Flying high with circus stars at the fair

Coronas of Hollywood, Inc. have returned to the Delaware State Fair for the eighth year.

The traveling group is based out of Florida and own a number of attractions at the fair, including the circus, petting zoo, and the Hollywood pig races.

‘Circus Hollywood’ puts on two to three shows each night of the Delaware State Fair. From the set up to performers, it takes a lot of work.

Crystal Coronas has been performing for 18 years. Depending on the tricks, Coronas says time devoted to practice varies; however, it’s especially important for acrobats and aerialists to stretch.

“When they’re learning something, it’s just something they take slow and they have their practice mats out and take all of the special precautions to be safe,” she says. “But of course when they’re out there, there’s no safety nets.”

Crystal’s father Serge Coronas, producer of the circus and owner of the traveling group, says there’s 24 performers in every show on average. Most of the cast consists of family of friends; however, there’s a number of animals in the acts.

“We have the performing horses, we have the performing horses, we have the performing dogs,” says Serge. “With the heat and everything, we’re trying to be really careful with the animals so we’re doing an animal act in every show and then we change some of the acrobats and things, because we have plenty.”

According to Serge, the group performs in Florida shows beginning in May. Around late June or early July, they travel to the mid-Atlantic and New England areas until September.

Crystal explains there’s a nervous aspect with every performance. It’s comparable to how a gymnast might feel, she says; however, nerves go away when they’re on the floor.

“It’s something that’s really in our blood,” she says. “We come there and the first thing you want to do is, you want to ‘wow’ people.”

Each show is generally about one hour long, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

For the complete schedule, click here.