The Roman circus (from Latin, "circle") was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. The circuses were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although serving varying purposes. Along with theatres and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time. Circuses were venues for chariot races, horse races, and performances that commemorated important events of the empire were performed there. For events that involved re-enactments of naval battles, the circus was flooded with water.

The performance space of the Roman circus was normally, despite its name, an oblong rectangle of two linear sections of race track, separated by a median strip running along the length of about two thirds the track, joined at one end with a semicircular section and at the other end with an undivided section of track closed (in most cases) by a distinctive starting gate known as the carceres, thereby creating a circuit for the races. The Circus of Maxentius epitomises the design.

Coordinates: 44°22′23.78″N 73°13′56.08″W / 44.3732722°N 73.2322444°W / 44.3732722; -73.2322444 The Circus Building is an exhibit building at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. It houses a collection of circus posters, Gustav A. Dentzel Carousel animals, and elaborately carved miniature circuses, including those by Roy Arnold and Edgar Kirk.

In the 1950s the Museum conceived of the design for the Circus Building, completed in 1965, to meet the requirements of exhibiting the five-hundred-foot-long Roy Arnold miniature circus. Traversing the grand hallway of the large horseshoe-shaped, spruce and cedar structure gives the impression of walking through the entire concourse of a circus parade. Outside, the large boulders that form the building’s foundation accentuate the structure’s dramatic shape and serve as the backdrop for the Daylily Garden, planted in 2008.

Although the carousel was invented in Europe it reached its fullest development in the United States between 1870 and 1930. during this time, elaborate carousels became fixtures of the new city parks built for a public with increasing amounts of leisure time and disposable income. Hundreds of park carousels were built by highly skilled woodcarvers and painters while an even greater number of smaller, portable carousels were made for use at country fairs and carnivals.

Travis Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends. For 2011, Pastrana has partnered with NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. He planned to drive the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for 7 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, but after an accident, his Nationwide Series debut was delayed until 2012.

He was born on October 8, 1983 at 12:20 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland to parents Robert and Debby Pastrana. His uncle, Alan, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the University of Maryland, which Travis Pastrana also attended. On June 11, 2003, 19-year old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland.

Pastrana has won two motocross racing championships: the 2000 A.M.A. 125cc National championship, the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship, and the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational. Pastrana also raced in the 2000 Motocross des Nations. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2002. His stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track. Although Pastrana has never won a 250cc race, his kindness to the fans and love of the sport still makes him one of the most popular riders of all time. Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and remains fiercely loyal to the brand. He races with Team Cernic's Suzuki. All of his motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199. He even sponsors a Monster Jam truck called Pastrana 199, and Nitro Circus after the TV show on MTV.

Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and stunt performer, most commonly associated as a co-creator and cast member on the MTV reality series Jackass.

Knoxville was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Lemoyne and Philip Clapp. Phillip Clapp, Knoxville's father, worked as a car salesman.

Knoxville credits a copy of Jack Kerouac's On the Road given to him by his cousin, country singer/songwriter Roger Alan Wade, with giving him the acting bug. After graduating from South-Young High School in 1989 in Knoxville, he moved to California to become an actor, and at first appeared in commercials and as an extra. Not getting the big break he had hoped for, he began writing and pitching article ideas to various magazines. An idea to test self-defense equipment on himself was picked up by the Jeff Tremaine-helmed skateboarding magazine Big Brother, and the stunts were filmed and included in Big Brother's Number Two video.

Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor, film producer, dancer, and former model, best known for his roles in Step Up (2006), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Dear John (2010), The Vow (2012), and 21 Jump Street (2012). He has also appeared in films such as Coach Carter (2005), She's the Man (2006), A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), and Fighting (2009). While mostly known for his dramatic performances in Dear John and The Vow, he has since ventured into more comedic roles.

Tatum was born and raised in Cullman, Alabama. His mother, Kay (née Faust), is an airline worker, and his father, Glenn Tatum, worked in construction. His ancestry includes Irish, French and Native American. Tatum's family moved to Mississippi when he was six, and he grew up in the bayous near the Mississippi River, where he lived in a rural setting.

Tatum was athletic while growing up, playing football, soccer, track, baseball, and performing martial arts; he has said that "girls were always [his] biggest distraction in school." As a child, he practiced wuzuquan kung fu under the lineage of 10th dan Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong. Tatum spent most of his teenage years in the Tampa, Florida area and initially attended Gaither High School before going to Tampa Catholic High School. He graduated in 1998 and was voted most athletic. Afterward, Tatum attended Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia on a football scholarship, but dropped out. He returned home and started working odd jobs. US Weekly reported that around this time Tatum began working as a stripper at a local nightclub, under the name "Chan Crawford." In 2010, he told an Australian newspaper that he would like to make a movie about his experiences as a stripper. He later moved to Miami, where he was discovered on the street by a model talent scout.