The Smithsonian called. We are ready to answer.
For the second time in its history, The Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC) of Sarasota, Florida, has been invited to participate in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, a recognition that speaks to both the strength of Sarasota’s circus tradition and the lasting impression the CAC made during its celebrated 2017 appearance. Getting to the National Mall once is an honor. Being asked to return is a different thing altogether.
This Labor Day weekend, the CAC returns to the National Mall with programming that honors both the wonder of the circus and the craft and labor that make it possible. As the nation looks back on 250 years of history, the story of the circus runs right alongside it. Few art forms are as woven into the fabric of this country.
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Twenty-six kids. One very big stage.
Twenty-six Sailor Circus students, ages 8 to 18, are packing their gear for Washington, D.C. They will perform under the dome of the Rotunda in the Smithsonian's Arts and Industry Building, in front of an audience drawn from all fifty states and around the world. Some of them have never been on a plane. All of them are about to perform for the country.
Three shows a day. Every day.
Our professional company takes the Rotunda three times daily with 30-minute productions built for this moment. Artists from around the globe, alongside Circus Sarasota favorites you already know, including the incomparable Chris Allison. Aerialists at height. Acrobats. Jugglers. Contortionists. Work rooted in centuries of tradition and sharpened for a 2026 audience.
Physics, circus style.
Our education team is bringing portions of the Marvelous Miraculous Circus Machine to the Mall for live public demonstrations. Force, momentum, balance, leverage. Guests will not just hear about the science of the circus — they will watch it happen and try it themselves.
The vault opens.
Costume pieces from our collection travel north to trace the visual history of the American circus, generation by generation. And over the three days, our designers will build an entirely new costume on site, start to finish, in front of the public, to commemorate the weekend.
The work behind the wonder.
Riggers will share their craft in the open, and guests can put their hands on the equipment and learn how it actually works. On the narrative stage, our students, performers, historians, and legacy families will tell the story of Sarasota's circus heritage — its roots, its families, and the community that has kept it alive across generations.
We need your help.
An invitation like this does not come without a cost. Getting our students, professional artists, equipment, and staff to Washington, D.C. requires significant resources — and the opportunity arrived faster than our budget anticipated. For many of our students, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, performing alongside world-class artists on one of the most storied cultural stages in America.
Your donation, at any level, helps ensure that Sarasota's circus legacy — and the young people who carry it forward — are represented on the national stage.
Student Sponsor
$2,500
Science Sponsor
$5,000
Performance Sponsor
$7,500
Event Day Sponsor
$10,000
Questions? Contact Zoltan Karpathy at zoltan@circusarts.org or 941-809-2229
Come north.
The Festival is free and open to the public. If you have ever wanted to watch a Sarasota kid do something extraordinary in a historic and stunning museum, September 5 through 7 is the weekend for it.
And whatever else you do, share this. Forward it, post it, tell a friend. Our students earned this invitation, and we would like the whole town to know about it.
Sarasota has been a circus town for a hundred years. This September, the country gets to see why — and twenty-six of our kids get to be the ones who show them.
