The big top is coming to Oak Harbor, along with old-school circus acts. There will be clowns, jugglers, animal acts, at least one elephant, and the death-defying World Famous Wallendas.

The regionally famous Nile Shrine Circus is making a stop in Oak Harbor for the first time this year. The tent will go up on the Seaplane Base Thursday, April 15. The shows are at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The circus is brought to Whidbey by members of the North Whidbey Shrine Club and the South Whidbey Shrine Club.

Oak Harbor resident Robert Clark, a member of the North Whidbey club, predicts that the show will be a huge hits with the kids. And he should know. He’s the director of the Shrine truckers, who are the guys that thrill children by riding the miniature Model-T trucks at parades.

“It should be a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a fairly comprehensive show in the style of an old-fashioned circus.”

Prizes will also enliven the event. Clark said a couple of bicycles will be given out at each performance. The Rainbow Girls will award prizes for a coloring contest.

Clark said the Oak Harbor show will mark the debut of the World Famous Wallendas in the Puget Sound region. The members of the highwire act are descendants of the Flying Wallendas, one of the most famous circus acts of all times. Two members of a seven-person chair pyramid were killed during a performance in 1962, but other family members continue to perform.

The circus is a fundraiser for the Shriners. The organization is best known for funding the Shriners Hospitals for Children, which is a network of 22 hospitals in North America that treat sick children for free.