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Courtesy of Casey A'Blaze
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Photography courtesy of Sidewalk Sideshows.
Casey A'Blaze
Casey A'Blaze performs foot hoops outside STL homes.
Performers twirling in sparkly capes, larger-than-life characters on stilts, flaming hoops being thrown to touch the darkening sky... This all sounds like it would happen underneath a big top, right? Try Benton Park, where every Friday evening a group called the Sidewalk Sideshows puts on a social distance–friendly event to bring a little joy to 2020.
Each week, Casey “A’Blaze” Stinemetz and her crew load up their cars with magic props. “We change it up each time, so it’s always a little bit different. We’ve had stilt walkers, fire performers, magic, comedy, dance… pretty much any of your typical circus acts with a little bit of modern flair,” Stinemetz says. “We have a blow-up unicorn that we sometimes pop out at the shows kind of toward the finale, so we just try to bring in a couple of little elements of surprise.”
These shows are not geared toward one specific age group. Parents will get a kick out of jokes that fly right over young one’s heads, while kids will enjoy light-hearted dances, sing-alongs, and magic tricks. “It’s something you can definitely bring the kids to,” Stinemetz says. “We have some singalongs, but also a couple of jokes that the adults also get, so it’s also exciting and fun for the parents and adults.”
Photography courtesy of Sidewalk Sideshows.
Violet Le Fae
Performer Violet Le Fae shows off one of her many dazzling outfits at Benton Park.
Weekends in the park are not the only opportunity to see A’Blaze and friends. Sidewalk Sideshows also books private parties and neighborhoods, literally putting the “sidewalk” in their name. On the Fourth of July, fireworks were replaced with entertainment of a different kind when Sidewalk Sideshows took to the streets of the South Hampton-Murdoch area.
“There were a few people who knew we were coming, but many people did not know we were going to be doing this,” Stinemetz says about the parade. “It was just on a whim to them, like they were sitting on their porches or they were just trying to make the most of their Fourth of July when there’s absolutely no fireworks or anything to go to, and then we got to put on this little show. It was a lot of fun!”
For Stinemetz, doing pop-up parades and shows in neighborhoods around the St. Louis region is especially rewarding. “It’s just something nice for the neighborhood to enjoy together whenever we can’t really be together,” Stinemetz says.
This notion of forging connections in the midst of the pandemic helped inspire Stinemetz and three of her performer friends to band together to start Sidewalk Sideshows. Al
Photography courtesy of Sidewalk Sideshows.
A'Blaze
Hoops, stilts, fire eating, A'Blaze does it all!
l four individuals had been performing in the STL area for over a decade, each showing off their variety of skill sets within different venues. According to Stinemetz, the transition from pre-pandemic entertainment to their new normal was surprisingly natural.
“When COVID hit everything was canceled left and right, so we had to get creative,” Stinemetz says. “We’ve done a lot of street performances and festival performances in the past, so it really wasn’t that far of a step to be doing this, it’s just a little different now because everyone is quarantined. It just happened very organically.”
Stinemetz says Sidewalk Sideshows is currently working on adding to its entertainment options. She and her crew are discussing debuting Sunday shows in Benton Park for children under 10. The company is also looking to diversify their acts,
“It feels really great to bring that little sense of joy, especially right now [when] we all need it so much,” Stinemetz says. “Everything is really heavy and hard and challenging, so even if it’s just a little moment to forget about that, it’s really nice.”
