Big Top Fan Has Miniature Family Circus

The circus has always fascinated Fred Canfield, but not enough for him to run away and join one.

It was not necessary, considering that there was one in the basement of his father’s New Jersey home.

“My father was looking for something interesting to put around the Christmas tree and decided to use a train with circus cars,” Canfield said.

Later it was expanded to an 8-by-16-foot layout that in miniature duplicated the big-time circus arenas of the late 1940s. Canfield helped build it.

So after marrying, it only seemed right that he would create a circus of his own. Canfield houses his 8-by-20-foot version in a custom-built trailer he keeps at his home in Fullerton. When he takes it to the model trains and toys show scheduled March 13 to 15 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, the whole trailer will go inside. The trailer sides fold up to reveal the model layout.

Canfield plans to be at the three-day exhibit most of the time, although the moving parts are electronically programmed and can operate perfectly by themselves.

“We wanted other people to be able to see it,” said the computer programmer who has a degree in mathematics from Georgia Tech.

Canfield estimates that he has exhibited the layout 150 times at schools, fairs and shopping malls since completing it 17 years ago.

“I like to meet and talk to people about the circus and circus trains,” said Canfield, who takes two hours to set up the layout at each of his stops. “It’s just a great deal of fun.”

The layout is an adaptation of the 1946 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus with select acts from other well-known circuses. He estimates it would cost up to $10,000 to replace the Canfield Family Circus.

Besides the big top, the display contains 47 smaller tents and 24 different animated displays, including trains, an amusement park, a Ferris wheel, sky gondolas, a carousel, a chair swing, a circus parade, an elephant and pony rides.

Canfield, 52, is a big fan of circuses that pass through Southern California, which he compares favorably with those he attended years ago in Madison Square Garden.

“A lot of the talent is as good if not better than before, and everything has been improved,” said Canfield, who along with his wife, Claudia--he met her on a blind date in high school--have developed a friendship with many of the performers.

They belong to a number of organizations, including Circus Model Builders International, Circus Fans of America and Model Railroaders of Orange County.

She is also active with Fullerton Meals on Wheels and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County.

Canfield is looking for a museum willing to display his father’s circus, which he inherited. Portions have been exhibited at the Children’s Museum at La Habra and, more recently at the Anaheim Museum.

A week after the Long Beach toy show, the model circus is scheduled to be at Huntington Center, a shopping mall just off the San Diego Freeway at Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, March 20-22. Canfield will have circus-related model kits of wood and plastic for sale, but the main exhibit is free and not for sale.

“One man wanted to buy it and take it to Japan, but I want to keep it in Southern California where I can have access to it in case it needs some maintenance,” he said. “I want to keep it here. It’s a link to my family.”

The Trains, Models, Toys and Collectibles Show will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 13 and 14, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 15 in Exhibit Hall 3 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

Showing at the same times in adjacent Exhibit Hall 2 will be Dolls on Parade, back for its fourth appearance in Long Beach. With more than 160 different dealers, it is billed as the largest display of dolls, teddy bears and miniatures in Southern California. One admission price of $5 is good for both shows. Children under 12 are $2.

Laura Upham has joined the event coordination staff at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. She will help plan and coordinate events and act as a liaison between in-house contractors and tenants. Upham previously worked as a special events manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and as executive director of the California Assn. of Public Information Officers.

Gail Stewart is the new director of the Long Beach City College Alumni Assn. She has been a production assistant at KCOP-TV, Channel 13, entertainment editor for the Herald American, and director of public relations at St. Anthony High School.

Gary Cardona, 46, who began his postal career as a clerk and letter carrier at the Artesia Post Office 22 years ago, now is postmaster of the Bellflower Post Office.

Tom Shadden has been elected secretary of the board of the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Council.

Five Long Beach City College fashion design students recently won $300 scholarships in a competition sponsored by the Textile Assn. of Los Angeles. Winners are Kristine Hall and Saraun Finstad of Long Beach, Donna Duke of Bellflower, Martha Garcia of South Gate, and Beth Reisner of Lakewood.

Viet Duc Be has been named director of admissions and records at Cerritos College. He has worked in the admissions and records departments at UCLA and Cal State Northridge.

Randolph Linehan of Long Beach has joined the law firm of Carlsmith Ball Wichman Murray Case Mukai & Ichiki as a partner. Linehan previously had his own firm specializing in the formation and acquisition of international companies.

Donald Chambers of Downey has been elected vice president of the Mid-Cities chapter of the Independent Auto Dealers Assn. of California.

Richard F. Gaylord has been named president of the Long Beach District Board of Realtors. The Long Beach organization has 2,400 members.

Jorge Ramos, a 10th-grader at South Gate High School, has been honored by the South Gate City Council for his achievements in art. Ramos, who moved to the United States from Mexico with his family last year, has won several awards in the past year for posters drawn for statewide competitions.