Last night, my family and I went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena! It was the girls first time going to the circus and it was a fantastic evening. We had the opportunity to experience something brand new to the pre-show festivities of the circus – the Ringmaster’s Zone!

We had the opportunity to meet performers from the show and take some incredible pictures too.  We received the picture above printed out as a keepsake as part of the Ringmaster’s Zone package and had free popcorn too!.

As we made our way through this exclusive area, there were photo opportunities with different props from the show – the Ringmaster’s stage, dress up with performer’s costumes and we even got to stand inside the Circle of Steel and meet one of the motorcycle performers.

The girls loved seeing the clowns and jugglers perform in the Ringmaster Zone and we even saw a precious dog perform and met pot-bellied pigs too. The highlight of this experience was watching an incredible elephant walk right by us greeting fans of the show. We were all speechless!

My favorite moment of the night was meeting Johnathan Iverson – the official Ringmaster of the Ringling Bros. circus!  We opted for a selfie picture to remember the fun! (He’s on Twitter, by the way – @BigTopVoice.)

The Ringmaster’s Zone experience is available at shows across the country with only 100 tickets sold for each show. It’s an additional $35 per person and available with any ticket purchase. The area is open one hour before showtime. It’s a great way to upgrade your circus experience and your children will be thrilled to become a part of the pre-show fun!

Northeast Florida Performance Schedule

Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, January 17, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Get Your Tickets!

Tickets are available at www.ringling.com orwww.ticketmaster.com, at any Ticketmaster outlet, by calling 800-745-3000, or at the Arena ticket office.

** My family and I received tickets to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, along with passes to experience the new Ringmaster’s Zone. Thoughts and opinions are my own. **