8th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF
INTERNATIONAL CLOWN WEEK AT SHOWMEN’S REST
2007 Event A Great Success!
Through heavy promotional work, detailed event preparation, enthusiastic support from the cemetery, and a great lineup of speakers and performers, audience turnout was at least doubled over prior year, with official estimates as high as 200 people in attendance, as well as reporters from multiple major media outlets, and a few dozen professional clowns.
Official event photo album on ChicagoFunNews.com
Check out some post-event press:
Big story with photo from Monday Metro section in Chicago Tribune.
Short news story Sunday night on Fox TV.
Full Review in the World Clown Association magazine.
Photo Essay in the Midwest Clown Association newspaper.
Brief article on Chicagoist.com.
Tom Young's photos.
Missie Ward's photos.
Check out some of the pre-event press:
Editor's Pick event listing in The Reader!
Editor's Pick event listing in Timeout Chicago!
Editor's Pick event listing on ChicagoFunNews.com
Event listing on CenterStage.
Event listing on CraigsList.
Event listing with photo on Circus Fans of America web-site.
Event listing in Chicago Parent magazine's e-newsletter.
Event listing in Woodlawn newsletter.
Event listing with photo from unknown local paper.
Listings also appeared on ClownEvents.com, West Suburban Clown Club newsletter, Clown Guild of Metropolitan Chicago newsletter, Chicago Catholic University Club newsletter, and other regional newspapers.
2007's event was on Sunday August 5th 2007
Click Here for details about next year's event.
Review of 8th Annual International Clown Week Celebration at Showmen's Rest located in Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, IL on August 5th, 2007 - By Susan "Sweetie the Clown" Hooper
"All people are indebted to those who bring such moments of quiet splendor-who redeem sickness and pain with joy. All across America good men and women in putty noses and baggy trousers following a tradition as old as man's need to touch gently the lives of his fellowman, go into orphanages and children's hospitals, homes for the elderly and for the retarded, and give a part of themselves. Today, as always, clowns and the spirit they represent are as vital to the maintenance of our humanity as the builders and the growers and the governors..."
This is just a portion of the Proclamation for National Clown Week signed by President Nixon on August 2nd, 1971. Thanks to this Proclamation, clowns and performers alike gathered at Showmen's Rest at Woodlawn Cemetery on August 5th, 2007.
On June 22, 1918, the most devastating train accident in circus history happened to the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. An estimated 86 people died that day and as the news of the accident spread, the Showmen's League of America provided a last resting place for the crash victims. Five days after the crash, the survivors gathered at Woodlawn cemetery for the burial of 56 of their fellows in a section still known today as "Showmen's Rest".
The 8th annual International Clown Week Celebration at Showmen's Rest was a great success. There was an initial worry about the turnout because the weather was still rainy in the morning, but when it came time for the event it was VERY warm and sunny. The estimated crowd was around 200 people with about 20 clowns attending. This success was in large part due to heavy promotional efforts, and help from members of the West Suburban Clown Club and the Clown Guild of Metropolitan Chicago.
We received media coverage beforehand in Time Out Chicago, The Reader, ChicagoFunNews.com, Centerstage.net, Chicagoist.com, Circus Fans Association of America, Chicago Parent, Woodland Cemetery Newsletter, and some local papers. We even posted to circus and clown e-groups in the Chicagoland area in encouragement to attend. After the event, we even received excellent media coverage in the Chicago Tribune and a short segment on Fox News.
The ceremony started off by giving all the kids who attended their own clown noses. Followed by the opening procession of clowns and performers to the song of "March of the Gladiators". All the performers then gathered around to raise the National Clown Week Flag and for the singing of the National Anthem. We then proceeded into readings about the history of Showmen's Rest, Showmen's League of America, and the International Clown Week Proclamation. New to the event this year were performances including a poem reading, magic, juggling, and singing of "Be a Clown". The ceremony ended with the clown procession and laying of the flowers on the Showmen's League elephant statue, taking of our group photo and reciting of the "Clown Prayer".
After the ceremony, Woodlawn Cemetery provided refreshments, food, and popcorn free to the public. Woodlawn also had a raffle for the children giving away Harry Potter books in connection with a headstone inscribed Harry Potter. We also provided a variety of games for the kids to play. Clowns and performers did face- painting, balloons, stickers, juggling, stilts and more free for attendees.
A website has been made for the event that will be used for future promotions. Included there are links for Woodlawn Cemetery, International Clown Week, Showmen's League of America, photos from previous years, any media that we received and more: http://performforthelove.com/showmensrest
This event is held on the first Sunday in August yearly. Please join us next year for the 9th annual International Clown Week Celebration on August 3rd, 2008 from 1pm - 3pm at Showmen's Rest located in Woodlawn Cemetery, Forest Park IL. The event is absolutely free and fun for all ages.
This website provided courtesy of Susan Hooper - "Not Your Ordinary Clown"