Here today, gone tomorrow

Last weekend, an empty parking lot at Harmon Meadow was transformed with animals, clowns, and trapeze artists for two performances of the Kelly Miller Circus. The event followed a two-day town fair and was one of several fun events planned for families this summer.
A tour guide led a group of visitors around the lot on Sunday morning as they anxiously waited for the big top tent to go up. Kelly Miller Circus scheduled their performances for that day at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The lot soon contained campers and trailers that housed crew members’ families. Ducks, camels, dogs, and a pacing tiger waited to get started. But there was one thing missing – the elephants!

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“That is magic of the circus. Today we’re here, tomorrow we’re in another town.” John Moss
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The elephants – named Lisa, Becky, and Tracey – are 20-year veterans of the circus. But they did not make it in time for the raising of the big tent. This was due to a doctor’s appointment, but it left some Secaucus residents who had made the trip out to see them a little disappointed.
“My little one wanted to see the elephants,” said Secaucus resident Michaela Stranik.
The entire circus had left at 5:30 a.m. that morning from Plumsteadville, Pa., where they had just performed the day before. The elephants stayed behind to undergo a series of tests by the FDA.
“The elephants could not be present because they were undergoing three days of routine tests. We apologize. It wasn’t planned,” said Ringmaster and Performance Director John Moss. He later explained, “We have to maintain certain standards for the animals. We go beyond the standards.”
The circus arrived on a fleet of 25 vehicles and required 90,000 square feet of the Harmon Meadow Parking lot. Twenty crew members put up the circus big top with the help of a forklift.
“The word circus has come to mean chaos, [but] the opposite is true; the circus is very organized,” said Moss.
Traveling with a total of 100 people including families, children, and pets, the Kelly Miller Circus is prepared to go from one city to the next. They are on the road anywhere from 34 to 36 weeks at a time and do two shows a day in a different town each day.
“That is magic of the circus. Today we’re here, tomorrow we’re in another town,” noted Moss.
Adriana Rambay Fernández may be reached at afernandez@hudsonreporter.com.