Debuting a new show called, “Masquerade,” Circus Vargas set up its notable “big top” tent in the Valencia Town Center parking lot on Thursday.
From Saturday to Oct. 19, residents can watch the show and the various acts coming from around the world — right in the heart of Santa Clarita.
The tall “Circus Vargas” sign could be seen marked with flags — including the Argentinian flag, the American flag, the Netherlands flag and the Californian flag — paying homage to owners Katya Arata-Quiroga, who’s from the Netherlands, and Nelson Quiroga, who’s from Argentina.
“Circus Vargas brings a new show each year, and of course this year is no exception. This year we have ‘Masquerade,’ so the first part of the show is a masquerade party, and it evolves into all of our amazing acts that we have — the high wire, juggling, clowns, comedy, motorcycles, contortionists, aerial pole,” Arata-Quiroga said. “It will take you through the feeling that you’re in an actual masquerade, Venetian masquerade party. At the end, everybody will join our cast and become part of a masquerade ball.”
Arata-Quiroga is excited to be back in Santa Clarita, calling it a “fan favorite.”
“We have coolers in the tent, so we will keep people nice and cool. We’re excited to be back at Valencia Town Center. We hope everybody can come from far away — after this, we go to Woodland Hills, then to Lakewood. That’ll be it for this tour, then we start next year with a new show again,” Arata-Quirog said. “We’re always in California. This is California’s home circus. We used to go across the country in the old days, but for the last 20 years, we’ve been focused only on California.”
Arata-Quiroga and Quiroga are celebrating 20 years of owning Circus Vargas, taking over the reins from her stepfather and mother.
“This year we have no less than 16 different nations we’re representing with this show. We get new acts, some other acts will go work in other places. We keep some fan favorites like the motorcycle act, which won an award for Fastest Motorcycle Act in the World at the American CircusFest,”Arata-Quiroga said. “Cirus Vargas is still really traditional, but we do keep up with the times. We have not had animals for 20 years, but we do have award-winning acrobats and a lot of comedy. And every year, we try to tie together a wonderful story.”
Arata-Quiroga encourages residents to come watch the show, but to be wary of price gauging from resellers.
“Try to buy your tickets early. Be careful, there are a lot of third-party vendors that try to sell our tickets at triple the cost. Please only go to our website to buy the ticket. The tickets should not be more than between $25 to $90 for the highest price. If you see any price higher than $90, they’renot sold through Circus Vargas.”
To purchase tickets, visit circusvargas.com.
