Jugglers, acrobats, musicians and hip hop dancers will bring Chula Vista’s bayfront to life Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during Circus in the Park, a free South Bay arts event that aims to activate the waterfront as a public space the community takes advantage of.
Ann Moore, who is the Chula Vista representative on the board of Port commissioners, said events like Circus in the Park benefits the community by motivating people to enjoy the waterfront.
Last September, the Port of San Diego and the city of Chula Vista broke ground on the Costa Vista RV Resort and Sweetwater Bicycle Path & Promenade, two projects that fall under the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan which aims to transform the area.
Moore said the event aligns with the Port of San Diego’s overall mission to create a vibrant waterfront and highlight the cultural richness of San Diego.
“The concept is sort of the idea of performers who will be able to interact with the people there and do things to sort of teach communication skills with the public,” Moore said. She added that communication is not just verbal, it takes on various forms.
Fern Street Circus, a San Diego-based “social circus” that aims to create social change through entertaining, thought-provoking performances, will perform at Circus in the Park.
“We’re part of a national, really international, movement of circus practitioners who see circus as valuable, as being able to see a greater good and being able to be a part of efforts for community building and equity,” Executive Director John Highkin said.
He added that their team of artists and students is diverse and multi-generational, with students as young as seven years old and artists from all over the world.
Fern Street Circus works with around 50 students at a time, primarily in the City Heights area through Mid-City Gym, an after school program. Every year, they focus their main performance series on a social issue during their Neighborhood Tour, where they perform at parks throughout San Diego.
“We have a pretty constant regular dialogues with the parents and kids about what matters to them and we try to reflect that in the shows we create,” Highkin said.
Previously, Fern Street Circus has called attention to family separation at the Mexico border and access to healthcare through their performances. It’s early in the planning process, but Highkin says this year they want to incorporate the theme of climate change in their performances.
“We don’t want anyone to leave feeling hopeless we want people to in some way garner new information about a topic,” Highkin said.
He added that exploring social issues through performance helps artists and students better understand their feelings towards the issue.
Their performance at Circus in the Park won’t focus on a specific social issue because it’s currently their off-season, according to Highkin,. It will feature a variety of acts that include tumbling, tight wire walking, contortion, acrobatics, hand balancing and hip-hop.
The Culture Shock Dance Troupe will also be performing at Circus in the Park. Culture Shock is a hip-hop dance organization and network of nonprofit dance companies that “bring the power of hip-hop to diverse audiences via professional entertainment, dance education, and community enrichment,” according to their website.
In addition to seeing performances by Fern Street Circus and Culture Shock Dance Troupe, Circus in the Park goers will have the opportunity to enter giveaways, get their faces painted and take photos in photo booths.
