Our Circus Diva, Makia, met our bloggers first, and flirted a bit with bloggers, Brad (http://bradfordpearson.blogspot.com/) and Josh (http://www.districtbeat.com/) before her pre-show meal.

Next, the bloggers chatted up the sizzling Zante Trini Zante Dancers, the phenoms of the Chinese Acrobats, and the multi-faceted young gents from West Africa that play James Brown, Lucky and Magic.

Our uber fashion and money conscious blogging ladies from BudgetFab were slightly smitten with our death defying Wheel of Death stunt men, but who wouldn’t be?

Our mini bloggers-in-training Zynora and Lucas - (Zynora is Capitol Mom blogger, Teia’s daughter and Lucas is Smiling Mama blogger, Aimee’s son) seemed to be the life of the party, becoming a high source of entertainment for our entertainers.

Justice Fergie of Mama Law laid down the law at an earlier show that day with her troupe, but joined us for the experience following.

All in all - the third experience was supremely successful, and everyone had a great time.  So much so - that they all made it to the ring after the circus to pose with the performers.  This time, it was the bloggers that “Shut the club down!”

Be sure to check out our bloggers blogs - to see what they thought.  The next blogger experience will be in Houston at the beginning of August.  If you are interested in participating, leave a comment!!

Our D.C. show touches online communities (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), offline communities (Prince George’s County, Flow Insiders, Doctors Community Hospital), the entertainment industry (Russ Parr, WKYS, MAJIC, Praise 104.1), Greeks and Universities (Delta Sigma Theta, Howard U, Kappa Alpha Psi), bloggers (Mama Law, Capitol Moms, A Parent in Silver Spring) and government officials who are all high on soul and ready to have waaaaaaay too much fun with a one-of-a-kind circus.

But we aren’t the only one’s who think the Circus is one-of-a-kind….

“This was by far one of the BEST shows I have taken my twin daughters to BY FAR. Suuuuuuuch a good time! I think I had more fun then they did!! I recommend the show to ANY PARENT. It was sooooo good!!” (Khalid Sumner - Facebook)

“This is the best circus I have ever seen,  please people go check it out, lots of crowd involvement, Ringling ain’t got nothing on this one!!! (Dayman Bell – Facebook)

We’re selling out (almost) as fast as an Obama t-shirt!  There will be 16 days of interactive family entertainment you don’t want to miss!

Get your tickets now !

Come one, come all – Magic, The Wheel of Death, Twisted Soul, Ethiopian Jugglers, China Soul Flyers, Rough Riders, and Auntie (Maggie Shirley Lee Mae Frances Upshaw Jenkins) will all be waiting.  And we’re gonna “Shut the Club Down!”

Our first stop - Jamaica, Queens. Roy Wilkins Park will host the most soulful circus experience around from March 25th through April 8th.

Our next stop on the NY tour will be Brooklyn baby! We will be rockin’ the big top in a major way at Prospect Park from April 9th through April 26th.

Last, but far from least, we will conclude NY with the one and only Bronx. Orchard Beach will be lit up from April 28th through May 3rd.

Count them y’all… 6 weeks! We will be large and in charge for six magnificent weeks in New York. Manhattan and Staten Island, we didn’t forget about you - there’s just not enough space for ALL OUR SOUL to go down in the city that never sleeps, and the Circus Divas were not feeling the ferry ride to SI.  So hop on a train, and make your way out to one of your neighboring boroughs for a uniquely soulful experience.

Put on for your city - or put on for all three cities — at the UniverSoul Circus.  We don’t care where you are from, we just want you there.

Click here for ticket details.

We would like to extend a personal invitation for you to join us at the Circus for the “Blogger Experience.”   The Blogger Experience is a new initiative in which we select 7-10 bloggers from 5 different cities to be our personal guests.  Chosen bloggers will have the opportunity to take a tour of the grounds prior to the show,  meet and interview the cast and crew, and of course… enjoy the show.  All we ask is that you tell your readers about your fantastic experience!

Our first Blogger Experience was in Atlanta on March 6, and we had a blast!  We had 7 bloggers in attendance, ranging from food bloggers to mommy bloggers, to photo bloggers.

Amani Channel (right) and son, posing with soul dancers and Lucky: My Urban Report

Carolyn Pit (right) and son, posing with the soul dancers : Atlanta Low Down

Lauren Brown (far right) and sister posing with Lucky: Clutch Magazine

Christina Arpante (far left) talking to Ben Johnson (director of Operations): Mele Cotte

Lauren and Carolyn interviewing the super bodacious soul dancers.

In fact, one of our food bloggers (Christina) had so much fun, she made us a circus cake that fed the cast, crew, and half of headquarters!

Our next Blogger Experience will be in Brooklyn on April 10th.  It doesnt matter what burrow you  rep — if you call NY home, and you are a blogger, we want you there.  Other Blogger Experiences will take place in D.C., Philly, and Chicago.  If you are interested in participating, leave a comment, or email us at web@universoul.com.  We are excited about having you as our very own VIP.  Looking forward to meeting you!

Happy Monday.

Join crazy Mrs. Maggie, her hilarious nephew Lucky and the rest of the soul crew for the most soulful circus around.  See you under the big top!  Then, come back to the blog and tell us what you thought!

See show times below for your reference.

• Thu, 03/12/09 — 7:30 PM
• Fri, 03/13/09 — 10:30 AM
• Fri, 03/13/09 — 7:30 PM
• Sat, 03/14/09 — 12:00 PM
• Sat, 03/14/09– 4:00 PM
• Sat, 03/14/09 — 7:30 PM
• Sun, 03/15/09 — 12:30 PM
• Sun, 03/15/09 — 3:30 PM
• Sun, 03/15/09 — 6:30 PM

Monday: We rest - but rest assured, we are dreaming up some last minute surprises for you.

