2023 Circus historical society convention PROGRAM
The Circus Historical Society will hold its 2023 Convention from Thursday, August 24 through Sunday, August 27 in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, home of Illinois State University’s Milner Library and Gamma Phi Circus, the Sweet Corn Circus, and more.
Click here to view registration, hotel, and transportation information.
Convention Program
Use the dropdown menus below to view the daily program. This program is subject to change as we finalize the agenda. Full speaker bios are available in the printed program.
The seminars, auction, and some other convention activities will be held in the Town Council Chambers in Uptown Station which is directly across the street from the Hyatt Place hotel.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
6:00 - 10:00 A.M. - Free Breakfast (for registered hotel guests only), Hyatt Place
10:00 - 11:00 A.M. - CHS Board of Trustees Meeting (Trustees only), Uptown Station Board Room
11:00 - 5:00 P.M. - Registration desk, Sales room, and Silent Auction previews open Uptown Station 4th Floor Hallway and Multi-Purpose Room
Noon - 1:00 P.M. - Lunch on your own Nearby restaurants
Speakers and Presentations: Uptown Station Council Chambers
1:00 P.M. - Welcome and Opening Remarks, Bruce Hawley,President, Circus Historical Society
1:15 P.M. - Keynote Address by Kenneth Feld, Chair & CEO, Feld Entertainment Reimagining The Greatest Show On Earth Interview by Chris Berry, CHS Vice President
2:00 P.M. - The Circus Goes to the Fair, Wayne McCary, Interview by Bruce Hawley, CHS President
2:45 P.M. - Afternoon Break (15 minutes)
3:00 P.M. - How the Big Show Moved in the 1920s, Jerry Severson
3:30 P.M. - Circus Spool Trucks: Gone But Not Forgotten, Don Kowell
4:00 P.M. - The Scrapbooks of Flying Fisher, Clyde Noble,Illinois State University Milner Library, Steve Gossard
4:30 P.M. - Annual Report to the Membership, Bruce Hawley, CHS President
5:00 - 7:00 P.M. - Dinner on your own Nearby restaurants
Infotainment: Normal Theater
7:00 - 9:00 P.M. - Circus Historical Society Goes to the Movies! Screening of the short film Circus Person (2020) by Britt Lower, rare 1930s footage of Art Concello and others practicing in Bloomington’s Ward Barn and performing at their YMCA Circus with commentary by Maureen Brunsdale, and Trapeze (1956) with commentary by Steve Gossard and Chris Berry.
Friday, August 25, 2023
6:00 - 10:00 A.M. - Free Breakfast (for registered hotel guests only), Hyatt Place
8:00 A.M. - Noon - Registration desk, Sales room, and Silent Auction previews open Uptown Station 4th Floor Hallway and Multi-Purpose Room
Speakers and Presentations: Uptown Station Council Chambers
8:00 A.M. - Administrative Announcements Bruce Hawley, CHS President
8:15 A.M. - Architecture of the Circus, Robert Goldsack
8:45 A.M. - Making a 1920s-era Circus Concession Tent, Devin Jernigan
9:15 A.M. - Break (15 minutes)
9:30 A.M. - Stone, Water, and Ink: Poster Printing in the 19th Century, Morgan Price
10:15 A.M. - Adolph Friedlander Circus Posters, Gerard and Jeanne-Yvonne Borg
10:45 A.M. - Break (15 minutes)
11:00 A.M. - Hidden Stories, Ralph Pierce
11:30 A.M. - Administrative Announcements Bruce Hawley, CHS President
Noon - 1:00 P.M. - Travel to ISU Campus & Lunch on Your Own Bone Student Center restaurants (Click here for a list)
Milner Library Presentations and Exhibits
1:00 - 2:00 P.M. Visit the Dave & Mary Jane Price Clyde Beatty Exhibit First Floor and The Special Collections Sixth Floor
2:00 - 2:30 P.M. Artist Talk by Yetti Frankel: Big Apple Circus-related Art Second Floor
2:30 - 3:00 P.M. Visits to Floors Three - Six Wardrobe displayed on Floor Three, Joan of Arc spec materials displayed on Floor Four, Joe Taggart-related model prep materials on Floor Five, Posters and more on Floor Six
3:00 - 4:00 P.M. Dean's Comments and Reception With brief presentation by Aíne Norris, 2022 Circus and Allied Arts Collection Fellowship Awardee, Sixth Floor
4:00 - 5:30 P.M. Travel Back to Hyatt Place / Break
Annual Banquet: Hyatt Place Banquet Room
Important Banquet Update As of August 1, registrations have reached the seating capacity of the ballroom where the annual banquet will be held. CHS will notify any new registrants after this number to make them aware of the capacity limitation. For those who register after this capacity has been met, CHS will reserve tables at Medici’s Restaurant (one block from the Convention hotel). Each of those registrants will receive a $50 gift certificate to Medici’s plus an autographed copy of our banquet speaker’s new book about Arthur Concello In the Shadow of the Big Top: The Life of Ringling’s Unlikely Savior. This capacity issue only impacts the banquet. Thank you for your understanding and your support.5:30 - 6:00 P.M. Cocktails (cash bar opens at 5:30 P.M.)
