Experience the Magic.
2019’s Updated Big Top
At Big Top Chautauqua, there is nothing more iconic than the Big Top itself. It’s the
largest all-canvas tent left in operation in the country, and perhaps in the world. People
familiar with Big Top know it for its great acoustics and the intimate, woodland setting of
the performances. It is a one-of-a-kind place to see your favorite local and national artists.
Big Top’s canvas tents last approximately six years before they need to be replaced
due to weathering. As the next replacement comes due, the Big Top community has been
wrestling with the knowledge that canvas tents have become obsolete and will no longer
be available. This fact, along with other needs that have become more critical as Big Top
has grown, has prompted the development of plans for a new, permanent performance
structure.
Needless to say, creating a new structure is a large undertaking. Planning, gathering
feedback from major stakeholders and the community, and fundraising all take time. But
due to the aging of the canvas tent, time was something we simply didn’t have – until now.
New for the 2019 season, Big Top’s traditional tent will still be there, but it will be
FEATURES AT A GLANCE:
• Waterproof!
• Traditional Big Top colors with
slightly modernized tent look
• Stays up year-round
• Open bottom around audience
for excellent viewing
• Panels close to ground
surrounding stage
• Frame lasts up to 50 years
• Membrane lasts a minimum of
20 years
• Withstands 90 mph winds
• Slick coating sheds snow
• Blackout membrane guards
against UV and helps with
climate control
Engineer’s renderings of
new Big Top structure for
the 2019 season
covered by a new structure called a Sprung building. As shown in the renderings above, the Sprung structure takes on much of the
traditional look of the tent, while at the same time providing a weather-proof shell that can be left in place year-round. Patrons will
stay completely dry inside even during rainstorms, and the structure will withstand wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour. Big Top’s
traditional canvas tent will be inside of the new structure, completely encased, providing all the acoustic benefits and traditional feel
of the tent combined with the protection of the new outer structure.
While the Sprung structure has long-lasting permanent qualities, it is capable of being moved. As such, it is being put in
place now to protect the canvas tent so it can be used for several more years, providing a longer window of opportunity for careful
planning and decision making on what will be the permanent solution.
This project is being done in cooperation with the Ashwabay Outdoor Educational Foundation. Big Top and Mt. Ashwabay are
currently planning a renewed alliance between the organizations, and while details of the alliance will continue to be developed, the
new Sprung structure has been a significant cooperative accomplishment.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our very own tentmaster extraordinaire Phillip Anich for his leadership, hard
work, and ingenuity to make this happen.
WWW. BI GTO P.O RG
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