“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…”

This past weekend, ISU students, community residents and children watched the oldest collegiate circus shock and amaze.

The Gamma Phi Circus’ annual spring performance marked their 80th annual show, featuring new acts and classic favorites.

The opening act, featuring a one-of-a-kind bulletproof glass wall sandwiched between two trampolines had performers running up the wall, high fiving one another and caused children to ask if Spider-Man was performing.

The circus, which held three performances over the weekend, showcased the talents of the ISU performers as well as the Junior Gamma Phi Circus from Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School.

“It’s great to have a younger group of kids performing in our circus because it shows the audience what potential there is and that they share the same interests we do,” Jasmine Yu, freshman elementary education major, said.

Many students were able to experience Friday’s show free of cost thanks to the Student Government Association, who gave out 400 tickets for students and a guest or sibling visiting for Sibling Weekend.

According to Emily Gorman, sophomore special education major, after learning about the free tickets, the circus seemed like a great way to spend a Friday night with her visiting sister.

“My friend holds a position on the SGA board, so he told us [about the free tickets] and it’s Sibling Weekend, so we thought it would be a fun way to go out on a Friday,” Gorman said.

For those involved in the circus, including Yu, finally getting the chance to wow both families and their peers was a great feeling.

“I’m proud to be performing for everyone that has come to see our show. It’s a great feeling to be able to awe people with what you enjoy doing and performing,” Yu said.

The honor of the weekend was the Matt Honn Award, a service-based award voted on by students in the circus that chooses who they believe put in great work and effort for the organization in terms of service and volunteering.  

Nena Woo, senior public relations major, and president of the Gamma Phi Circus, was this year’s recipient. Woo, who was unable to perform due to injury, also serves as public relations intern for the circus.

“When I received [the award], I felt really honored to be among those people with that title. I have spent a lot of time with the organization, as an intern and as a student. I have wanted to volunteer my time. I was just very flattered that my 70 peers thought that I deserved it,” Woo said.  

According to Yu, watching the hard work and dedication put in by Woo has been very motivational.

“She is a great inspiration for me as well as others; a hard worker, a friendly being, and a great person overall that makes me fortunate to know such a person as her,” Yu said.

Some of the highly talked about acts involved the tight rope, the aerial acts and even a balancing act involving a little dog that wowed the entire audience.

According to Bryan Hess, senior elementary education major, attending the circus was just another check off of his ‘ISU Bucket list,’ as graduation nears.

“I’d love to go out and jump on the trampoline, but I don’t think I could hit the wall,” Hess said.

For Margaret Burke, freshman undeclared major and a loyal supporter and volunteer passing out programs, just being in the circus atmosphere was exciting.

“My favorite part about it is seeing all the smiles; everyone’s really just been waiting for it and here it is and it’s better than we could’ve ever imagined,” Burke said.

With amazing acts and happy crowds, the Gamma Phi Circus was able to end the year with a spring show that put smiles on the faces of kids of all ages, and the support within the organization shined through.

“I’m very thankful that I have such close friends in this organization that care for me, and I want them to know I am very proud of them and I’m proud to be part of an organization that is so supportive of each other,” Woo said.