TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – It\u2019s lights, costumes and a whole lot of comeback spirit under the big top this weekend in Tallahassee! <\/p>\n
The Florida State University Flying High Circus is back, ready to soar after a devastating tornado tore through campus last year.<\/p>\n
For nearly 80 years, the FSU Flying High Circus has been a staple of campus life, a place where students learn acrobatics, aerial arts, and the thrill of performing under the big top<\/a>, but it all started humbly in an open field back in 1947.<\/p>\n As the United States celebrates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, WCTV and its parent company, Gray Media, are taking a moment to celebrate our local history. Our\u00a0\u201cWe The People\u201d<\/a>\u00a0series commemorates and honors local history in the Big Bend and South Georgia.<\/p>\n Before the circus had its first official tent in the 1960s, performers relied on simple setups and plenty of improvisation. Photos from those early days show clowns walking tightropes and large contraptions set up in open fields, a far cry from the iconic tent that would later become their home.<\/p>\n In May 2024, a powerful EF-2 tornado tore through campus<\/a>, leaving the circus site in ruins. Drone footage captured the destruction, showing what was once a hub of performance and practice reduced to an empty field.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was crazy, like completely flat,\u201d said performer Camilla Dotti. \u201cWe have support beams in our tent that, even when we do take the tent down, you can see them clearly, but nothing. It was a completely empty field; it was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n From that loss came determination. For months, performers trained inside a small hut, never losing sight of the goal: getting back under the big top.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are like having to address all your tensioning devices and all of your cables and locations, so there are all those rebuilds from like a circus rigging standpoint, and we lost all of our cabling for our lighting,\u201d said Chad Mathews, director of the FSU Flying High Circus. \u201cFortunately, we were able to retain all of our show lighting, but all those pieces we had to kinda rebuild and get new measurements for.\u201d<\/p>\n For the performers, like senior Cooper Garrard, every stretch, every climb, every heartbeat reflects what it took to get back.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fulfilling to have stuck around and have been where I was three years ago and then watch everything happen and then be a part of the revival, for lack of better words,\u201d said performer Cooper Garrard.<\/p>\n We The People<\/p>\n The Halloween show is more than just a performance. It\u2019s a return to the sights, sounds, and energy of a real circus. <\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s obviously the aesthetic aspect of like, when you look like you\u2019re walking into a tent. It\u2019s like you\u2019re entering the circus, and you feel like it\u2019s the circus,\u201d Dotti said. \u201cOn show days, there\u2019s also the atmosphere: popcorn, smells, excitement. It feels like you\u2019re about to see a really cool big show.\u201d<\/p>\n Senior performers like Cooper and Camilla are feeling the weight of final bows after college careers that tested both their strength and resilience.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like big shoes to fill, and it\u2019s also been so long without a show. I\u2019m very nervous about what the audience is thinking. I really hope we live up to their expectations,\u201d Dotti added.<\/p>\n Mathews said there\u2019s still work to be done, but the team is thrilled to bring back their annual Halloween series.<\/p>\n For more information about the circus, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n