Multicolored strobe lights, vibrant music, face paint, bubbles, inflatables and laughter filled the Show Me Center on Feb. 21 as the Garden Bros Circus performed in Cape Girardeau.

Acrobats, contortionists, clowns and motorists were just a few of the human talents on display at the circus. The circus also featured animals such as elephants, camels, donkeys and snakes, all of which were available to be ridden or petted by small children.

Zack Garden is the director of the Garden Bros Circus, a company that became his by virtue of his father and all of the Garden ancestors before him.

The Garden Bros Circus originated in Canada more than 100 years ago but has since relocated to the circus capital of the world, Sarasota, Florida, Garden said. The performers travel to 46 states from the end of January through November.

While this kind of lengthy work schedule may seem unappealing, many the performers have grown up in the circus.

Scarlett Frias, 23, is a contortionist in the Garden Bros Circus. Originally from Mexico, Frias travels in the circus with her parents and her brother. She said it has been a home for her for most of her life.

“The circus is all I know,” Frias said.

While many faces lit up as the animals did tricks during the circus acts, not everyone at the Show Me Center supported the use of animals as performers.

Animal rights activist and volunteer for PETA, Audrey Shircliff, 24, stood outside the Show Me Center in protest of the circus. Shircliff, of Louisville, Kentucky, traveled to Cape Girardeau when she heard the circus would be in town.

“It breaks my heart that the animals are forced to perform,” Shircliff said. “[Activists] want to see the talent that circus performers have without having to see animals suffer.”

It is not news that circuses have seen backlash from animal rights organizations for years. The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently announced its final performances will be held in May of this year. Taking elephants out of shows on the road coupled with high operating costs made the circus business unsustainable, according to the Ringling Bros website.

The Garden Bros already have started to pick up the slack the Ringling Bros will leave behind, Garden said. The circus also will have to deal with the leftover lobbyists and animal rights activists who protested the Ringling Bros.

“Animal rights protestors at our circuses are passionate, but they are misinformed,” Garden said.”

The animals in the Garden Bros Circus are frequently inspected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and animal control, and they see a veterinarian three times a month just for checkups, Garden said. The circus also travels with more than 15 handlers and specialists who work closely on building relationships with the circus animals.

“The animals come first, that’s my policy,” Garden said. “We love them and they love us, it’s the only way it works.”