It's a sunny but cool day at the farmette. It was downright cold yesterday. Quite the change from last Tuesday, which felt like mid-August with the heat and humidity. Very changeable weather these days.
Anyhow. I thought I should report on our grand adventure to the Big Smoke, and the most amazing experience with the Cirque de Soleil.
The drive in (for which we are so grateful to brother-in-law Brian) was fairly uneventful until we got into gridlock on the Gardiner Expressway. There was yet another charity bicycle event that had the Lakeshore closed down so there was TONNES of traffic.
Don't get me wrong, I think fundraisers are great. They could, however, conduct them on the Exhibition grounds or somewhere that doesn't disrupt everyone's lives. Thank goodness we left really early, like 8:30 a.m. for a noon showing.
We still managed to get there by 11:00 a.m., so we had some time to kill at Ontario Place, which is where the big top was set up.
They had a gorgeous back drop set up where you could take group pictures of excited fans. Of course, being not very good at the selfies, I had us pointed in the opposite direction for this one.
Honestly, I felt like a 10-year-old again. I just love the magic of the circus. Especially one that doesn't involve animals, although there was one sequence in which the master of ceremonies had an invisible lion that roared and jumped through flaming hoops. Very inventive.
It was pretty dark, and we weren't allowed to use flash for the safety of the artists, of course. No video either. But I did manage to get a few half-decent stills.
There was a bit of a prelude in which one of the artists threw paper airplanes from high above.
The contortionists came out on this cool platform that looked like a hand. They unfolded themselves and re-folded themselves into impossible shapes. Amazing what the human body can do.
There were many, many acts of strength and daring. One guy stacked cylinders and boards really, really high and proceeded to do balancing tricks on the top. Another pair of buff men flew through the air on pieces of ribbon, twisting and turning like wingless birds. A troupe of trampoline artists jumped high, high, high into the canopy, flipping and turning, tumbling over one another in an ecstatic display. Such JOY.
The music was incredible, and the tiny orchestra spent most of the time tucked up behind the action. At one point, just after the intermission and before the trampoline folks took the stage, they came out to show off. Fantastic.
All in all, it was a stupendous burst of entertainment. For some of the little ones, it was a bit too much. A young mom in front of me as we exited had her toddler over her shoulder - he was completely flaked out.
I highly recommend going, if you can. We've been to several Cirques in the past, and this one did not disappoint. Thanks to sister Sandy for getting the tickets and brother-in-law Brian for driving. We love the farmette, but it's soooo great to be able to enjoy a big, impressive production like this once in a while. Until next week.
Gratuitous cat photo courtesy of the two orange boys. Hobbes and Calvin about a year ago. Thanks for reminding me Pat!