6:00 P.M. Banquet and Featured Speaker, Maureen Brunsdale Spotlight on ... Antoinette Concello
9:00 P.M. Attendees may gather informally at the Hyatt Place bar and outdoor deck
Saturday, August 26, 2023
6:00 - 10:00 A.M. - Free Breakfast (for registered hotel guests only), Hyatt Place
8:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. - Registration desk, Sales room, and Silent & Live Online Auction previews open Uptown Station 4th Floor Hallway and Multi-Purpose Room
Speakers and Presentations: Uptown Station Council Chambers
8:00 A.M. - Administrative Announcements, Bruce Hawley, CHS President
8:15 A.M. - Doing Business in the Road Office of the Great American Circus 1991-92, Dorita Estes
8:45 A.M. - Gamma Phi Circus: 95 Years of Tradition, Rainie Themer Bosquet
9:15 A.M. - Break (15 minutes)
9:30 A.M. - The Foundation of American Circus & Democracy: 1820s-1870s, Dave Carlyon
10:15 A.M. - Break (15 minutes)
10:30 A.M. - Wardrobe of Wonders! The History & Culture of Circus Costumes, Jenny Leigh DuPuis
11:15 A.M. - Outsiders in Demand: Chinese and Japanese Immigrant Performers, Angela Yon
11:45 A.M. - Administrative Announcements, Bruce Hawley, CHS President
Sweet Corn Circus Festival & Gamma Phi Circus PerformancesNoon - 5:00 P.M.
Lunch on your own Nearby restaurants and food trucks
Enjoy the festival activities!
Optional visit to McLean County Museum of History circus exhibit
Optional visit to the Normal Theatre: At 1:00 P.M there will be a showing of the classic 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth. Running time 152 minutes. Tickets are $7. The historic Normal Theatre is an authentically restored 1937 Art Moderne cinema located in the heart of Uptown Normal, Illinois. Another screening will take place at 7:00 P.M. Sunday.
5:00 - 6:30 P.M. Dinner on your own
CHS Silent and Online Auctions: Uptown Station Council Chambers
About the Auctions
There will be a Silent Auction and a Live Online Auction. Silent Auction items are only available for preview and bids for CHS Convention attendees. To view and bid on Silent Auction items, please register for and attend Convention 2023.
We are excited to partner with Freedom Auction Company for our Live Online Auction at Convention, where bids will be accepted from in-person attendees and live online via the partner website, phone, or proxy. The auction catalog and information on in-person and live online bidding is available via LiveAuctioneers. Pre-bidding is open now!
6:30 P.M. Silent Auction closes and winners notified
7:00 - 9:30 P.M. CHS Live Online Auction
9:30 P.M. End of Convention
Optional / On Your Own option for Sunday, August 27: Visit the final resting places at Parkhill and Evergreen Cemeteries and/or Concello sites.