It’s going to be a circus in South County when Circus Vargas rolls into town Feb.8 through Feb. 19 at Westfield Plaza Bonita, 3030 Plaza Bonita Road.
The National City stop is the second to last stop in San Diego County after brief stays at Del Mar Fairgrounds, and Westfiled Mission Valley.
“We consider ourselves California’s own circus,” said Katya Quiroga, executive vice president of Circus Vargas and a co-owner.
She said the circus travels up and down the state for 10 months out of the year.
For its 49th anniversary, Circus Vargas has a new production called “Dreaming of Pirates,” which features daredevils, flying trapeze artists, jugglers, contortionists, comedians, clowns, motorcycles in a cage and acrobats.
The story is about a young boy who has to be a clown in a circus but really dreams of becoming a pirate one day.
“A lot of kids dream of being a pirate so this story is kind of the dream of every child,” Quiroga said.
Throughout the boy’s voyage he encounters pirates, clowns, motorcycles in a cage, acrobats and many more adventures. Quiroga said there is not much talking in the show as it is heavy on live action performances.
The story hosts about 30 performers from all over the world from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico and Chile.
Before the show, there will be an opportunity for kids to learn circus skills such as juggling, balancing and an opportunity to meet the cast and performers.
Quiroga said animals are not a part of their production and have not been been for the past nine years, setting a trend in the industry.
Since it’s been without animals Circus Vargas has transitioned to a human performance circus.
“(Without animals), We have created a story line to make it more interactive for kids and adults,” Quiroga said. “We felt like we were able to create a better production, a more entertaining production if we could focus on what people really want to see. We want to create a circus where people can have fun and not worry about what is going on with the animals.”
Quiroga said the National City stop is always an enjoyable one.
“We get a lot of good crowds there,” she said. The people in National City know what to expect from us and we try not to disappoint by bringing a good show.”
SHOWTIMES
Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m. & 7:30 pm; Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p..m and 6:30 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 13 No Performance; Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 18 at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
