[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] FW: The Circus: This Weekend - Smithsonian Folklife (Accessible) Events!

Thu Sep 3 16:51:10 UTC 2026

From: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2026 12:32 PM
To: 'John Halverson' <jwh100 at outlook.com>
Subject: FW: The Circus: This Weekend - Smithsonian Folklife (Accessible) Events!

Hey John,

Can you forward this onto the rest of the chapter?

Thanks,

Julie

From: tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> <tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 9:07 PM
To: 'John Halverson' <jwh100 at outlook.com<mailto:jwh100 at outlook.com>>; 'Renee Valdez' <reneerome at yahoo.com<mailto:reneerome at yahoo.com>>; 'Jeremy Grandstaff' <jwg at sgendeavors.com<mailto:jwg at sgendeavors.com>>; 'Evelyn Valdez' <evelyn.valdez212 at gmail.com<mailto:evelyn.valdez212 at gmail.com>>; 'Julie A. Orozco' <kaybaycar at gmail.com<mailto:kaybaycar at gmail.com>>; 'Christopher Christie' <clchristie53 at hotmail.com<mailto:clchristie53 at hotmail.com>>; 'Kandace Haney' <kandace.m.haney at gmail.com<mailto:kandace.m.haney at gmail.com>>
Subject: The Circus: This Weekend - Smithsonian Folklife (Accessible) Events!

Hi,
These are interesting events as part of the Folk Life Festival that you might want to share with local chapter members.
From: Nutting, Diane <NuttingD at si.edu<mailto:NuttingD at si.edu>>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 7:30 PM
To: Nutting, Diane <NuttingD at si.edu<mailto:NuttingD at si.edu>>
Subject: This Weekend - Smithsonian Folklife (Accessible) Events!

Hello from Smithsonian Folklife!

We are reaching out with information about an exciting event happening this weekend (Sept 5 – 7) at the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building in Washington DC!  We hope you are able to join us and invite you to please share this information with your community networks.

Circus Arts Conservatory: Artistry, Education, and Labor of Circus Arts<https://festival.si.edu/schedule?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D206153873>
This Labor Day weekend, the Circus Arts Conservatory of Sarasota, Florida, joins the Smithsonian Folklife Festival with programming that honors both the wonder of the circus and the craft and labor that make it possible.  As the nation looks back on 250 years of history, the story of the circus runs right alongside it. The circus traveled the rails and the two-lane roads, raised its canvas in towns that had no theater, and brought spectacle within reach of anyone who could pay the price of a ticket. It has always been a shared culture, made by working artists and craftspeople and offered to everyone who came through the gate.

The weekend will feature three days of performances, narrative sessions, demonstrations, workshops, and hands-on activities for all ages!  Audio Description will be available for selected performances and demonstrations throughout the weekend<https://s.si.edu/FolklifeAD>. See the listings below for schedule and location information.

Saturday, September 7
Circus Arts Conservatory Performance
(Audio Described) 4:15 – 4:55 PM
See the circus arts professionals in action! Performers include juggler Noel Aguilar, musical comedy group Los Polemicos, contortionist Urnaa, clown Chris Allison, spiral aerialist Emma Clarke, and ladder acrobat Ermiyas Muluken.

Sunday, September 6
Audio Described Highlights Tour
1:00 – 2:30 PM
This tour will feature sighted-guide assistance, verbal description, and tactile exploration of the Circus Arts program demonstration areas—including the “The Art of Circus Costumes,” “The Art of Rigging,” “The Language of the Circus,” and more.  The tour will be customized to the interests of those in attendance and may also include descriptions of ongoing circus performances and workshops located throughout the building.

Circus Arts Conservatory Performance
(Audio Described) – 4:15 – 4:55 PM
See the circus arts professionals in action! Performers include juggler Noel Aguilar, musical comedy group Los Polemicos, contortionist Urnaa, clown Chris Allison, spiral aerialist Emma Clarke, and ladder acrobat Ermiyas Muluken.

