THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 21, 1995 TAG: 9502210026
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
SO YOU'RE headed to the Greatest Show on Earth. Got the Fattest Wallet on Earth with you?
You'll need it if you buy liberally for the family. But with some simple willpower, a little planning and this handy price list, you can set limits before you arrive. Here's what you'll need to know before the show goes on:
The average family of four, according to circus concession folks, spends $30 to $40 once they get through the gates. That typically includes a program at $6, cotton candy at $5 a bag, a Sno-Cone at $5 and a toy at $10 to $15.
If you want a heads-up on what your kids will want, the most popular items are lights: flashlights, wands and swords. The kids wave 'em around once they get inside the darkened arena. The globe-and-elephant light will set you back $12, while the sword and light-and-sound wand cost $10.
Plush toys run from $5 to $16. Sue Rowand, local circus publicist, said she spent $5 on what she considered a high-quality stuffed tiger for her daughter. You don't like tigers? Try stuffed clowns, elephants, monkeys, lions, you name it.
This year, all toys come with a guarantee. If it doesn't work, or if it breaks, call (800) 755-1530 and talk to a real person at Sells-Floto Inc. in Vienna, Va. They will, Rowand promises, do their best to satisfy you, including sending a new toy.
``Their whole aim, of course, is for the patron to have a wonderful time,'' Rowand explained. ``They are very anxious to have excellent products.''
Rowand's personal favorite: a plastic train with animals' heads sticking out the windows, at $12.
Circus T-shirts are probably less expensive than you'd pay for most souvenir shirts. Children's sizes cost $12 and adults' cost $14.
Is the wallet thinning out? Circus vendors also take Visa and Mastercard.
Now then, food. The circus sells cotton candy and Sno-Cones; everything else is sold at Scope's concession stands, provided by Ogden Allied Services.
Popcorn, the biggest seller during the circus, runs $1.50 for 46 ounces and $2.25 for 85 ounces. It is popped on the premises.
Soft drinks run $1.50 for 14 ounces, $1.75 for 20 ounces and $2.75 for 32 ounces. Fresh-squeezed lemonade is $2.
A regular hot dog is $1.75, while a quarter-pound super dog is $2.50. Personal pan pizza is $3.50, french fries are $1.75 A giant pretzel is $1.50, ice cream in a waffle cone is $3, peanuts in the shell are $1.50.
Cookies? Three for $1.50. Candy? $1.50.
There is even a science to buying tickets, which run $9.50, $11.50 and $13.50.
You can save $3 a person by going on opening night. You can knock off $2 for every child under age 12 if you attend the shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday or Thursday, 4 p.m. Friday or 11 a.m. Saturday. The Thursday morning show with the same deal is already sold out.
Children under age 2 attend free, every show.
The offer still stands for a free circus ticket to be used anytime, anywhere, for every child born in 1995. To receive a certificate which may be exchanged for a circus ticket anytime during your child's life, send your name, address, newborn's name and date of birth to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, P.O. Box 39845, Edina, Minn. 55439-9458. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
JANET SHAUGHNESSY/Staff
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB