Big Fun Under the Big Top

Their lives read like a storybook romance--almost. Tom and Tammy Parish grew up in the same small Kansas town, they were college sweethearts, they got married and went to work for the same company. The not-so-ordinary part is that the college they attended was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and their employer is the Greatest Show on Earth. Needless to say, there are a lot of smiles and a fair share of laughter in this marriage.

The Parishes are just one of the families within the Ringling circus family of acrobats, lion tamers, clowns and more putting down stakes around the Southland through Aug. 11. The circus is now underway at the Long Beach Arena, through Sunday. The show moves to the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Wednesday, through July 30, and concludes at the Pond in Anaheim from Aug. 1-11. Show times: today through Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; Sunday 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. Tickets: $10.50-$25; Arrowhead Pond, $11-$27.50. Ticketmaster: (213) 480-3232.