HARTFORD -- The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will perform for the last time ever in Connecticut, at the XL Center.
The touring circus is closing permanently next month but not before seven final shows are held this weekend in Hartford. PT Barnum was a Connecticut native, which makes this weekend especially bittersweet.
For 146 years, the circus has been wowing crowds with breathtaking acts like high-flying acrobats, jugglers, BMX riders, clowns and more.
This weekend's Circus Xtreme will allow people of all ages to explore beauty, flexibility, strength and dexterity in so many different ways. Seeing the most extraordinary performers and a wide array of exotic animals in The Greatest Show On Earth makes this an ultimate family experience.
Performances will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m.
Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said at the beginning of the year that declining attendance, combined with high operating costs, are among the reasons for closing the circus. Feld said when the company removed the elephants from the shows in May of 2016, ticket sales declined more dramatically than expected.
Last year, a small group of demonstrators came out to protest outside the XL Center, hoping to raise awareness about what they call inhumane treatment of animals at the circus. The protesters said they don't want the circus to stop completely. They just want them to stop using animals in their shows.
Just a few weeks prior to that, elephants delivered their final performance for Ringling Bros. in Providence, Rhode Island after animal-rights activists had been calling for an end to elephant performances for years.