The circus is coming to town! Complete with death-defying stunts, acrobatics and, of course, clowns.
From June 20 to 23, Cirque Italia will be setting up a giant white and blue tent in the Cambridge Centre's parking lot for its Aquatic Spectacular, featuring a stage that holds 35,000 gallons of water.
"This is a magical show, one-of-a-kind. You only see something like this in Vegas," said ringmaster and host of the show Alex Acero. "We want everyone from Cambridge to come out and see us perform."
According to Acero, the show follows a 1950s-obsessed adolescent who falls asleep and dreams of living in the distant past as acts swing from ropes, flip over trapezes, and zip by on BMX bikes and roller skates.
At one point Acero even dresses up like Elvis and entertains the crowd with some of the legendary musician's dance moves, but with a comedic twist.
This is the Circus' first time coming to Canada after having performed close to 1,000 sold-out shows across the US.
The Cambridge stop is one of four Canadian shows being performed this summer.
"Cirque Italia’s Gold Unit performers can’t wait to take you back to a time when hula hoops and soda fountains were abundant, Elvis Presley dominated the airwaves, greased hair was all the rage, and street racing was a parent’s greatest concern," said Leah Hryniewick, communications for Cirque Italia in an email to CambridgeToday.
The founder of the circus Manuel Rebecchi is the nephew of Moira Orfei, world-renowned "queen of the Italian circus."
Rebecchi launched the circus in 2012 and has made it his mission to create a family environment, with most of the acts having a sibling or a child performing with them.
"My wife and daughter perform in the show with me. We like to say we are families entertaining families," Acero added.
Acts will walk the trapeze, dangle from the ceiling with ropes and shoot arrows at each other's heads all while being surrounded by walls of water and lasers.
"We just played in Chicago and sold out and are getting excited to finally come to Canada," Acero said. "We really hope that we can entertain the people of Cambridge and get them to forget about the problems of the world for a few hours."
Tickets are on sale now at the circus' website. Children under 12-years-old are free with one paid adult when entering a promo code from flyers handed out in the city.