THUNDER BAY — For the first time in nearly seven decades, it seems that the Shriners will receive no proceeds from the circus that each year has helped to finance its philanthropic work.
The Shrine club has cut its ties with the American circus that has entertained large crowds at the Fort William Gardens each spring.
This year's event, scheduled for May 25, "is not lawfully entitled to be called a Shrine Circus because it's not involved with the Shrine," says Winnipeg-based Khartum Shrine board member David Gray.
In an interview with Tbnewswatch, Lakehead Shrine Club spokesperson Grant Poulin said club members "are not very happy, for sure," and hope to make arrangements with another circus promoter for next year.
It's not entirely clear what led to the decision to end the relationship, as the Shriners and Sarasota, Florida-based circus producer Cindy Migley are providing contradictory assessments of the situation.
The Lakehead club is a charter member of the Khartum Shrine.
Gray said "There's been a falling out between us. There's a dispute about some money that we're owing, from her to us, and we're working through that."
Migley, however, expressed surprise when contacted Thursday by Tbnewswatch about the situation in Thunder Bay..
"No we don't have a dispute....They [last year] changed the way they do it. We just bought them out, for a guaranteed flat rate. This year, we are still in negotiations if they still want to be involved, or we're just going to do it on our own. We're coming to Thunder Bay anyway."
According to Migley her Circus Spectacular used to travel to 17 Canadian communities in partnership with the Shriners, but by last year Thunder Bay was the only remaining city on the Canadian circuit.
She said the Shriners in North America are losing members and are "not able to afford things like this" anymore, so she struck a deal for Thunder Bay to keep the event in the city.
Migley said it was her understanding the Shriners were interested in repeating the arrangement this year.
Poulin confirmed the parties reached a new agreement in 2018.
"She offered us a flat rate so we wouldn't have to worry about doing all the stuff we needed to do to organize the circus. She would do all that for us, so we took advantage of that. This year she's just coming in and doing the circus on her own."
He said he has tried contacting her, but she has not responded.
According to Poulin, however, Migley "does have a dispute with Khartum going right now."
Asked if there might be a possibility the two parties might still reach an agreement, Gray said there are ongoing discussions.
"We certainly were happy enough with the circus...If we can resolve this issue, then we'll move forward and we'll see."
Poulin echoed that, saying "We've had a great relationship with her in Thunder Bay over the years. I've been the circus manager for over 10 years now. I've had no trouble with her but we do have this one issue that has to be resolved."
