July Performer Spotlight - Hole in the Wall Farms

This month we are featuring Hole in the Wall Farms a 501c3 non-profit animal rescue whose working animals and animal shows help support the farm. They are strategically located in the Midwest making them convenient to a large area of the Nation .

Included in their offerings are camel rides, petting zoos, animals for live Nativity scenes, carriage rides and a Renaissance Jousting team.

Hole in the Wall farm provides camel rides for zoos, private parties, Three Kings Day, parades, fairs, festivals, and special events. They have a small herd of camels including farm favorites Josh & Josie who will delight your guests with their affection and willing attitude.

A petting zoo from Hole in the Wall Farm will include all your favorite barnyard critters includes sheep, goats, llamas, miniature donkeys, ponies and more depending on your needs and budget.

The Christmas season is one of the favorites at the farm as Hole In the Wall proudly serves churchs, parishes, civic groups and more a variety of stable animals for live Nativity Scenes, plays, & Las Posada's which are often an annual event that families look forward to each and every year. These offerings include lambs, donkeys and even camels.

Hole in the Wall Farm is also proud to have a team of rescued draft horses and offers carriage rides for weddings, downtown's, parades, historical villages and more.

The Renaissance jousting team from Hole in the Wall Farm can include small shows such as 2 Knights in Armour with 2 horses in caparisons (ornamental cloth bearing the heraldic symbol of the knight) along with 2 squires to assist the knight. For larger shows we could present 4, 6 or 8 knights, ladies on horse back, squires and a herald to help tell the story. The Knights, Ladies and horses are skilled at a wide variety of the Renaissance skills from jousting and lance passes, to tournament games, ground combat and more. This team is perfect for Renaissance Fairs, movie work, fairs, festivals, theatre groups, parades, weddings, & corporate events.

Hole in the Wall Farms has served events and venues such as the Naples Zoo, the Columbus Zoo, the Spencer Fair, Erie County Fair, the Pegasus Parade at the Kentucky Derby Festival, and Renaissance Fairs in Kentucky, Ohio, & Michigan to name a few.

On the rescue side Hole in the Wall Farms rescues horses & dogs of all kinds from less than ideal situations. Those animals who are able can be adopted or put into foster care. If you are looking for a new horse or dog for your family or work please consider adoption.

You may contact us regarding any of the offerings of Hole in the Wall Farm including adoption or fostering of animals. Hole in the Wall Farm is a charity that Marybeth MacKay is also on the Board of Directors of.

June 2010 in Review

June went by so very quickly. This month we were blessed by a few new events and was sad to see a few long time events fall victim to the economy and other unfortunate circumstances. Such is life, riding out the good with the bad.

The first Saturday in June "Big League Brian" Dwyer was invited back for yet another repeat performance for Family Day at Fenway hosted by Northeastern University's Alumni. This is one of "Big League Brian's" favorite events and they are always a pleasure to work with.

We were able to assist Dreamland Amusements with very last minute entertainment for their carnival at the Staten Island Mall. Bringing in the Grimmy Family to present some of their amazing circus acts to the event. The Grimmy Family originated from THE Moscow State Circus, Russia. We had the pleasure of first meeting the family ten years back on one of their first tours with the Royal Hanneford Circus. The Grimmy Family performs many many acts including juggling (which they are best known for), comedy, hula hoops, contortion, plate spinning, the much sought after magical transformation in which dresses are quick changed at the blink of an eye. Daughter Viktoria is an amazing aerialist who know resides in Los Angeles where she is making a name for herself on the west coast while still performing many shows a year around the world. The Grimmy Family is very popular in the resorts of Catskills, corporate dates, circus, fairs and festivals.

Mid June we had the pleasure of sending the enchanting Miss Rebecca Ostroff and her "iron jaw" aerial artistry to the 20th Century Fox production of Water for Elephants a book by Sara Gruen which was on the New York Times Best Seller List. The movie version features Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz and Hal Holbrook it is expected to hit theaters in 2011. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it, although it is fiction the author did a remarkable job on showing the rivalry between traveling circuses, a rivalry that still exists today. Special thanks to Porter Lontz-Underhill who we originally met some time ago on the renowned Circus Smirkus of Vermont for bringing this opportunity to our attention.

Mid June also saw the premier opening of the Amazing Anastasini Circus under the Big Top at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia. The show had an amazing cast with comedy, dogs, cloud swing, rola-bola, diablos and contortion and was produced by Giovanni Anastasini. Gordon went down to the park for the set up and opening weekend to make sure the opening went smoothly. The show was extremely well received by the park, staff and guests.

The final weekend of June we had two attractions at Trade Days in Tennessee which is a festival with a Native American Pow Wow and celebrates Appalachin culture. Chuckwagon Mac, chuckwagon display and storytelling as well as Accipiter Enterprises birds of prey were presented at the festival.

Kitty Carroll of Acciptier had this to report "Trade Days went well. Seasonably warm weather. Trade Days was a lovely site. The Pow Wow really appreciated the presence of the birds. I also go to visit with my cousin who lives just a mile away in Zionville, near Boone." She was also able to point out to the committee some out dated power equipment on their property, which can be a hazard to our feathered friends and was able to leave them with information on contacting the power company to have the equipment made safe by the regulations of the USFWS at the expense of the power company. And as anyone knows with a fairgrounds upgrades to the electrical system at the expense of the power company is as Martha Stewart would say "its a good thing!" both for the birds and the fairgrounds.

The live entertainment industry is certainly changing at such a rapid pace, new challenges include putting on an event with few or no sponsors, re-inventing advertising for the digital age, increased awareness for the need of security and keeping a budget balanced in the slow economy. Change is no stranger to live entertainment but an ever present challenge to keep us all on our toes.