FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1.  Is the success of the Host directly predicated on advance ticket sales?

Yes. However, there are 5 other profit centers your group can utilize very effectively. Since we travel and move virtually everyday eight months of every year, it is logistically impossible for us to be in every city selling tickets. Therefore, through the years, we have contracted organizations in need of revenue to be our Host in order to sell advance tickets and participate in that revenue. Of course, some people will wait till the day of the show to buy at the circus box office. The Host receives 10% of the box office.

2.  What can a Host realize in NET profits?

Any Host can realize a one day NET profit up to $8,000 - $10,000 after all expenditures are met including the net $2500.00 criterion and the $495.00 validation fee. It has been our experience adults tickets sold represent sixty (60%) percent and children tickets sold represent forty (40%) of total attendance. Advance adult (age 12 & up) tickets are $12.00 and advance children (ages 2-11) tickets are $6.00, with the Host receiving 40% and 25% respectively. The Big Top comfortably seats approximately 2000 people.

3.  What is the $495.00 Validation Fee?

This is a non-refundable closing fee made payable to “Carson & Barnes Circus due with a consummated and signed contractual agreement. THIS IS THE ONLY UP-FRONT FEE NEED TO ENGAGE AS A HOST.

4.  Pursuant to the Circus/Host Contractual Agreement signed by both parties, does the net $2500.00 guarantee (1st approx. 220  + adult advance ticket sales @ $12.00 each) mean the Host is responsible and liable for that amount even if the Host does not sell enough tickets to satisfy the guarantee?

Yes. Unfortunately, this occasionally happens. Settlement is done at 10:00 a.m. the day of the show at the circus facilities. In the event this happens, the contracted host must satisfy the guarantee through the difference in cash and the amount of advance tickets sold. If a host has a problem about selling approximately 220 advance adult tickets, which is approximately 6% of our total seating capacity for two shows, conventional wisdom suggests this potential host would not be a good candidate for this project.

5.  What is the purpose of the guarantee?

The guarantee serves several functions. First, it is a litmus test for both the Circus and the potential Host. Second, it literally separates the ‘curious’ Host from the “serious” Host in terms of accepting the responsibility, third, the desire to meet the NEED, and fourth, it is built-in added economic protection for the circus who actually assumes the largest risk since we are a $5 million self contained nomadic city.

6.  Is your show insured?

Yes. Carson & Barnes Circus and Miller Equipment Company indemnifies the entire event with a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy that includes additional insured, i.e., the Host, show site, etc.

7.  Is the Host responsible for finding a lot or grounds for the show to perform?

Yes. The Host is more knowledgeable about their community and the surrounding areas than we. Most areas from 350 ft x 500 ft to 400 ft x 400 ft will accommodate our operation. We have performed on parking lots, fields, pastures, fairgrounds, school properties, etc. It has been our experience a site procured by the Host will be donated or any fees will be waived or discounted by the owner/board/manager of the property. If a field is used, we ask, in the interest of fire safety the field to be mowed at least one week prior to the show arrival. Any questions? Please call.

8.  Is the Host responsible for clean up of the grounds/facility?

No. The circus is responsible for the clean up of the grounds used. However, we do ask the Host to provide at least a 20 cubic yard dumpster for animal waste and other refuse. Sorry, garbage cans are not acceptable. We are very diligent in the clean up process; however, in the event of adverse weather, conventional wisdom suggests the property will experience tracks from circus vehicles. We strive to leave the grounds/property in the manner we found it, sometimes in better condition relative to refuse or trash. But we cannot guarantee that the grounds will be in that condition with respect to ruts & tracks, or other impressions from our vehicles due to wet or muddy grounds.

9.  Is the Host responsible for city and/or county permits or licenses as well a police and fire protection?

Yes. Again, it is impossible for Carson & Barnes to ascertain and procure all necessary permits or licenses in every venue. It is our experience when a local Host is sponsoring our show, bringing entertainment and revenue to their respective city and county, then concessions by city and county governments can be made. With respect to police and fire protection, it depends on the venue and its local ordinances. Often the respective police and fire departments make their presence known as a professional courtesy to the host. We always welcome their presence.

10.  Is the Host responsible for providing water and how much?

YES. A FIRE HYDRANT! We have a water truck to disseminate water throughout our operation. Therefore, we ask for a nearby fire hydrant for our trucks to access. We need approximately 3,500 gallons of water daily. AND YES….the animals get water and food before anyone else. Please insure the fire hydrant is flushed at least 24 hours prior to the show arrival. Sorry, water hoses will NOT work.

11.  Is the public invited to watch the ‘big top’ raised?

Yes. In fact, we encourage schools, day care centers and the public at large to witness, at no charge, a true unbelievable feat. When the show arrives in the early in the morning, it has been our experience for hundreds and sometimes thousands of people to witness this truly remarkable event. “Children of all ages” are in awe watching the ‘big top’ crew and the elephants raise this massive covering almost as big as a football field. Throughout the years, millions of people have witnessed an empty field, parking lot, or pasture transcended into an “International Showplace” in just a few hours.

