Shriners Circus Brings Smiles To Many
The elephants got some cooling off during the high temps Oskaloosa and the area were dealing with
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Shriner Circus made it’s way to Oskaloosa and the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds Thursday evening, with a full 3 rings of activity.
The Shriners have been holding circus’s for many years, but the Kaaba Shriners of Iowa brought them back to this area 3 years ago.
The circus acts included many talents, animals including elephants, and comedic clowns to entertain those in attendance. Shriners made sure to help kids that wanted to come to the circus to have the opportunity to do so. This included those who might not normally have the means to do so, such as low income families and others on fixed incomes.
“This is one of the ways we get out there, we like to help kids so it’s great to have this kind of event.” Todd Gullickson of the Shriners said of their circus at the fairgrounds.
“There are 4 Shrine Centers in Iowa. Kaaba, we have our office in Davenport, we’re kind of the Southeastern part of Iowa. We are a fraternity, Kaaba of Shriners, and we also operate a transportation fund for children to our Shrine Hospitals.” Gullickson explained of the local Shriners and their region here in Iowa.
Stunts and thrills were just part of the show at the Shriners Circus in Oskaloosa
“This is a fundraising event for Kaaba Shriners and the efforts are being put on by the Oskaloosa Shrine Club, here locally.” Gullickson stated about why they put on events like this around the state.
Everyone recognizes a Shriner by their hat. Gullickson says that two gentlemen by the names of Flemming and Florence, that were a couple of Masons that had met at Knickerbocker Cottage during the 1870’s, started it all. They had just returned from a trip to the Middle East and they thought it was a playful and fun atmosphere and themed all the different things around it after that trip. “It has nothing to do with religion or anything else, it just has to do with that fun and playful nature.” Gullickson said about how they, the Shriners, got their start. In order to become a Shriner, one must have been a Master Mason first. You can become a Mason by asking a Mason to walk you through what it is to become a Mason. “It’s just a further group of Masons that get together for fun and [for the] purpose of helping kids.” he further explained.
If your interested in donating to the Shriners so they can continue to help kids, you can contact any of their offices or visit their website: http://www.kaabashrine.net/. The Shriners say that you can also donate directly to their hospitals as well, and their other charity is their local transportation fund for getting kids back and forth to the Shriners Hospital.
The Shriners contracted this particular Shriners Circus for 6 days. Their stops included: Burlington, Keokuk, Oskaloosa, Eldon, and Davenport. The final two days of the circus, in Davenport, will be on Saturday and Sunday.
Coming up later this month will be the 39th Annual Iowa Shrine Bowl, to benefit the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. July 23, 2011 at Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State University. Tickets are $10.00 in advance or $15.00 at the door. Children six and under are admitted for free.
