Buddy had to make a trip to Atlanta for some lumber for his current job last Friday, and he came home talking about these huge tents set up next to the lumber yard he went to. After inquiring he found out it was Cavalia - we had seen the commercials on television for the upcoming circus-like production with horses.
We looked it up online, read the description of the show, and decided it was not something we wanted to see, but he wanted to show me the tents, so we made the trip down yesterday. It is set up at Atlantic Station just north of downtown Atlanta. The huge white tents are indeed impressive and we were able to park next to the lot and take this picture.
As is the norm when visiting places and seeing things, going with someone in construction brings a different perspective to the trip. Always examining the design or structure, Buddy points out things most folks would not even notice, a real 'how stuff works' kind of guy.
Seeing this huge production in this small space brought questions to mind about logistics and timing and, well, construction - like - wouldn't you like to see them put up those tents! and I wonder how big a caravan of trucks it takes to move this from city to city.
Of course Wikipedia has the answers and more:
The show is performed in the largest tent in North America, a 2440 m² (26,300 ft²) big top, and takes 40 people 12 days to erect and 7 days to dismantle. The stable adds on another 1070 m² (11,500 ft²), and it takes 45 trucks to move the whole show. The 46m (150 ft) wide stage takes 1500 tons of sand to complete.
Having never been to the fairly new Atlantic Station area, we looked around a bit. I was facinated by something displayed in a park, it looked very old and rusty, not like art but like a relic from the past, possibly a boiler... when pointing it out to Buddy (a native Atlantan) he remembered this was the site of the old Atlantic Steel Mill and figured the vintage equipment displayed there was possibly a tribute to the history of the area. Most of the stores were closed, it being Sunday morning, but it looks like an interesting place to visit again someday.
So check it out - see the show Cavalia if you want (tickets start at $44.50), or just walk around the shops! I recommend going on a beautiful clear day when the leaves are changing like we did - because everyone else was driving in the mountains, we know because we found them all when we got home.
