BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Accordion music, mutant fish and a boat that looks like a pirate ship all mean one thing: the circus is in town, but this show is something all can see for free.
“Well, we’re a floating circus, we travel on this handmade, ramshackle raft,” Captain Jason Webley said. “’Flotsam’ is a term that means, basically, floating garbage… We hope we’re a very charming bit of floating garbage.”
Webley is leading his sixth tour aboard the Flotsam! River Circus. Previous editions of the circus have toured up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Viewers find a seat on the land next to the boat, which serves as the stage, and they can expect to see circus performers from around the world.
Webley told me there’s a loose storyline to every show, but it’s always up for interpretation.
“The basic idea is that we’re in a future that’s not very far away, where there aren’t very many humans, and the world has kind of been taken over by these mutant fish,” Webley said.
WATCH: 'A floating circus': Flotsam! to host free river circuses in Western New York starting Friday
The group will be on tour for about a month and a half as they travel from Buffalo to New York City along the Erie Canal during the bicentennial celebration. Locally, you can find their shows at:
Aug 1-3: Buffalo - Wilkeson Pointe Beach - 7 pm
Aug 4 – The Tonawandas - Gateway Harbor - 7 pm
Aug 5 - Lockport - Wide Waters Marina - 7 pm
Aug 6 - Medina - Medina Canal Basin - 7 pm
Aug 7 - Brockport - Harvester Park - 6:30 pm
Aug 8-9 - Rochester - Corn Hill Landing - 7 pm
While the show is free, the performers will also be accepting on-site donations. Webley told me it continues his passion for street performing.
“This is kind of epic-level street performing,” Webley said. “It costs about $100,000 to do a tour, and almost all of that is raised by passing the [donation] hat.”
