Peru’s
destination
Fabulous Festivals story by Elizabeth Granger
Peru’s most famous events – its summer Cole Porter and Circus festivals – are returning this year with full line-ups. Cole Porter’s back in Peru. Make that Jason Gornto, impersonating Porter, for the annual Cole Porter Festival. Like many other events, the annual festival was cancelled last year, but festival planners are promising a rousing time for this June, even including a Plan B if health concerns get ramped up again. Festival dates: June 10-13. “It means a lot to have the festival back,” says event director Karl Rosenow. “It has everybody pretty ecstatic. Having been through a pandemic, the community is once again able to enjoy one of the best times this town has every year.” Co-planners Vicki Draper and Ellen Mock say many of the traditional events will return. New ones have been added. Word has been leaking out; the town’s already buzzing. “Cole Porter is our most famous son,” Draper says. Peru celebrates him. Gotta’-go events include the progressive dinner called Cole’s Culinary Courses as well as Cocktails & Cole and Celebrating Cole. Among the new items are a song-writing workshop, a cover tunes contest with a $1,000 prize, and Cole’s Roaring 20s costume party. Bus tours, which always sell out quickly, are returning. “We’ve worked hard to include all ages,” Mock says. Music will span more generations than it has in the past. There’s also an expanded base of sponsorship that includes not only businesses but also individuals. Volunteerism is up. It’s a reflection of 52
traveliN Spring 2021
TOP: Cole Porter memorabilia is prominent at the Miami County Museum. PHOTO: Fred Granger LEFT: Around 200 local youngsters, amateurs who have been practicing since late winter, will put on ten performances during the Circus City Festival. PHOTO: Circus City Festival
recent growth in Peru, spearheaded by Rediscover Downtown Peru. It’s like that with the Circus City Festival, set for July 17-24. Since 1960, July in Peru has been all about the circus. The all-youth circus performance at the Circus City Center teams up with a parade, rides, food booths and more. The center tells the story of Peru’s circus history since the late 1800s when circuses over-wintered near there. The highlight of the year is the festival, when about 200 county youngsters, amateurs who have been practicing since late winter, put on ten performances during an eight-day festival. Several of those kids have gone on to perform with professional circus venues. As with many annual events, 2020 was a no-go for the circus festival. Jenny Cole, who handles publicity for the event, says the absence of last year’s festival caused the town to realize how special it is. Plans are for a typical show, but there’s also a Covid plan if need be. Cole herself was one of those kid
performers; her parents were trainers. “I have never not known the circus, so now I enjoy watching the show through a new person’s eyes,” she says. Two years ago she talked with someone from Lafayette who attended for the first time. “A week later he was still talking about it.” She says that while Covid was hard on a lot of organizations, it ended up being a blessing “because our community has really stepped up in support of the circus.” Also, The Show Must Go On fundraiser, which connected Peru with former performers, raised more than $85,000. “The alumni have been coming out of the woodwork and saying, ‘I never would have been able to do X, Y or Z,’ or ‘I never would have had the confidence to pursue my dream if it weren’t for the circus.’ When you push yourself hard and see the results of that hard work, it changes you.“ Cole and her husband went to China in 2011 to perform in a professional circus. “We took our two kids and shot them out of a cannon,” she says. Those kids are the only fourth generation performers in this year’s Peru’s circus. www.perucircus.com
