If you are looking for a little bit of childhood nostalgia, a night out at Circus Vargas will do the trick (literally)!

**This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy and Disclosures Statement for more information.**

With their all new 2023 theme, Bonjour Paris!, you’ll experience all of the big-top circus excitement with that ‘city of lights’ je ne sais quoi.

Circus Vargas

This circus goes way back, it was founded in 1969 by Clifford Vargas.

After his death, the circus changed hands a few times before being purchased by it’s current owners.

The current owners, Katya and Nelson Quiroga, bought the circus in 2006. Circus life runs deep in their blood as they both come from families of performers.

Although they travel throughout the country, they are a California-based circus.

Animal Free

This deserves its very own special place in this post.

When most people hear about a circus they automatically assume that there will be animals.

Not Circus Vargas! This circus is animal-free, so you can rest assured that there are no animals being treated improperly.

Concessions

As soon as we arrived at the venue, we grabbed our favorite snacks before making our way to our assigned seats.

The concessions included popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, soft drinks, slushies, coffee, cotton candy and more.

The Show

We caught the show when it was in San Diego at the Westfield Plaza Bonita mall.

The circus was set-up in the parking lot of the mall meaning the parking was free (anyone that lives in San Diego knows how awesome it is to get free parking at an event).

We also were able to park just a one minute walk from the entrance.

Despite being a really large tent, the show still feels quite small and intimate.

The ringmaster and his side-kick were entertaining and had everyone laughing in between acts.

The show lasted about 2 hours and had a short intermission about half way through.

The Acts

This circus features more than 20 acts.

Of course they had some of the original acts like juggling, trampoline tricks, hoops, aerial acrobats and more.

The kids were in awe of just about all of them but some of ours included the teeterboard and the contortionist (she is the daughter of the owner’s too!),

The contortionist had some crazy tricks up her sleeve, especially this bow and arrow trick.

The Globe of Death was one of the last acts and was a great way to wrap the show up.

It’s really incredible to watch, especially when there are four motorcycles racing around the globe without a single error – in the dark too!

The wheel of death had my kids on the edge of the seats. It was one of our favorite acts.

On our way out, a few of the performers were outside the tent to take pictures with the guests.

It made for some really cute photo-ops and my kids loved getting to meet some of the people that were doing such awesome acts!

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased directly from their website by click here.

Prices ranges from $19 for seats towards the back of the tent, all the way up to $75 for the VIP experience.

The show is currently traveling California with upcoming stops in Roseville, Petaluma and Corte Madera.