Prologue

On Martin Luther King Jr Day, January 20, 2025, the day Donald Trump took office, hate came knocking in Ludlow. A flier filled with prejudice landed on porches, threatening the creative haven I had spent 15 years building—a circus and a community that welcomed everyone. 

The Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan warning: Leave Now, Avoid Deportation.  

Hard to believe, or is it? According to MSN “Ludlow Police said in a statement that the “disgusting” Klan fliers were protected under the first amendment but that the agency would seek criminal charges against the distributors if they were identified.”  Unfortunately this was amplified via the Drudge Report. 

Hygeia

The true heyday of exploitation for entertainment started in the early 1800s. While circuses and carnivals had been around for a few decades, other traveling shows featuring oddities, art exhibitions, puppet shows, and clinics for singing and dancing also contributed to the atmosphere of ever-changing diversions.