Circus parades were a well-known tradition throughout Milwaukee. In 1963, Circus
World's first director Charles P. "Chappie" Fox and Ben Barkin, an ad man whose firm
served Milwaukee's Schlitz Brewery, started the tradition by organizing the first
circus parade that would be held in downtown Milwaukee. Throughout the years, the
parade was famous for restored circus wagons, exotic animals, and men and women
dressed in costumes representing a variety of cultures over time. In 1985, the
circus parade was renamed The Great Circus Parade. The last parade was in 2009.
