SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Kids Learn to Put on a Happy Face

For all the laughter and giggles surrounding a visit from two circus clowns to local elementary schools Tuesday, there was a serious message.

“Remember kids, you can’t run away from home anymore to join the circus,” Skeeter, a clown with the touring Carson & Barnes Circus told a group of students at San Juan Elementary School. “You’ve got to go to school to be a clown.”

That said, Packy and Skeeter told jokes, performed balloon tricks and drew children from the audience to demonstrate how clowns put on their face makeup, as a delighted group of classmates looked on.

The visits kicked off Clown Week, an event sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Capistrano Valley that will be capped off by shows at the circus big top on Friday and Saturday.

The children roared with laughter as they saw large red noses and exaggerated eyebrows painted on three student volunteers.

They also learned three basic forms of clown faces. White face is a basic coat of white makeup, with black accents for eyebrows. To prepare the Auguste face, all features such as eyes, nose and mouth are painted large to greatly exaggerate them. Tramp faces have a layer of black makeup laid down to simulate a beard.

In addition to San Juan Elementary, the clowns gave performances at Harold Ambuehl Elementary and the Wonder Years Preschool as a preview of the circus show this weekend.

With the help of elephants, the circus big top will be pitched on the corner of Junipero Serra Road and Camino Capistrano on Friday about 8 a.m.

For information, call (714) 493-4700.