In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction.
Painting on sideshow truck, firebreather, Florida, 1966
Elly del Sarto, a sideshow performer, in c. 1910
Decaying sideshow advertisement, Florida, 1966
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the field of performance, training and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus.
Advertisement for the Barnum & Bailey Circus, 1900
Sells Brothers Circus with Great Danes
Astley's Amphitheatre in London, c. 1808
Circus Ronaldo