The blue-and-white tent that appeared in the Tacoma Mall parking lot last week sn't a new store or a clearance sale. It's a 35,000-gallon water stage.
Cirque Italia, a touring Italian circus company, set up its custom big top at 4502 S. Steele Street for a four-day run of its "Water Circus Metropolis" show.
The engagement opened Friday, July 10, and four performances remain: Sunday, July 12, at 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., and a final show Monday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m.
What shoppers and commuters are seeing
The tent was visible in the mall parking lot by Wednesday, July 8, according to a Tacoma News Tribune report by Becca Most. Drivers on South Steele Street and shoppers pulling into the lot have had a hard-to-miss view of the striped structure ever since.
Inside, performers including acrobats, contortionists, and aerialists work above and around a stage surrounded by fountains and curtains of illuminated water.
The water stage holds 35,000 gallons but is not a tank; performers are not submerged, according to the company's event description. Colored lighting and lasers illuminate the water effects during the show.
Tickets and availability
Tickets range from $15 for children ages 2 to 12 to $65 for premium adult seats, according to Cirque Italia's official event page. Children under 2 get in free. ADA seating is available by calling 941-704-8572.
The company added two shows to the original schedule after the initial posting: a Saturday, July 11, performance at 9:30 p.m. and a Sunday, July 12, show at 7:30 p.m. As of Sunday morning, July 12, the remaining performances were listed as over 50% sold on the company's ticketing page.
Shoppers planning a trip to the mall through Monday should expect heavier-than-usual parking lot congestion near the tent, particularly around show times.
Who is Cirque Italia?
The company was founded in 2012 by Manuel Rebecchi, whose late aunt Moira Orfei ran one of the largest circus operations in Europe, according to a Knox News profile. Cirque Italia bills itself as the largest traveling spectacle in the United States and Canada, claiming more than 1 million spectators per year across multiple touring units.
The Tacoma stop is part of the company's "Silver Unit" tour. After the final Monday show, the same unit heads to Spokane Valley for performances Friday, July 17, through July 20.
Tacoma Mall management did not respond to a request for comment on the arrangement.
