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Alma mater (Latin: alma mater; pl.: almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from.[1][2][3] The term is related to alumnus, literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a school graduate. #slot #funny #lottery #money #lucky #win #scratch #floridalottery #rondesantis #casino

Clown College was the brainchild of Irvin Feld, the owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and longtime Ringling clown and front man Bill Ballantine. In 1968, Ringling had only a handful of clowns, most of them over fifty years of age. It was clear that these performers would not be able to go on forever. But there was a dearth of suitable replacements at that time. So Feld decided to create a school to train a new generation in this ancient art form.[1][2]

Feld also saw the potential public relations opportunity in having a place that could become the Mecca of clowning in the United States. In addition, he wanted to use the school as another way of keeping his show more attractive to audiences than his competition, and have a place where he could guarantee getting an endless supply of new talent.

Circus World was planned in September 1972 to have the clown college's campus on site.[3][4]

In 1984, after Feld's death, Kenneth Feld, his son, took over production of Feld Entertainment and the Ringling shows. In 1993, the clown college was moved from the Venice Arena to Baraboo, Wisconsin.[1] He continued to operate the school through the 1997 session, and then closed Clown College because it was no longer necessary: with nearly fifteen hundred graduates, many of whom were teaching others the lessons they had learned, and with a home videotape produced by Ringling and made at Clown College in 1986 titled "Be A Clown", which featured many of the techniques used in the school's training sessions, Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus officially discontinued their Clown College just shy of its 30th year.

Two notable national events took place involving Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. The first occurred on February 17, 1988, when CBS Television broadcast the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College: 20th Anniversary special. This hour long program was hosted by Dick Van Dyke and it featured a cadre of clown alumni, performing their favorite routines, as well as Van Dyke, in character as the school custodian "Burford", who was trying to pick up some of the "course material" on the sly.

The second was on August 4, 1992, when Ringling created "Smiles Across America", an event done locally in cities and towns across the country to raise awareness of various issues and to help make people happier. Clown College graduates performed such civic duties as visiting hospitals and parks and appeared for photo ops and did "meet & greet" with the media and the general public.

Van Dyke and long time Today Show weatherman Willard Scott, the first person to portray Ronald McDonald in a television advertisement, are both honorary graduates of the school.

After 25 years the college moved from Venice, Florida to Baraboo, Wisconsin, hometown of the Ringling Bros. After three years in Baraboo, the clown college operated at the Sarasota Opera House in Sarasota until 1998 before the program was suspended.[1] The college continued to operate after closing the facility, albeit in a different form. It was run in different locales in and around Rosemont, Illinois until 2015. In 2017, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus folded, but returned in 2023, no longer featuring any animal performances.