Fern Street Circus Plants “Seeds of Joy” Across San Diego with Free Neighborhood Tour

SAN DIEGO – Fern Street Circus, San Diego’s beloved homegrown social circus, will return to neighborhood parks this spring with Seeds of Joy/Semillas de Alegría, a new show inspired by its community garden and the simple idea that joy grows when people care for things together.

The Neighborhood Tour opens Saturday, April 25 at Park de la Cruz in City Heights and continues for three weekends with six free performances in San Diego’s Mid-City and South Bay neighborhoods. Each bilingual show brings together professional circus artists, musicians and student performers from Fern Street Circus’s free after-school program, which has served Mid-City San Diego youth for more than three decades.

Seeds of Joy/Semillas de Alegría transforms the circus ring into a living garden – a metaphor for community, where performers and audience members alike play a vital role in a shared ecosystem. Each act unfolds like a small planting, offering the audience “seeds” of joy and hope to be carried, nurtured, grown and shared. The show draws on the universal language of nature, circus and music to create simple moments of connection that speak across generations, cultures and beliefs, offering joy as a small but powerful act of resilience and collective healing.

New to the Neighborhood Tour this year will be a live musical performance by the Chunky Hustle Brass Band, who will move throughout the space as whimsical “fungi” characters, reflecting the underground networks that connect communities and help us thrive.

The Tour will move to a new location each weekend through May 17. The shows are free and open to the public. All ages and backgrounds are welcome, and no tickets are required.

Each show during the Neighborhood Tour will include a free Community Health Resource Fair, featuring health screenings, vaccinations and other services from Live Well San Diego.

“We want people of all ages and backgrounds to come together and share something joyful,” said Catalina Paz, Fern Street Circus artistic director and creator of the show. “The idea behind Seeds of Joy is simple: when we care for things together, they grow. In times that can feel heavy or uncertain, joy can be a small but powerful way to reconnect with each other.”

Circus artist Cheryl Lindley (“Colombina”) will serve as this year’s ringmaster, along with the clowning duo of Catalina Paz as “Abuelita” and Lucy Forton as “Grandpa Gerold” as her Garden Guardians. The show will feature a range of circus acts, including acrobatics, foot juggling, contortion, tightwire, juggling, puppetry, lollipop lyra and chair balancing.

The Tour will also include pre-show concerts with performers from CARPA San Diego and “Heartman,” a 10-foot puppet that has come to come to serve as Fern Street Circus’ mascot for the last decade. 

Principal funding for Fern Street Circus and the 2026 Neighborhood Tour comes from Parks California (through the Arts in California Parks Initiative), City of San Diego Department of Cultural Affairs, Prebys Foundation and the California Arts Council

Community partners include the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, Live Well San Diego, San Diego Guild of Puppetry and San Diego Unified School District.

Spring 2026 Neighborhood Tour Schedule:

Circus Shows – 2 p.m.

Community Health Resource Fairs – 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Pre-Show Concerts – 1:15 p.m.

Saturday, April 25                           Park de la Cruz, 3901 Landis Street, San Diego 92105                      

Sunday, April 26                              Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive, San Diego 92102

Saturday, May 2                              Cesar Chavez Recreation Center, 455 Sycamore Road, San Diego 92173

Sunday, May 3                                 Egger-South Bay Park, 1885 Coronado Avenue, San Diego 92154

Saturday, May 16                            North Park Recreation Center, 4044 Idaho Street, San Diego, CA 92104

Sunday, May 17                              Azalea Park, 2596 Violet Street, San Diego 92105

About Fern Street Circus

Fern Street Circus, San Diego’s original social circus, is a project of Fern Street Community Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It has been serving the city’s underserved neighborhoods for more than 30 years with its signature after-school program and annual performances at public parks, all offered free of charge. Additional information can be found at www.fernstreetcircus.com and on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).