Photos by Erin O’Donnell

Circus Vargas rolled out its Big Top in the field at Madonna Expo Center with a new 2015 edition of their show, “ArleQuin!”
Let it never be said that good old-fashioned spectacle and visual delights can’t hold an audience of modern youth. Children of all ages were riveted for the performances  — although this generation of kids did hold up some iPhones to capture the action.
The variety show of acts, including trapeze and daredevil performances is loosely tied together through the story of a young boy who dreams of joining the circus  — one without animals in this telling — and takes all of the boys and girls in the audience along for his ride.
The set up is explained by Vargas, now in its 43rd touring year, as taking place “when night falls, a myriad of colorful characters fill his sleep, among them, the magical ArleQuin, a harlequin who serves as both guide and friend and shows him the beauty, wonder and awe that await him under the Big Top!”