SF’s “Circus By The Bay” Night: History Panel + Wild Live Acts (Fort Mason)

Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture

Cowell Theater hosts a panel conversation and live performances exploring San Francisco’s new American circus movement. Pickle Family Circus and New Pickle Circus veterans Gypsy Snider, Shana Carroll, Jeff Raz, and Tandy Beal will discuss the scene’s history, alongside archival photos and video and performances by artists from Prescott Circus, Dear San Francisco, Circus Bella, and San Francisco Youth Circus.

Original Event Description:

CIRCUS BY THE BAY

Panel conversation and live performances
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 – 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Cowell Theater, Pier 2/Gateway Pavilion, FMCAC, RESERVE SPACE

In the 1970s, San Francisco became an epicenter of the emerging new American circus – an intimate one-ring model that spurned animal acts and focused on traditional skills of juggling, clowning, acrobatics, and aerial work, all filtered through a countercultural vaudevillian sensibility. This “not-so-big-top” was pioneered by such local companies as the Pickle Family Circus and its later incarnation, the New Pickle Circus, which performed annually at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture, and longtime FMCAC residents Make*A*Circus. This movement spawned a stream of Bay Area talents that spread their influence from Cirque du Soleil and Broadway to movies, and TV, an impact which resonates to this day.

Join us for a magical evening celebrating this uniquely San Francisco history through a conversation with some of its leading lights, all veterans of Pickle Family Circus and the New Pickle Circus: performer/writer/director Gypsy Snider, trapeze artist/choreographer/director Shana Carroll, clown/writer/teacher Jeff Raz, and artistic director/choreographer Tandy Beal. The program includes rare archival photos and video, and live performances by Unique Derique (Prescott Circus), Chloe Somers Walier (Dear San Francisco), Elise Hing (Circus Bella), and performers from San Francisco Youth Circus (SFYC), Circus Center’s pre-professional youth program. SFYC is led by Performance Coach Dominic Cruz, a 7 Fingers/Dear San Francisco alum. (performers subject to change).

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.