Circus Smirkus Returns July 8 and 9

Grab your backpack, set your compass and join the intrepid Smirkus Scouts in celebrating the great outdoors, inside the circus ring as the circus troupe takes you over majestic mountains and across racing rivers. Hike the wilderness alongside Trailblazing Tumblers, soar with Alpine Aerialists and trek through the trees with juggling Lumberjacks.

Circus Smirkus, Vermont's award-winning international youth circus, is celebrating 23 years of bringing joy and magic to towns all over New England. This summer, the traveling youth circus will perform 67 shows in 15 towns, from the mountains in Vermont to the shores of Maine, with stops along the way in new Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts. Thirty teen stars, ages 10 to 18, bring polished skills and youthful exuberance from all parts of the country and the world.

This year's 23rd tour "Wilderness Wonders Outdoor Adventures Under the Big Top" is full of talent and spectacle, with aerials, acrobatics, high wire, juggling, trapeze, clowning, live music and brilliant costumes. Talented troupers will explore the "FUNtier" as Circus Smirkus celebrates the great outdoors with merrymaking, mirth and a touch of magic, in a fantastically fabulous four-season spectacle! Sure to delight circus goers of all ages.

Circus Smirkus returns to the Dorr Farm in Manchester Center on July 8 and 9 with performances a 2 and 7 p.m.