Southland Summer Is a Circus

Lions and tigers and clowns, oh my! You think your commute is bad: Jon Weiss compares his job to someone being parked on a freeway and getting “hit from behind by another car going 65 miles per hour.” Weiss is a cannonballer with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “Even though you are ready for the impact . . . it’s still quite a jolt.”

Indeed.

Weiss joins other thrilling, sometimes frightening but always entertaining acts in the world-renowned circus, which has stops in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Anaheim. Russian gymnasts, the flying Vargas and Alvarez families trapeze acts, and lions, elephants and clowns will also perform. The circus’s first stop is Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. The “Greatest Show on Earth” heads for the L.A. Sports Arena on Wednesday and the Anaheim Pond on Aug. 4. Show times vary. $9.50-$14.50. (310) 436-3661.

For a more traditional circus under a big top, California’s own Circus Vargas is making the rounds of Southern California. Today through July 27, the circus is in Hollywood, at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. Shows are each evening, 5 and 8 p.m.; there’s a third show at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The show moves to Lynwood from July 28 to Aug. 3. Tickets, $8.50-$18.50; children under 12, $4-$14.50. (310) 898-2079.