Despite Disappointing Turnout, Festival Acts Give It the Old College Try

Sitting slumped on a stool, Mickey the Clown was beat.

Worse yet, after six hours of almost nonstop performances, the sad-faced clown faced the ultimate insult: People, whole groups of them, walked by, ignoring him.

Suddenly, an admirer appeared.

“You know, you’re really great with kids,” she said. “They really love you.” Brightening, Mickey rose on his tired clown feet, grabbed his kazoo and gave one last show.

And so it went Saturday at Moorpark College’s Spring Arts, Crafts and Entertainment Festival, where organizers and performers were disappointed with a small turnout but happy with the spirit of those who did come.

“I’m slightly disappointed at the attendance,” festival coordinator Caroline Paras said of the 700 or so people who turned out. “But I’m also really happy with the performances we were able to get. The entertainment has been great.”

Added Art Ramirez, 41, an elementary school teacher from Simi Valley: “The performances have been good. And believe me, I really don’t mind that it’s not crowded out here.”

The eclectic stage performances ran the gamut from the Rancho Simi Valley Polynesian Dance Troop to a group of five gentlemen called the Moorpark Seniors Troubadour Band. The men, who range in age from 60 to 81, were making their public debut in the country-Western genre, although cumulatively they have more than 70 years of experience playing music.

“Those old guys can really play,” said Jonathan Clift, a 32-year-old rock musician from Moorpark, who brought his 6-year-old daughter. “They don’t play the same kind of music I do, but I wouldn’t mind jamming with them some time.”

Most popular, however, were the animals from Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management Team.

The college, the only one in the United States that offers a degree in exotic animal training and management, gives about 260 shows each year that are equal parts circus and science class.

On Saturday, as Schmoo, billed as the star of a movie called “The Golden Seal,” danced on his flippers for a group of children, his trainer pointed out that Schmoo is a sea lion. What sets the two apart is that sea lions have fully-developed ears, agile necks and strong flippers.

Schmoo was rolling over like a dog.

“This is fun because you can learn about animals at the same time as you watch them doing funny things,” 9-year-old Rebecca Morgan said as she watched a spider monkey gamboling on the stage.

And then there was Mickey the Clown, a 30-year veteran of circuses, including a decade-long stint with Circus Vargas. Mickey, who was peddling a $5 tape of self-penned songs, arrived with the brightly-painted blue bus he lives on.

Although he was tired by the end of the day, he still looked every inch the circus clown, from his perfectly coiffed shocking orange hair to his oversized shoes.

“I get these from Wayne Scott, who is the only authentic clown shoe maker left in the world,” Mickey said of the form-fitting rainbow-colored shoes.

“But every kid thinks they should jump on them because they’re clown shoes. I don’t understand it. What they don’t know is that they cost $300. They wouldn’t stand on their Air Jordans, so I don’t know why they think they have to stand on Mickey the Clown’s shoes.”