The circus stomps its way into Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — It was a three-ring circus in motion, but without a tent.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Parade and Elephant Walk traversed The Gateway area early Wednesday afternoon to herald their upcoming five days of Barnum's "FUNundrum!" circus, which runs through Sunday at the EnergySolutions Arena.

This "once-in-a-lifetime event" celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the legendary P.T. Barnum, considered the "Greatest Showman on Earth."

Seven members of Salt Lake City's motorcycle police squad led the 10-minute circus parade through several blocks of The Gateway.

A float with the circus ringmaster and three girls followed and then various troupes of circus performers went by. There was a unicycle, some clowns, jugglers and several men on tall stilts.

Next, there was a horse, nine ponies, a Watusi cow, two llamas and finally what everyone wanted — six elephants, with three young women as riders.

"I liked the elephants the best," Jameela Coonce, of Salt Lake City, said.

Her daughter, Azlayah, 9, said she also liked the elephants, but "the stilts most of all."

"I thought it was the perfect parade length," Angelia Dulong, of Sandy said. With five young children in tow, the shorter the better, she said.

All of her children unanimously voiced that the elephants were their favorite part of the parade.

However, one man loudly proclaimed, "It definitely smelled like elephants," after the pachyderms passed by.

No one seemed disappointed at the free show, a teaser for the big circus acts. One woman said the parade actually seemed a little longer than last year's version.

By 11:30 a.m., hundreds of people were already lining Gateway streets, waiting. Rain threatened, but did not douse the parade.

Salt Lake police officers and participating stores at The Gateway also gave away free clowns noses during and after the parade. There were also complimentary circus stickers and signs.

During the nighttime darkness Wednesday, a milelong, 61-car train had arrived in Salt Lake with 130 performers, speaking 15 different languages and toting 100,000 pounds of Asian elephants, Bengal and Siberian tigers, horses, ponies, llamas, Pygmy and Nubian goats, plus the rare Watusi cow, all arrived in town.