Archive for Pictures

Circus Life – By Rick Struve

Rick has given me permission to publish his cartoons on Just For Clowns. Please don’t reprint without Rick’s permission. To contact Rick, email: richstruve -at- yahoo.com

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Circus Life – By Rick Struve

Rick has given me permission to publish his cartoons on Just For Clowns. Please don’t reprint without Rick’s permission. To contact Rick, email: richstruve -at- yahoo.com

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Circus Life – By Rick Struve

I had the pleasure of meeting artist Rick Struve on Facebook. Rick used to clown as Soda Pop the Clown and once ran Soda Pop’s Funhouse which was one of the first online clown websites. Earlier this year, he introduces himself by saying,

Rick Struve

Rick Struve

Hello fellow clowns – it has been about a decade since I put on my make-up, but I still love the clowning lifestyle. Some of you may know me as ‘Soda Pop the Clown’ out of Cedar Rapids, IA – for years I had a weekly online newsletter for clowns (before Facebook was around, and the internet had not blown up quite yet). Anyway… I have recently started creating a cartoon for a local weekly newspaper – the title of my cartoon is, “Circus Life”. It will be appearing in about 2 weeks, but I thought the clowning community would enjoy a little bit of fun too.

Oh – and yes, the main character is a clown, and though he’s smiling… he usually has a sarcastic look upon his face. Please be aware, that I would never make him look bad though… I have much respect for the clowning community! I just figured sarcastic lines come out better when coming out of a sarcastic face…

Rick has given me permission to publish his cartoons on Just For Clowns. Please don’t reprint without Rick’s permission. To contact Rick, email: richstruve -at- yahoo.com

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Circus Life by Rick Struve

Highlights from Circus Magic Convention

Last week, I attended Circus Magic Convention in Williamsburg, VA. I must admit, that I felt the energy level was lower than previous years. I have been going each year since attending my first time in 2009. I almost didn’t go, but when I saw that I had the opportunity to take a two day workshop with Jim Howle, I decided to go. This is one of the stops on Jim’s Farewell Tour and he isn’t planning to attend conventions after the tour ends.

Mid-Atlantic Clown Association Convention

The Mid-Atlantic Clown Association held their 29th Annual Convention from November 7 – 11, 2012 in Harrisburg, PA. This year’s theme was Parade of Stars. The convention opened Wednesday with a performance by Julie Varholdt, aka Lovely Buttons and a Dealers Show. The convention ended with Rock and Roll entertainment by Bob Abdou, aka Mr. Puppet. The convention also included lectures by Leon McBryde, Marcela Murad, Bubba Sikes, Kitty Kerr, Dave Hill, and others. There were a variety of competitions including makeup, paradeability, face painting, balloon twisting, and skits. One of the best features were the two theme night dinners. And I can’t forget to mention the late night balloon jams.

Cherry Blossom Festival Parade

On Saturday, April 14th, 26 clowns from the FreeState Clown Alley, Kapitol Klowns, and Just Clowning Around of Northern Virginia got together to participate in the 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, DC. The parade organizers asked us to have all of the clowns on wheels, so we all found our favorite bike or scooter and got it ready for the parade.

Sir Toony Van Dukes

Sir Toony Van Dukes before the 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival Parade

George Washington Birthday Parade

Today, I (Sir Toony Van Dukes) participated in the George Washington Birthday Parade with several of my clown friends from Just Clowning Around of Northern Virginia and the surrounding clown alleys. We had great weather for February, clear blue skies and temperatures near 50. It was a fun parade.

Sir Toony Van Dukes

Sir Toony Van Dukes getting ready for the parade