Eastern Rodeo

There's something comforting and nostalgic about circus folk playing fast and loose with the truth. When a carnie claims the top half of a monkey skeleton sewn to the bottom half of a stuffed fish is a mermaid, you don't think of it as fraud, just fast-talking showmanship. That's why it doesn't bother me that the Artania Equestrian Circus makes some extravagant claims about the horses in the show, including the assertion that one has a bloodline that dates back to Alexander the Great. Along with the Kantemirov family's horsemanship on rare Russian breeds, the circus features a cast of more than 50 performers including Kantemirov Family Cossack Warriors, aerial acrobats, contortionists and gymnasts. Or so they claim. Artania Circus performances are Thursdays through Sundays through July 26 at 800 S. Industrial Blvd. Tickets, starting at $34.99, are available at 877-864-3327 or artaniashow.com.
Thursdays, Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3 & 7 p.m.; Sundays, 2 & 6 p.m. Starts: May 29. Continues through July 26, 2009