Tuesday: It’s Gwinett County Friends and Family night (7:30PM show)! C’mon Gwinett, show us what you are working with! We have had all the metro-Atlanta cites show up in full force for the last 2 weeks, and tomorrow night is just for you!

Wednesday: It’s Healthcare Night (7:30PM show).  And there’s more - North Georgia’s ONLY level one Trauma Center, Grady Memorial Hospital, will be our special guest.  You heard right Grady will be in the HOUSE.  All you Grady employees and administrators, come on out and prepare to be immensely entertained.  Hump night is also College night.  So c’mon college students, let us show you a REAL party!

Thursday: Praise the LORD! It’s Spiritual Night (7:30PM show) at the UniverSoul Circus.  You know good and well that we all could use some inspiration and uplifting, so whether you are spiritual or not, come on out and get your worship on with the UniverSoul Circus.

Friday: V-103’s Frank Ski will be joining us at the matinee (10:30) with his foundation, the Frank Ski Foundation.  And Kiss 104.1 will be live broadcasting live from 3-7 PM.  We will also have some popular bloggers as our very own VIP, to show them how we get down.

Saturday: Every Saturday is an explosion of festivities.  You never know what’s going to happen on a Saturday — the only way to find out is to show up!!

Sunday: This is our last day of  performances for Atlanta.  We will plan to make our grand exodus until 2010.  But we invite you to come celebrate another successful Atlanta tour.  So come get your final SOUL fix before we show Raleigh what SOUL is.

So what do you think?  Is this going to be a week to remember or what?  When you do attend a show, come back to the blog and share your thoughts.  If you missed us, we still want to know what you think!

See you soon!

The school who collects the most food items, get’s to be our guest at the circus.  THE WHOLE SCHOOL!

The 2008 Food For The Soul winner was Ralph J. Bunche Middle School, with over 20,000 food items collected. Now that’s ALOT of food! This monumental effort will allow Hosea Feed The Hungry to continue to serve the thousands of people in need throughout the year.  To reward the school for their life-changing contributions, they joined us at the circus, as our personal guests. We hope that our gift to Ralph J. Bunche will teach the children a great civics lesson about sharing and giving to those in need; and that we are our brothers’ keeper. Attending the UniverSoul Circus will also provide the students cultural, educational and entertainment benefits as they view the performances of our incredible artists from several countries around the globe.

There is also a School Spirit award for those tech savvy students and staff. The Soul School Spirit Award asks that students submit a 60 to 90 second video, featuring their school’s students, faculty, staff, parents, and/or supporters providing humanitarian assistance to those in need and of course the food items collected.  The 2008 Food for the Soul School Spirit Award went to Fickett Elementary.  They also  joined us last week at our Food for the Soul Circus event.  Check out Fickett Elementary’s video.

We were joined by about 16 different schools last Tuesday, and had a blast!  The teachers  dropped it (literally) in the soul train line, the students came reppin’ their school spirit, and Mrs. Maggie… well - she was Mrs. Maggie….

The cats made their debut appearance for the 2009 Circus Season, and our sole foot juggler made everyone’s toes curl.  Oh! Great news - while our cutie pie juggling genius has gone solo thus far, she will be joined by two other super footed wonders soon!

We also got to hang out with  Dru Hill on opening night.  We hadn’t seen them in a while, so we were excited when they made their grand entrance, promoting their new show with Keith Sweat, The Platinum House.  It sure is nice to see those fellas back together again.  And forget two steppin’ - they were five-steppin’ it down the Soul Train line with the audience! (Don’t tell anyone, but one of our Soul Circus Diva’s has a little crush on Sisqo — but then again, who doesn’t?!)

As fate would have it… the curtains closed and the rain and thunder came to a much-awaited stop.  Perhaps the heavens were having their very own UniverSoul Circus Celebration!!  We hope everyone made it home safely…

The Circus started as a vision, and became a reality in this very city we lovingly refer to as HOTLANTA.   While New York might be home to JLO and Jay-Z and L.A. may be home to Ice Cube and Dr. Dre… The UniverSoul Circus proudly reps Atlanta to the fullest.

It all started over sixteen years ago in a little office on Roosevelt Highway.  As a matter of fact, the circus was birthed in the same place where the hit urban gospel play, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, was launched.  And a little more knowledge for you:  Did you know that  the Original New York City Fresh Festival II was started in Atlanta? AND by some of the same people that started the UniverSoul Circus? We are less than two decades old, and have tons of history already!

Opening night in Atlanta is just a day away and we can’t wait to make your eyes bulge out of your head with the soulful, spectacular and stimulating performances! One minute you will feel like your heart is about to beat out of your chest, and the next - you are slapping your knee in laughter.  This year’s show is off the chain.  One thing is for sure… the whole country needs some comedy relief and believe me, one of our new show additions, Mrs. Maggie Shirley Lee Mae Frances Upshaw Jenkins is the golden ticket! That’s why it takes seven names to even begin to explain who this woman is.   She’s your auntie, sister, mother, friend and she knows her business…and everybody else’s too!  She’s got gossip, advice, and wisdom to share, and she’s going to share it…whether you like it or not!

From the Soul Train line to the Soul Circus Divas - brace yourself to be a part of the most interactive and entertaining circus on earth.  We didn’t even mention BOLD…  how many circuses do you know that has members of the audience dropping it like it’s hot in the middle of the ring?  Exactly, NONE!

You don’t want to miss this.  V-103’s  Greg Street will be broadcasting live from the big top, there will be celebrity appearances, there might even be a few new additions.  There’s no telling what we may have in store!

Boy does it feel good to be home, there’s no place like it.

For a list of upcoming times and dates, click here.