Ringling Bros And Barnum Bailey

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is coming to Oklahoma City this week

A third-generation hair-hanger, Andrea Ayala Raffo is among the 130 performers featured in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Barnum 200. For her act, the circus performer braids her soaking wet hair into a steel cable, rises 30 feet above the ground andand executes jaw-dropping feats without the security of a net or safety harness. Photo provided Heinz Kluetmeier

A third-generation hair-hanger, Raffo's idea of going to work involves braiding her soaking wet hair into a steel cable, rising 30 feet above the ground and performing jaw-dropping feats without the security of a net or safety harness.

As part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Barnum 200, Raffo can be seen executing high-speed rotations and juggling flaming torches when the 140th edition of the famed circus comes to town Thursday through Sunday at Cox Convention Center .

“It's the 200th anniversary of P.T. Barnum , and he was very famous for traveling the world looking for great, exciting acts and bringing them all together in one show and putting on a great show. And that's what you'll see,” she said.

For Raffo, 37, hanging by her hair and executing astonishing feats is part of the family business. Her grandmother in Mexico was the first family member to perform the act. In 1979, Raffo's mother, Marguerite, was the first to perform the hair-raising act for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

“Growing up in the circus, you learn different acts and you have fun, and then when you get older you decide what you want to do,” said Raffo, a fifth-generation circus performer. “I would sit in the seats like my son does now, and I would watch my mom perform the hair-hang act since I was 6, 7 years old.”

She was in proverbial pigtails when she asked to learn the family trade, but her mother waited until she was 11 to start the training. Raffo was performing for live audiences after a year, but it took three years for her to become proficient. She was a teenager when she and older sister Michelle brought the family act to Ringling Bros.' 118th edition in 1988.

“The first time I ever tried it, I said, ‘I don't know if I can do this,' because it did hurt. It's pressure,” Raffo said in a phone interview from Mobile, Ala. “But you have to know how to adjust your hair. And it's very important to have your hair very even. ... Because if you don't have it even, it's pulling on one side more than the other.

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus and more on Thursday in ...

The popular early evening concert series continues with The New Orleans Mystics, featuring the music of Motown and greatest hits from the '70s, 6 p.m. Food and drink may be purchased. No outside food, drink or pets. Tickets: $8 adults, $3 children ages 5-12. Call 504.483.9488, garden.neworleanscitypark.com .

Crescent City Choral Festival Concert (St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 6249 Canal Blvd.) Writer and filmmaker Lolis Elie will introduce actor Michael Martin, portraying Robert Frost and reading from the poet's work; Bob Edes Jr, reading from the works of Dr. Seuss; and Karen Shields, reading from "To Kill a Mockingbird," in support of The Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, 5:30-7:30 p.m. A musical rap performance by Big Choo and the Game Ova' Boyz will start off the evening. Refreshments served. Call 504.596.2587 or email fnopl@neworleanspubliclibrary.org.

Jack Saux Book Signing (Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St.)

For the record, I have no problems eating animals that are raised and killed humanely. It's called the food chain. I think PETA takes it a little too far. However, what these circuses do to the animals is just plain wrong. Pleast explain to your kids that it is not okay to abuse an animal for your entertainment. If you want to see exotic animals, Global Wildlife Center in Folsom and the Audubon Zoo are much more humane options.

You don't have to be a member of PETA or any group to be able recognize animal abuse when you see it. There are many of us who stand up for these animals because it is the right thing to do. These cycles of abuse have to end, children who abuse animals, are bullies grow up and go on to abuse people and continue abusing animals. A compassionate society does not allow the abuse of humans or animals for entertainment.