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<\/p>\nBy JOYELL NEVINS | Uptown News<\/p>\n
Fern Street Circus is taking the wonder of circus and bringing it right next door in their 2019 \u201cTales from Friendship Park\u201d neighborhood tour. The social circus, which is based out of City Heights, will appear in city parks and rec centers from North Park to Lincoln.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re making an impact on a sidewalk level,\u201d said Executive Director John Highkin. \u201cThe circus is able to serve a greater good. It\u2019s community building and community conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Fern Street\u2019s uniqueness comes not just from its performance venue and dual Spanish-English show, but its performers. Look closely and you may notice your actual next-door neighbor \u2013 the circus cast is a combination of 10 adult professionals, and 30 local kids who have been training year-round. The youth performers range in age from 6 to 16 and exhibit a variety of skills, from tightrope to stilts to contortion.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning of the show to the end of the run, there\u2019s a helluva change in that kid,\u201d ringmaster Memo Mendez noted.<\/p>\n
Mom Marcela Mercado has seen that change firsthand. Her children Mayte, Mia and Marlon have dove into the circus for the last three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir self-esteem is much, much better,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve also learned techniques to problem-solve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teaching children to problem-solve in a healthy way and explore where they fit is one of the avenues where Fern Street shines. Although there are 30 performers, nearly double that number can be found in the Mid-City Gym during their triweekly training sessions. Kids are welcome to come in, investigate different elements of circus, and see where they best fit: discover their passion.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey get to try everything first. When we get to tour season, they choose an affinity,\u201d said freelance wire (tightrope) walker Erica Saben (see her 14-foot-high walk at this year\u2019s tour!). \u201cThere\u2019s no pressure, and it\u2019s not competitive. We leave the option open \u2013 if they really want to go for it, they can choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what happened to Mayte. The now-12-year-old has developed a passion for contortion. She is already planning for post-high school, looking for universities that specialize in circus training.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me, \u2018when I get educated, I want to come back and give back like [my circus teachers] do,\u2019\u201d Mercado said.<\/p>\n
Generosity abounds in the nonprofit Fern Street. It is manned nearly entirely by volunteers from training to crew. Many parents pitch in to handle concessions. All of the park performances and gym training is free to the audience and children respectively. The goal is not to make money, or even to spawn a new circus generation \u2014 it\u2019s to help these kids develop their sense of worth and see how they fit in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey learn they are capable and special,\u201d Saben said. \u201cThey become well-adjusted human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendez, who grew up in Los Angeles and San Diego, put it this way: \u201cIt\u2019s really important to connect with something, so the streets don\u2019t eat you up.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mendez, futbol (soccer) was his connection and saving grace. He notes that like sports, the circus gives an outlet for expression, and teaches responsibility and work ethic. But unlike sports, there\u2019s no winner and loser.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s less competition, more collaboration,\u201d he explained. \u201cIndividuals have the opportunity to show themselves, but not at the expense of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students are free to excel as far as they want \u2013 it\u2019s individual growth, but they\u2019re doing it together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s magic in the gym when kids are learning,\u201d Highkin said.<\/p>\n
Highkin, his faculty, and the parents all note that the only limits are set by the kids themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can dream it, you can do it,\u201d Saben declared.<\/p>\n
Why social?<\/p>\n
Fern Street Circus isn\u2019t just a circus show; it\u2019s a social circus. That means, as their website puts it, that Fern Street \u201creaches beyond skills training and sparkling performance to create social change.\u201d Cirque du Soleil has even designated them its \u201cSocial Action Partner\u201d in San Diego.<\/p>\n
On top of the training placed in the heart of their city, shows have a theme and message behind them. Past topics have included the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) policy and government health care.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not a platform for diatribes. The DACA show used the metaphor of animals stuck in an airport, and health care revolved around a clown who broke his leg.<\/p>\n
This year, the topic is division \u2014 how can we eliminate fences and barriers, and solve society\u2019s problems together. The Fern Street leadership determines the overall theme and running story line, and then each performer with their students\u2019 input decides how to incorporate that theme into their act.<\/p>\n
For the 2019 tour, Fern Street Circus is partnering with Live Well San Diego. Two hours before each showtime, Live Well will present a community health fair at the venue.<\/p>\n
The tour runs weekends from Oct. 4-27. To donate, volunteer, or just see the show, visit fernstreetcircus.com<\/a>, follow \u201cfern.st.circus\u201d on Facebook, or call 619-320-2055.<\/p>\n \u2014 Se puede contactar a la escritora independiente Joyell Nevins en joyellc@gmail.com<\/a>. Tambi\u00e9n puedes seguir su blog Small World, Big God en swbgblog.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By JOYELL NEVINS | Uptown News<\/p>","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":254947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Send in the clowns - from City Heights","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}