Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: last show for the elephants

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus XTREME is coming to Washington, DC, and Fairfax soon in March and April 2016. This circus is always an amazing spectacle, so what can we expect with a show called “XTREME?” The producers promise “artists who redefine the word extreme in everything they do, magnifying traditional elements of the circus and combining them with never-before-seen spectacles, original fast-paced performances and incredibly hilarious moments.”  Audiences will get to see beautiful Bengal tigers, double-humped dromedaries ridden by brave Mongolian women and, for the last time, the most popular members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey family: the magnificent Asian elephants.

Circus XTREME  will be at Verizon Center in Washington, DC, March 31-April 3, and at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA, April 6-17, 2016. Circus XTREME also will perform at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD, March 16-27. The high-entertainment, all-ages show features high-wire wizards, spectacular strongmen, BMX trick riders, trampoline daredevils, inconceivable contortionists, a high-flying human cannonball, a bungee aerial skydiving display and an international assembly of more than 100 world-renowned artists.

Again this year you can expect a popular pre-show party that is especially popular with families: the  All Access Pre-show, which starts an hour before each performance and which is free with your ticket purchase. You and your family can meet performers and get up close to the menagerie of animals, try on custom costumes, learn circus skills from the famous Ringling Bros. Clown Alley, and more. You even have the chance to win a one-of-a-kind masterpiece created by one of the circus’s very own Ringling Bros. “painting pachyderms.”  Wouldn’t you like to have a picture painted by an elephant? Ticketholders also can purchase an upgrade and go backstage with a VIP Behind the Scenes Tour of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

The show is also the last opportunity for local residents to see the treasured Asian elephants before they are moved to their permanent home at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation^® in Florida in May 2016. The elephants’ move to Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation will allow the company to focus on its Asian elephant conservation program and the pediatric cancer research partnership with Dr. Joshua Schiffman of Primary Children’s Hospital and The Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Feld Entertainment, producers of the circus, had previously announced the “retirement” of the elephants in the near future, but the official date came earlier than some fans had expected, so if you love to see the elephants, go check them out now! After these shows, know that they will be happily retired in Florida.

Want to see the show? See below for ticket prices, discounts, and a chance to win tickets!

WASHINGTON, D.C. SHOW
The Verizon Center | March 31 – April 3, 2016

• Thursday, March 31, 7:30 pm
• Friday, April 1, 10:30 am and 7:30 pm
• Saturday, April 2,  11:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 7:30 pm
• Sunday, April 3,  11:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 7:30 pm

FAIRFAX, VA SHOW
EagleBank Arena | April 6 – April 17, 2016

• Wednesday, April 6, 7:00 pm
• Thursday, April 7, 7:00 pm
• Friday, April 8, 7:30 pm
• Saturday, April 9, 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 7:30 pm
• Sunday, April 10, 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm
• Thursday, April 14, 7:00 pm
• Friday, April 15, 10:30 am and7:30 pm
• Saturday, April 16, 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 7:30 pm
• Sunday, April 17, 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm

Ticket information:
All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 80o-745-3000, via www.ticketmaster.com, and at the Verizon Center or EagleBank Arena box offices. Prices are: $75 Front Row, $55 VIP, $35.00 (Verizon Center only), $3o, $20, and $15.  Use your Metro SmarTrip Card to save $8 on tickets when you show your SmarTrip card at the venue box office to buy tickets. This offer expires April 10, 2016, and savings are valid for up to six (6) tickets at the $3o, $20, and $15 levels only on all performances except Opening Night at each venue.

To find out more about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus XTREME, visit Ringling.com and follow @RinglingBros on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Win a family four-pack of tickets!
Fairfax Family Fun is teaming up with the circus to give one reader a set of four tickets (at least a $60 value) for the April 6th opening night show in Fairfax! To enter, use any or all of the options in the Rafflecopter app below.  Enter by 11:59 pm on Monday March 28 2016. The winner will be picked immediately after that and notified by email. The winner must reply by 9 am on Wednesday, March 30, to claim the prize; failure to do so risks forfeiture. Tickets will be held in the winner’s name at Will Call at the event venue. Contestants agree to abide by our giveaway terms and conditions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am a Feld Family Ambassador and in exchange for my time and efforts to promote this show I receive complimentary tickets and special invitations. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.