International Circus Hall of Fame holding a two-day Calliope and Mechanical Music Festival to celebrate the 100th birthday celebration of historic circus barns

The Circus Hall of Fame, Inc. furthermore, the Howard Steam Boat Museum will be co-hosting a huge display of Calliopes, Band Organs, Unafons, and other music-production devices one year from now to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the American Circus Corporation building the winter quarters building that actually exist. Lots of good food will be accessible during this Family-friendly, entire-day event.

Prepare to hear the cacophonous screech of steam calliopes and the perky bounce of organ grinders at the Calliope and Mechanical Music Festival.

The main event of its sort will be held from 9 am. to 5 p.m. on June 17 and 18 at the International Circus Hall of Fame, situated at 3076 Peru Circus Lane. Tickets are $20.

Organizer Bob Cline said the festival will unite 14 calliopes and over 20 other memorable instruments, for example, riverboat pipes and small, accordian-like concertinas. He said it will be the biggest gathering of such instruments — which will come from everywhere in the world — on the planet.

“You’ll never see 14 calliopes in the same place anywhere in the world,” he said. “You’ll be able to see something that you’ve never, ever seen before in your life, and that’s special.”

Cline expressed that with such countless calliopes blasting out circus tunes in a single place, it will get clear. The screech of a steam calliope can be heard for significant miles. But don’t worry — free ear plugs will be provided.

The festival is part of the hall of fame’s 100th-anniversary celebration of the two historic barns on the property, which were built as part of the city-sized circus winter quarters once situated at the site.

Cline said he needed to organize something really extraordinary for the century birthday party, and figured out what preferable method for celebrating over uniting instruments that have become synonymous with the sound of the circus?

“We basically wanted to do something that you’ll never see again, and this is what we came up with,” he said.

Yet, Cline never expected how huge the festival would develop after various groups participated in the event.

The Carousel Organ Association of America individuals signed on and are presently bringing band organs from around the world. The whistles from the memorable Delta Queen riverboat will be there, as well as the renowned steam calliope owned by Indiana University.

Cline said that perhaps the most exceptional instrument is a calliope produced using a giant block of granite. The owner is hauling it down to Peru from his home in New Hampshire.

“I can’t wait to see that one myself,” he said.

The oldest calliope that will be there was underlying Peru in 1901 by Sullivan and Eagle, and it very well might be the oldest calliope in the nation, Cline said. Different instruments are coming from as distant as North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri.

The two-day festival will have lots of music, however, there will likewise be ounce houses and different exercises for kids, with presentations by leading specialists on the set of experiences, advancement, and making of the calliopes.

Capping off the amusement at 11 a.m. Saturday will be a live concert from the Peru Circus City Festival Band, which will perform on top of the former Ringling Bros. also, Barnum and Bailey bandstand. The wagon was recently restored, and the concert will be whenever a band first has played on it beginning around 1956.

For updates, schedules or to purchase tickets to the event, visit the festival’s Facebook page or go to the International Circus Hall of Fame’s website.