AN EVENING UNDER THE BIG TOP!
AMERICAN SIDESHOWS
AMERICAN ODDITIES MUSEUM
MINERAL SPRINGS HOTEL | ALTON, ILLINOIS
$48 PER PERSON
SEE AVAILABLE DATES BELOW:
MARCH 29, 2025 | SOLD OUT!
Join author Troy Taylor for another night of our “An Evening with…” series of events! This eerie evening will include a catered dinner, served in the American Oddities Museum at the former hotel. After dinner, Troy will present “American Sideshows,” a look at the secret histories of America’s circuses, sideshows, carnival midways, and freak shows!
Discover the rise and fall of the big tops, carnivals, sideshows, ballyhoos, baby shows, grind shows, illusions, mitt camps, walk-throughs, and everything in-between – a nearly forgotten part of our history that’s been erased by the changing tastes of the American public. It’s going to be an amazing night that will astonish and amaze you – and everything you’ll see is ALIVE, ALIVE, ALIVE!
ABOUT THE NIGHT
Join us at the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois for another great event!
- Doors open at 6:00 PM / Dinner starts at 7:00 PM
- Events held at the American Oddities Museum, located inside the Mineral Springs Hotel, located at 301 East Broadway in Alton, Illinois
- Limited number of guests for each event
- Private Event in the Museum, which will open at 6:00 Pm for browsing by guests before dinner
- American Hauntings Bookstore located in the Museum so books will be available for purchase and can be autographed by Troy Taylor
Join us for a night that will take you behind the canvas tent flaps of yesterday to the heyday of the circus and carnival sideshows, when human oddities appeared as “freaks.” You’ll discover how many of these enterprising performers made a very good living, while others were cheated and abused. But all of them, no matter how strange or unusual they appeared, were also regular people who laughed, loved, and lived a life that few of us can even imagine – lives that sometimes ended in pain, sorrow, and even murder.
It’s a night of rich, colorful history unlike anything that’s been presented before about a part of American life that was filled with heroes, villains, disasters, fires, trainwrecks, murder, and ghosts!
So, step right up, grab your ticket and take a stroll down the midway where the carnivals, sideshow attractions, and performers come back to life!