Fern Street Circus Kicks Off Neighborhood Tour With Free Shows Celebrating “Home”

Fern Street Circus will begin its exciting 2024 Neighborhood Tour at Teralta Park in San Diego’s City Heights!

The popular annual tour will include a series of 10 free public performances at parks and recreation centers around San Diego, from mid-city to San Ysidro.

These events will showcase the diverse talents of professional circus artists and musicians from around the world alongside young students from Fern Street Circus’s free after-school program in City Heights and elementary school residency programs in Imperial Beach.

Fern Street Circus Celebrates “Home”

The theme of this year’s show is “Home,” inspired by FSC’s recent move into its first-ever dedicated indoor space at the former Central Elementary School building in City Heights.

FSC previously taught and rehearsed at an outdoor circus pavilion and shared spaces at City of San Diego gyms since its founding more than 30 years ago.

But the theme is about much more than FSC’s new physical home-base, touching on a wider, more universal message as the circus invites families to “gather around its table” for the new show.

As San Diego’s original “social circus,” FSC has always used its performances to explore subjects impacting the diverse communities it serves, like immigration and healthcare access, with poignant and emotional storytelling that reaches across generations and cultures.

“In the world today, as well as right here in our own backyard, many people have found themselves far from home or without a home,” said Catalina Paz, FSC performing artist and creator/director of this year’s show.

“Being able to recover a sense of ‘home’ within community means more than ever. Our show aims to bring people of all ages, cultures, and experiences together to share the joy of circus and help bring a sense of ‘home’ to the hearts of San Diego’s families, one neighborhood at a time.”

FSC is a collaboration of people from all walks of life and parts of the world. While each team member has a unique personal story and definition of “home,” they all can relate to the feeling of comfort, security, and belonging found through community.

It is more than just a physical location, but a feeling of warmth and acceptance that stays with you no matter where you go. That is the vision they bring to this year’s show, “Home.”

Spring 2024 Neighborhood Tour Schedule:

Saturday, April 6                            Teralta Park, over I-15 freeway, between Orange and Park Avenues
Sunday, April 7                               Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive, San Diego 92102
Saturday, April 13                          Memorial Park, 2975 Ocean View Blvd., San Diego 92113
Sunday, April 14                            Azalea Park, 2596 Violet Street, San Diego 92105
Saturday, April 20                          Colina del Sol Park, 5319 Orange Ave, San Diego, CA 92115
Sunday, April 21                             Gompers Park, 4926 Hilltop Drive, San Diego 92102
Saturday, April 27                          Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, 4455 Wightman St, SD 92105
Sunday, April 28                            North Park Recreation Center, 4044 Idaho St, San Diego, CA 92104
Saturday, May 4                             Cesar Chavez Recreation Center, 455 Sycamore Rd, San Diego 92173
Sunday, May 5                                Park de la Cruz, 3603 38th Street, San Diego 92105

About the Shows

As in past years, FSC has partnered with the City of San Diego’s Parks and Recreation Department, Mariachi Victoria de San Diego, and HHSA/Live Well San Diego for the series of shows and health resource fairs, which move to a new location each weekend.

The shows will feature the M.C. team of Grandma and Grandpa (Catalina Paz as “Abuelita” and Lucy Forton as “Grandpa Gordon”), live music, and a variety of circus acts, including juggling, clowning, contortion, Cyr Wheel, tightwire, puppetry, and more!

The global cast includes professional circus artists from Ethiopia, Chile, and Mexico. A core group of 14 students, ages 7 to 20, also help bring the story of “Home” to life.

The shows are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome, and no tickets are required.

Other highlights for this year’s Neighborhood Tour include:

• Free Community Health Fairs – with health screenings, vaccinations, and other community resources from Live Well San Diego.
• Pre-Show Concerts – featuring student performers from Mariachi Victoria de San Diego and FSC’s youngest students from after-school programs in City Heights and South Bay (shows at Henwood Park and Cesar Chavez Rec Center)

Principal funding for FSC and the Neighborhood Tour comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and the CPPS Program.

The “Home” production team includes Catalina Paz (Show Creator/Director), Marcela Mercado (General Manager/Production Manager), Sneha Craig (Operations/Financial Manager), Cheryl Lindley (Costume Designer/Pre-Show Choreographer) and John Highkin (Co-Founder/Executive Director).

See you there!

All Circus shows begin at 2 PM.

The Health Resource Fairs start at 12:30 PM, and the Mariachi Victoria de San Diego concerts begin at 1:15 PM.

Additional information can be found here and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

See you there, San Diego!