12.  What does Promotion and Marketing Support look like? Does the circus pay for advertising? Who is responsible for what?

A partnership between the local host and the circus is the key to a successful promotion and marketing effort. This partnership seeks to maximize the advantages both parties bring to the table. The local host knows their community, can tap the local media relationships and is in the best position to determine what resources to mobilize. The circus has 69 years of experience, works with over 200 communities each year and has developed a lot of materials. The circus provides the local host with the way to obtain discretionary advertising monies, by offering ad space for sale locally, on the ticket backs and posters. The circus has invested approximately $12,000 for each showdate in materials and personnel (ranging from TV and radio commercials, print ads, promotions & contests, posters, billboards, Circus Heralds, table tents, outdoor signs, advance teams and promotional teams that travel to each town.) A step-by-step guide and a 5-set video series directs the way to a successful Circus Day. Two offices stand ready to help in any way they can. In addition a support team visits each town approximately one month before showdate to ensure the advertising is in place. The major factor in advance ticket sales is getting a "buzz going in the community about circus day." Whether that comes from one person sitting at a card table on main street every day until the circus comes to town and single-handedly selling over 2,000 tickets (Delhi, NY) or every business becoming a sponsor/ ticket outlet and buying classrooms of tickets for all the schools (American Canyon, CA) or two Mayor's Proclamations, an enthusiastic Chamber of Commerce, involved businesses, and school site visits (Rockport, TX) the promotional partnership between the host and the circus is the cornerstone for tailoring success in your community.

13.  As a Host, what one thing does Carson & Barnes Circus suggest to make our efforts worthwhile and profitable? (this is the most commonly asked question)

An energetic handful of people, what we refer to as a ‘Core of Four’ is all that is necessary to have a successful and profitable “Circus Day”. Following our proven suggestions, guidance, and leadership, including the professional Circus ‘on-site’ advance teams, a co-operative advertising plan, businesses volunteering as ticket outlets, radio remotes, and Carson & Barnes comprehensive billposter campaign are just a few proven ideas. To be very forthright and candid, our success is directly related to your success. Common sense tells us ‘everyone wants money’; however, ‘want’ often permeates complacency. The NEED for capital creates the DESIRE to achieve it. We want very much for our short relationship to be a ‘win-win’ situation. In our business, as in most, there is no ‘free’ lunch. We have been hosted by virtually every conceivable organization imaginable. Carson & Barnes Circus has contributed heavily in raising millions and millions of revenue dollars for Hosts in venues of all sizes across America that had a NEED for capital and the DESIRE to work for it. Carson & Barnes Circus is a true, proven, tested and successful ‘vehicle’ to raise capital for any Host as evidence by our existence spanning eight decades. No business can sustain the test of this time period with rhetorical written jargon, false hopes and promises and misleading information. We are proud of our heritage, the sacrifice and hard work of so many people, the thousands of organizations we have helped financially, and the “smile on the faces” of fifty plus million people.

14.  When does the Circus need to know if our group wants to Host?

The first group to contact the Marketing office (831.582.4375) and express their desire to host us will fax a copy of the contractual agreement & validation fee check for $495.00 to 831.582.4212. A signed and executed contractual agreement and the original closing fee check mailed to Carson & Barnes Circus, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA 93955 should immediately follow.

15.  What is Carson & Barnes Circus position on PeTA and the animal rights issues?

For sixty-nine consecutive years animals, exotic and domestic, have been an integral part of Carson & Barnes Circus operation. This association with animals does not stand on its own merit. The fact that Carson & Barnes Circus has been inspected on a regular basis for sixty nine years and has never been charged with animal abuse or neglect does indeed stand on its own merit! We are not impervious to the existence of the respective activists and watch dog groups including PeTA; however, the overt daily professional care and treatment for all our animals have been practiced long before the inception of these groups and will continue long after they have faded from the scene.

         1. Carson & Barnes Circus is licensed by United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A). Care treatment & proper documentation of circus animals is strictly regulated by U.S.D.A.

         2. Carson & Barnes Circus is in full compliance in accordance with U.S.D.A regulations & procedures.

         3. Circus animals are under the care & continuous supervision of trained professionals.

         4. Carson & Barnes Circus abides by the policy on animals in entertainment proffered by the National Animal Interest Alliance

  http://naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/policy_animent.htm

         5. Carson & Barnes Circus complies with the Animal Care and Training (ACT) guidelines of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association.

Q. What is Carson & Barnes' policy & procedures in the event of an animal activists presence on Circus day?

With respect to possible animal activists’ intervention on hosted circus days, Carson & Barnes Circus has made provisions for these groups to be heard, as long as they do not disrupt traffic or interfere with patrons. We provide a designated area specifically for these groups to conduct a protest. We also provide trash containers for circus goers to dispose of the unsolicited activist materials before entering our space.