award for his contribution to circus in Vermont," Forchion says. Since 2007, New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) has emerged as the premiere circus arts training facility in the nation, blending athleticism and artistry and hosting professional circus artists as performers and coaching staff. NECCA has approximately 60 employees and 301 students have come through their ProTrack program since 2007. "Our flagship program is our ProTrack. It's a professional training program that runs for three years, and we have 36 students in those three years. We're like the Julliard for circus students. It's like a college for circus professionals. That's the bulk of our offerings but every week we offer 40 or more community session classes for recreational students who just want to use circus to have fun and to be fit," adds Forchion. When asked how the Vermont Circus Festival fits into the larger arts scene, Forchion explains, "There's sort of an entry point for anyone who is interested in how circus aligns with other humanities like art, literature, painting and history. If someone isn't necessarily interested in taking a circus class, hopefully they're interested in seeing a circus show. There are other opportunities for them to come and be in discussion with people who are interested in how circus is part of the larger humanities of how we live together." Local sponsors include Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtor, Reuter Foundation Repair, 118 Elliot, as well as grants from Ben & Jerry's Foundation, Vermont Community Foundation and Vermont Humanities. For more information, contact NECCA at info@necenterforcircusarts.org. To view the full schedule of events and get your tickets, visit www.neccacircus.org.