Cal Clements is taking community bonding from boring potluck game nights to a room full of contortions, whirling fire spins, aerial silk performance and friendly conversation over soup and salad.

Inspired by some out of town actors playing with a unicycle in the street, Clements started his weekly community circus banquet as a way to honor and encourage circus performers to learn new skills and have a creative and supportive place to practice.

“I wanted artists who work in the circus medium, including clowns, musicians, poets, acrobats, giants and strange animals to have a place to meet each other, network, plan shows and have a good time,” he said. “We added the banquet portion so that they could be treated to a free meal of soup and salad.”

According to aerial section organizer Elizabeth Stein, the addition of the dinner is especially important for people who want to get involved and learn about circus performance but have never had the opportunity to sit down and talk with trained performers.

“This banquet is a fantastic introduction for people who have never tried anything circus related before, but it can be kind of sensory overload for them because so many things are going on in such a small space,” she said.

“It kind of calms down when people sit down to eat, so the best time for quiet exploration would be after the meal because then you can really talk to people without them juggling balls at the same time.”

Although Stein, an advanced aerial silk student at Canopy Studios, goes to the banquet to share her love of aerial fabrics by instructing other circus enthusiasts and learning from them, she also believes every person who chooses to attend has useful skills to offer, regardless of circus experience.

“Even if you think you have nothing to contribute, you should come anyway because once you get here you may be surprised,” she said. “I especially encourage anyone who happens to have a bear that can ride a bicycle or an elephant that can paint.”

“We don’t have any circus animals so far, but that would be very cool.”