Want one last hurrah before autumn really kicks into gear and evenings are packed full of football and homework? You have just a few evenings left to see Kooza – the most recent traveling Cirque du Soleil performance – out at the Sam Houston Race Park.
You wouldn’t think they could fit a whole circus of several dozen performers into the whimsical tent, but you’d be surprised. Kooza is an ode to what circuses were like 150 years ago. The show features several human contortionists, tight-rope acts, adult-humored clowns and several stacked chairs with one brave soul who somehow balanced on top of all of them.
Note: You’ll need a cocktail or two prior to the show if you get anxious, as I do, while watching someone teeter atop a tiny pinnacle. These performers get high. Way, way up to the spotlights high. I don’t do well with ladders, heights or watching people risk their lives in order to entertain folks. I can barely climb a ladder to change a light bulb… too risky.
Katie Lee, who is the spokes-chef for Clos du Bois, was in Houston for the evening and also in attendance. She mentioned that she also found the cotton candy chicken quite charming. Via Twitter I quickly learned that Jay Stone, chef of the Wicked Whisk (an “anti-taco truck” in The Woodlands), developed the carnival food concept for Cirque du Soleil.
A small world.
Second note: I don’t know that I’d recommend this show for children. This is not a Ringling Bros. Circus production. But I will say that while I was an invited media guest, I would have bought tickets to the show. I truly enjoyed it, with or without the cheeky snacks and wine.
The last show for Kooza in Houston is this Sunday, September 9. You can purchase general admission tickets here. Feeling fancy? You can also rub elbows in the Clos du Bois tent.