Monday, September 7
Marvelous Miraculous Circus Machine
(Audio Described Demonstration) 10:15 – 10:35 AM
Learn about the laws of motion through a larger-than-life, circus themed Rube Goldberg machine! The Circus Arts Conservatory supports educational outreach programs in their community that emphasize principles of STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Audio Described Highlights Tour
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
This tour will feature sighted-guide assistance, verbal description, and tactile exploration of the Circus Arts program demonstration areas—including the “The Art of Circus Costumes,” “The Art of Rigging,” “The Language of the Circus,” and more.  The tour will be customized to the interests of those in attendance and may also include descriptions of ongoing circus performances and workshops located throughout the building.

Sailor Circus Academy Performance
(Audio Described) 3:30 – 3:55 PM
Students from the Sailor Circus Academy perform clowning, juggling, and acrobatics on a five-person bike, aerial silks, aerial web, and trampoline. Founded in 1949 and now part of the Circus Arts Conservatory, Sailor Circus is Sarasota, Florida’s premier youth circus training program and the longest-running youth circus in the nation. Students ages eight to eighteen carry forward Sarasota’s celebrated circus tradition and shape the future of the art form.
Circus Arts Conservatory Performance
(Audio Described) 4:15 – 4:55 PM
See the circus arts professionals in action! Performers include juggler Noel Aguilar, musical comedy group Los Polemicos, contortionist Urnaa, clown Chris Allison, spiral aerialist Emma Clarke, and ladder acrobat Ermiyas Muluken.
Please plan on checking in approximately fifteen minutes before an audio-described event to meet the service provider and obtain a receiver. Additional sighted-guide services may be requested throughout the weekend at the Accessibility Information Table and are provided as available. The Accessibility Information Table is located just inside the north entrance of the Arts and Industries Building (on Jefferson Drive), approximately twenty-five feet to your right after moving through security.
For more information or to pre-register for any of these events, please call 202-633-7488 or email folklife at si.edu. Walk-up space is available, but pre-registration is encouraged.

 Getting Here
The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building is located at 900 Jefferson Dr. SW, enter on the north side of the building, facing the National Mall. The closest accessible Metro stations are the Smithsonian (Independence Avenue exit) and the L’Enfant Plaza (Maryland Avenue and Seventh St. SW exit).
From Smithsonian Metro – Independence Avenue exit: Upon exiting, head east on Independence Avenue (toward the US Capitol). You can access Jefferson Drive by heading north one block at Twelfth Street, Seventh Street, or through the Enid A. Haupt Garden (on the north side of Independence Avenue).
From L’Enfant Plaza Metro – Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue exit: Upon exiting, head north on Seventh Street for two blocks and turn left onto Jefferson Drive.
Accessible parking spaces are available around the National Mall on a first-come, first-served basis. Accessible parking spaces are available, for a charge, in nearby parking garages. The closest drop-off location for the Arts and Industries Building is on Jefferson Drive.
Smithsonian buildings are a location for the Aira Access<https://aira.io/> verbal description service. Visitors can download the free Aira app on their smartphone and speak to an Aira agent (data usage rates may apply if not using a Smithsonian Wi-Fi network).
A full schedule of weekend events<https://festival.si.edu/dc-schedule?trumbaEmbed=?mixin%3D1913398%2c1264472> and Accessibility Information<https://festival.si.edu/accessibility> can be found on the Folklife website.  For additional accessibility questions, please call 202-633-7488 or email folklife at si.edu<mailto:folklife at si.edu>  with the subject line “Accessibility.”

We thank you in advance for helping us spread the word about this exciting weekend of programming.

We hope to see you soon!

Warmest regards,
Diane

Diane Nutting (She/Her)
Accessibility Program Manager
Culture Of, By, and For the People<https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/08fb8bd3c2694d2394d1421106846846>

NuttingD at si.edu<mailto:NuttingD at si.edu> / 202-633-7488

[CFCH]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-potomac-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260903/8c976b0b/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Outlook-CFCH.png
Type: image/png
Size: 20717 bytes
Desc: Outlook-CFCH.png
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-potomac-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260903/8c976b0b/attachment.png>