Ashland Fall Fest brings magician and circus to town for shows
Ashland's annual Fall Fest will have a barrel of laughs and at least one great escape artist.
The Fall Fest brings back the Joey Kelly Circus for two shows - at 11:30 and a one-hour clown college following after the show.
"We had a great response to the circus last year," said coordinator Wade Middaugh. "We wanted to bring them back for an encore."
The circus will perform tricks and then the little ones will learn a few tricks of their own during the clown college.
"I think the kids will come out with a big smile and have a few tricks to show their parents," Middaugh said. "Kelly enjoys working with young people more than being the star of his own show."
The escape artist is Mario Manzini's Tribute to Houdini at 10:30 a.m. Manzini is an illusionist and world-renowned, according to Middaugh.
He will perform a magic and illusion show at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and come back to the stage to entertain the crowd in his tribute to Elvis at 3:30 p.m.
Middaugh said sign-ups for contests - everything from the pie contest to the 5K run and the Ashland Idol contest - were brisk. "We would like to get as many people as possible signed up by the end of next week so we can be better prepared," Middaugh said.