Page 25 - The Outdoor Showman OCT-DEC 2024

RODEO NEWS
Shane Lennon’s second daughter,
Olivia, turned 21, and circus people
from all over helped celebrate.
Hudson’s finished its North
Queensland cities tour there,
before Christmas.
During this break, the two Hudson’s
Circuses will combine, for a bigger
2025 production, under a new Big Top.
The other Lennon show, cabaret-
circus Scandalous, is at Southport
Broadwater prior to Christmas,
after a northern run.
Victorian Circuses
Busy, profitable year, with a lot of
hard work, for circuses in Victoria.
Anton and Anna Gasser’s Silver’s
Circus is playing its dozen-plus
sites around Melbourne, with
the polished show the locals
keep coming back to.
Family have taken over the huge role
left when long-time administrator
Margaret Petersen passed away.
Damien Syred’s Circus Royale spent
the September school holidays at
Fountaingate Shopping centre, after
a run of sites around Melbourne.
Damien says it’s been a relatively
good year. He’s got a new Asian
troupe and extra South Americans
in the show this year.
Late in November, in partnership
with Keith Brown, he opened a
Christmas Santa package show
at Caulfield Racecourse, available
again after a two-year break.
Tony and Cathy Maynard’s
traditional Eroni’s Circus is working
Peninsula sites south of Geelong
during December-January.
New this year is Ringmaster Lewis
and aerialist-wife Trimarchi.
Lewis, who spent a couple of
years with Hudson’s Circus, will
tell you he’s “Living the Dream.”
Marty Grant
Probably the best-known of
the current Ashton Circus
generation, Marty Grant, is in
the midst of a six-month chemo
program, after bowel surgery.
He says doctors got all the cancer,
but what’s left is aggressive, so
he’s had to cancel the annual
tribe trip to Thailand.
Now the hard part is to
recover the pre-paid $2,600
in Singapore Airlines fares.
He’s at home on Gary and Lorraine’s
acreage near Forest Hill, Queensland,
while Jane (big party for her 60th
recently!) goes back and forth
to ‘Scandalous’, North Lakes.
Grandfather Doug Ashton was
Patron of the VSG, and Doug and
Phyllis both received the Order of
Australia Medal for their contribution
to circus and community charity.
At one stage, they had 38 family
members at what was then
Australia’s largest circus, and showies
were always welcome as friends.
Webers to NZ
Harry and Marie are taking Weber’s
Circus to NZ, to open in the New Year.
They intend to play North and South
Islands, probably for about a year.
They’re taking the Big Top, but
picking up vehicles in the Shaky
Isles. NZ has always been home
territory to the Weber shows.
Natalie and Rudi’s Weber Bros’
Circus, retired after the family as they
completed their acreage property
near Jacob’s Well, Queensland. Kaden
Urban, son
of Carlos
and Dini
Dental act revived a la Jonaas
Jan Lennon and her seven performers
Set up for an outdoor hire job
THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN 23