Circus Hopeful Performs For Burr Ridge Senior Facility

BURR RIDGE, IL — A new college graduate hoping to launch a circus career despite the pandemic on Thursday strapped on jump stilts to flip, skip rope and show off other tricks for residents of memory care community Harvester Place in Burr Ridge, according to a news release. Social distancing and other safety protocols will be observed during the event, which was held outdoors, the facility said.

Harvester Place invited 22-year old Evan Baird to perform to help him keep his skills fresh in front of an audience as the public health crisis keeps circus auditions and performances on hold, the news release said. Baird, a lifelong gymnast from Downers Grove, joined Illinois State University’s student Gamma Phi Circus as a freshman and fell in love with the world of the big top. Upon graduating with a bachelor of science in kinesiology this past spring, he resolved to make the circus his vocation regardless of the current challenges, according to the release.

The fact the Harvester Place spectators have dementia holds special significance for him, because his mother developed early-onset Alzheimer’s when he was 12, the release said.

“Dementia can have an impact on depth perception,” he said in a news release before his performance. “I am planning tricks that will be energizing and exciting, but with patterns that keep them from being visually confusing.”