The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus spent this past Saturday (September 30th) in Hennessey and delighted kids of all ages during the 2 packed 90-minute shows.
Early Saturday morning the caravan of dozens of trucks and cast and crew arrived in Hennessey and prepared to set up the big top. A team of 6 men started by hammering in 117 stakes to tie down the tent. They don’t use elephants anymore due to the restrictions so a skid-steer had to do the heavy lifting. It took about 5 hours to completely set up the event for the shows. The public was invited to watch the raising of the tent at 9:30 am then got a tour and met Wendell the lion and Dalila and Solomon the 2 tigers.
All of the big cats were rescued from unsuitable homes, nursed back to health, and have been with the circus for many years. The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus, based in Hugo, Oklahoma is on the road 32 weeks a year stopping at over 200 towns in 17 different states. They work with nonprofits in each community to help them raise money for their causes.
Hennessey Lions Club was the host for Hennessey’s event. Tim Riddle, President said, “This is a really good fundraiser for the club and they make it easy supplying us with all of the materials. We help sell tickets and get the word out.”
This circus stops by Hennessey every few years but this year they got to use the newly cleaned-up corner on school property at Hwy51 and N. Mitchell Rd across the road from 4Ts Family Market.
