Big Top Parade
& Circus Celebration
June 14, 2025
Downtown Baraboo
Set for Flag Day, Baraboo’s Big Top Parade will be a star-spangled celebration! Nearly 90 parade entries – from marching bands to clowns to community floats – will delight thousands of spectators along the streets of downtown Baraboo. “We wanted to follow the theme of Circus World’s 2025 big top show, which is ‘Holidays!’” said Nanci Jenks, co-chair of the Big Top Parade Committee. “Because our parade date coincides with Flag Day, we decided to celebrate America.”
WEEKEND: Festivities begin with the June 12 installment of Concerts on the Square, which will feature Professor Stich’s Original Circus Band. The next night, the Al. Ringling Theatre will present the Charlie Chaplin film “The Circus,” accompanied by the Barton organ.
PARADE DAY: On parade day, Forward! Marching Band, the UW Alumni Band and the Wild Rumpus Circus will entertain the crowd before the parade steps off at 11 a.m. Former Circus World Executive Director Scott O’Donnell will lead the parade as grand marshal. This year’s parade will be highlighted by the return of the Ringling Brothers Bell Wagon.
CIRCUS WORLD: “We love showcasing Circus World’s unparalleled collection of antique wagons in the parade,” said George Althoff, Executive Director of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce. His organization works with the Big Top Parade Committee to present this unique event. “We can’t wait to hear the bells ring through the streets of Baraboo again,” Althoff said.
POST PARADE: After the parade, all are encouraged to visit Circus World and see the “Holidays!” show at 1:15 and 3:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. Saturday, the Ringling Theatre will present the 2003 film “Big Fish,” which featured O’Donnell and his circus. O’Donnell will lead a discussion session after the movie. Downtown Baraboo Inc. is getting into the act, hosting a “Tour of Wagons,” with 16 participating businesses showcasing local artists’ paintings on canvas.
2025 Parade Grand Marshal
Scott O’Donnell
After more than a decade helping to organize the Big Top Parade as executive director of Circus World, Scott O’Donnell will lead this year’s event as grand marshal.
Last fall O’Donnell finished his second stint at Circus World, a state historic site located on the Ringling Brothers’ original winter quarters in Baraboo. Working with the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce and a parade committee, O’Donnell helped recruit entries and set the parade order since his return in 2013. On June 14, he’ll ride in the parade as grand marshal.
O’Donnell first came to Circus World as operations manager in 2003. He went on to become vice president and general manager of The Big Apple Circus. After a stint with concert giant Live Nation, O’Donnell returned to lead Circus World in 2013.
The parade will step off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, highlighting a weekend full of circus-themed fun in Baraboo. That night, the Al. Ringling Theatre will screen the 2003 Tim Burton film “Big Fish,” which featured O’Donnell’s circus. O’Donnell will lead a talkback session after the movie.
2025 Celebrity Judges
The judges will choose the parade’s top overall entry, as well as the best commercial and nonprofit entries.
Circus Wagons
Circus World is a key partner in the parade, lending its unparalleled collection of historic wagons to the event. Circus Wagons History
Ringling Bros. Bell Wagon
The Bell Wagon is unique among them all and is believed to be the last remaining circus bell wagon in the world.
The Ringlings commissioned the Ringling’s cousins, Baraboo-based H. Moeller & Sons Wagon Works to construct the wagon for the 1892 season. This 10,380-pound rolling musical instrument Wagon was the gem of the Ringling Circus Parades for many years. This wagon along with three other wagons arrived in March from Florida, where they’re owned by Feld Entertainment,
Also making the 1,440-mile trip from Feld were the Hagenbeck-Wallace Lion’s Bride Tableau Wagon, built in 1905 by the Cincinnati-based Bode Wagon Co. for the Carl Hagenbeck Trained Animal Show; the John Robinson Bandwagon No. 1, often referred to as the Lion and Gladiator Wagon and believed to have been built by Sullivan and Eagle Wagon Co. of Peru, Indiana, for Howe’s Great London Circus; and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Hippo Cage Wagon No. 73, believed to have been built in 1903 and which, through the years, has housed black-tailed deer before being retrofitted to hold lions and, in 1943, a pygmy hippo.
The wagons are on loan from Feld for at least the next four years
Kids Fun
BOUNCE HOUSES
Courthouse Lawn – 9:00am
BADGER BAND
On the Square – 10:30am
Eat Street
LAS MILPAS
Mexican Food
G & G CONCESSIONS
Gyros & Pitas
Ben’s Soft Pretzels
Pretzels
BADGER KETTLE CORN
Kettle Korn
EDWARD’S ICE CREAM
Cones, Corn Dogs, Lemonade
SUGAR RUSH TRUCK
Frozen Sweet Treats
LOCO SNO
Shaved Ice
FRENCHIE PRESS
Coffee, Lattes, & Drinks
FRANNIE’S FRANKS
Hot Dogs & Brats
Circus Celebration
Post parade head on down to Baraboo’s treasured Circus World open from 9:00am – 5:00pm
Big Top Performances
1:15pm Big Top Circus
3:30pm Big Top Circus
During the entire month of June, 16 artistically designed circus wagons made on canvas will be displayed in 16 participating downtown businesses.
Each has been created by locally talented artisans to celebrate the community’s circus heritage and the upcoming Big Top Parade festivities.
Join us on June 12th from 5pm to 7pm before the Baraboo Concerts on the Square for a self-guided tour of these wagons and a chance to meet the artists!
