If big smiles on little faces are any indication, you can say the circus has changed over the years, but the spirit of the circus lives on.

That was plainly evident by the grins and excited energy on display this past week when the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus made a two-show stop in Thompson Falls.

While animal rights activists have curtailed traditional circus acts like the elephants and reduced lion and tiger tamers to scaled down roles, the show under the Big Top set up near T-Falls High School was a hit with young and old.

“This is the first circus I’ve been to in probably 40 years,” said Idaho resident Jon McGuire. “The shows have been scaled down and changed but every little kid I saw had big eyes and big smiles. I guess I did too.”

The stop in Thompson Falls included morning of the show tours and even a chance to get in on helping set up the blue and white Big Top tent that gets raised, packed and moved approximately 300 times a year.

Residents of Thompson Falls and beyond packed the tent, which seats several hundred fans, for both the afternoon and evening performances.

And while some traditional circus acts have fallen victim to changing times and attitudes, the small, Hugo, Oklahoma based group has managed to add new performers and acts along the way.

The show opened with the big cats, who climbed platforms and played with trainer Trey during their segment of the 90-minute show. Delilah the Golden Tabby Tiger and Wendell, the African Lion left many children with mouths wide open in wonder.

The cats were either rescued from failing zoos or surrendered by exotic pet owners once the cats became too big to manage.

And although it was a brief performance, the big Cats drew the traditional round of ooohs and ahhhs common among circus fans.

“I’m so excited to be at a circus,” said Paisley Lane, 5, as she waited outside the Big Top, where a giant inflated kids slide, pony rides and a face painter kept the energetic youngsters entertained.

Paisley was at the circus with her parents and younger brother Brody, 3.

For their Dad, Tim Lane, the circus was a new experience.

“I’ve never been to a circus,” he said. “The kids have been so excited about coming here and seeing all this. I am too”.

In addition to entertaining hundreds of fans, the circus serves as a fund-raising vehicle for groups like the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce.

After the Big Cats had cleared the ring and the tall steel cage surrounding the ring had been taken down, fans were treated to the traditional clown in a tiny car act, high-flying and twirling trapeze performances and a host of other animal and traditional acts.

When asked what his favorite part of the show was, six-yaer-old Daniel Berger of Plains said simply, “all of it”.

Today’s circuses are generally smaller, highly mobile operations, with hundreds of stops each year in small towns across the country. And the performers and other workers often wear many hats in the duties they perform as part of the “Big Show”.

One such multi-tasker is Kelly Leeth, who was one of the pony ride workers before the show, carefully helping the children on and off the miniature horses as they circled a small area outside the tent.

A short time after the fans were seated inside, Leeth was introduced as one of the aerial acrobats, having changed her circus coveralls for a shiny, tight suit she wore while twirling at the top of the tent.

Clearly Leeth was a fan favorite.

“This is my first year of doing this,” she said. “It is an interesting way to see the country and meet so many people”.

Thompson Falls area resident Chelle Mitchell, who grew up on the Oregon Coast has always had some fond memories of the circus.

“I grew up near Alsea Bay on the Oregon coast and remember how fun it was to get up in the morning when the circus was in town and riding our bikes down to the bay to watch the elephants play in the water and skirt each other,” she said.

As vendors hocked their wares and children raced to get a gooey ball of cotton candy, the show went on.

Co-ring master Logan Jimenez, an Ohio native, summed up his life on the road, which typically runs from March through October.

“I love doing this,” he said. “You can’t beat this lifestyle”.

No doubt hundreds of kids who came to the show would readily agree.