A week after being forced to leave the Belle, the Suarez Brothers Circus plans to reopen at Garrison Savannah on Friday, while management counts the cost of lost shows, refunds and relocating the production.
The controversy appears to have been resolved after a week of meetings between government officials and the Mexican-based company’s management.
The original location at the Belle sits on the nation’s largest water table – known as Zone A – where development is usually restricted.
But one of the circus managers believes the disruption could have been avoided if the proper procedures had been followed from the outset.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, circus manager Ivan Suarez said that, after losing a week of operations, the company hopes to resume shows on Friday and continue until September 20, with a possible extension.
Manager of Suarez Brothers Circus, Ivan Suarez. (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham / Barbados TODAY)
Suarez said the company had fulfilled what it believed were all the necessary requirements to begin operations at the Belle but was shut down just two days after opening to the public.
He said health officials conducted standard inspections two weeks ago on Saturday, but returned the following day and told management that the circus had to cease operations.
Suarez said: “I’m not really clear, but they said something about the water table; they didn’t tell us that from the beginning, but after they told us we have to move the circus from there.”
Suarez said he had visited the Belle before the entire team arrived in Barbados to ensure everything was in place and noticed Barbados Water Authority officials setting up pumps.
He said he assumed the work was related to the circus’ arrival, as he had already requested access to water from the authority.
The company later discovered that it would not have access to water at the location.
Suarez said management immediately sought an alternative, approaching a neighbouring property and reaching an agreement to pay for water for the duration of the circus’ stay.
He thought the issue was settled until the company was told it could not remain at the location because it was in a Water Protection Zone A area.
Zone A, historically known as Zone 1, is a strict exclusion zone immediately surrounding public water supply wells and is intended to protect underground drinking water sources from contamination.
Suarez said he remained dissatisfied with how the initial situation was handled, although he credited the government with assisting with the relocation.
“I’m not satisfied with the way that it initially happened because they should tell us before, but right now they are helping us a lot to [get] relocated. They gave us support in all the attempts to get the location; obviously, we have to apply again for all the permissions we have [for the Belle location].”
But Suarez said he was unclear why the issue had not been communicated to the company before it set up at the Belle.
Suarez said the circus had requested and paid for the necessary permissions and inspections from various government departments before setting up, and there had been no indication of a problem with the location.
The relocation meant the circus had to go through another round of applications, inspections and approvals for the Garrison Savannah.
“We applied for fire department to come and do the inspection, also we have to apply for police to come and give us support in the areas, that has a cost, health department they came to do inspection of the area and also the permission from the other ministries one is planning and then we need permission from housing ministry, we need permission from Turf Club also…the same way we did it before we have to do it here.”
Suarez also told Barbados TODAY that the Planning Department initially did not require the circus to formally seek permission, but instead asked that it notify the department of its intention to use the location and put up posters.
He said he was later asked whether the required permission from the Planning Department had been obtained.
The financial impact of the disruption has yet to be determined.
Suarez said the company does not yet know how much the relocation, lost operating days, refunds and other effects will ultimately cost.
“Right now we don’t have a figure to say how much, and we don’t know how much in the end its gonna cost because the effect that this matter will have… it’s bad publicity in the end from the people who purchased tickets, the move-in location, the days that we lost; in the end we don’t know how much this is going to be.”
He gave an assurance that ticket prices will remain unchanged.
“A lot of people did not ask for refund; they are waiting with their tickets saying: ‘I wait because I want to see the show.’”
While some customers have requested refunds, Suarez said the process could take several days.
“A lot of people also want the refund, but it’s not that easy; sometimes it takes four to five to seven days to get the refund. Some people complain about that, but that part is not our fault; that’s the normal process to get the refund.”
As the circus teams continue preparing for Friday’s reopening, they were also keeping a close eye on the weather as a tropical wave affects Barbados.
Suarez said officials from the environmental health division and the Barbados Meteorological Services had asked whether the circus had a contingency plan in the event of bad weather.
He said the company was prepared to respond if conditions deteriorated.
“We saw before that the bad weather is going to be on Saturday.
“As you can see, we have all the containers already on the venue; the tent is up, so it’s gonna be easy to handle at this point. The area is gonna be clear, and it’s gonna be easy to handle the situation.”
The circus manager said the team of about 50 people who travelled to Barbados had been encouraged by the support from Barbadians.
“We have a very good feeling because we have very good support from the people from Barbados. They are keeping up on social media; they were keeping up with what’s going on, why they stopped the circles, why we moved from there, where we’re going to move now, when we’re going to start. So we have good feedback from the people. Let’s hope that the people just come and enjoy the show. We are very grateful for the response from the people of Barbados.”
Suarez said the company, which has brought its circus to Barbados for 20 years, remains hopeful it can put on shows for the public for the remainder of its stay.
“We really apologise for all this matter, even if it’s our fault or not. It’s a very embarrassing situation, so we just invite them to come and enjoy the circus as soon as we open from the 21st of August at Garrison Savannah.”
Following Friday’s opening, the circus will host only one show on Saturday because of a previously scheduled horse racing meet at the Savannah.
Suarez said that although there was initial pushback to prevent any shows on Saturday, a compromise was reached to host one show at 8 pm on Saturday night.
Suarez said that once the location is fully set up to welcome patrons, there will be two entrances, including a gravel walkway to protect people from the grass and mud. He hopes to extend the stay beyond September 21, but the authorities have not finalised that decision.
(LG)
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