Big Apple Circus May Not Return To Peabody Next Year

PEABODY, MA — The Daily Item is reporting that the Big Apple Circus's recently concluded, five-week run in Peabody may be a one-time visit. Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said officials with the company were disappointed that it did not draw more customers from Metrowest and the south shore. In a statement, Big Apple CEO Gregg Walker would not commit to returning to Peabody, noting his company had only signed a one-year-lease with officials to set up for a five-week stay in the Northshore Mall parking lot.

"Boston is our second home, and we can’t wait to return to the Boston area," Walker told the newspaper. "We’d be grateful if we had the opportunity to have as great an experience as we had in Peabody."

Big Apple Circus has made annual stop in Massachusetts for most of the past 30 years. After several years at City Hall Plaza in Boston, the circus moved to Assembly Row in Somerville last year. Big Apple did not come to Boston in 2017, when the company was in bankruptcy proceedings. The circus was saved by an investor group led by Dr. Neil Kahanovitz, who had been a performer in the circus while he was in medical school.

For more on this story, see the Daily Item.