The Mighty Haag Circus will soon be back to life to benefit the Friends of the Algur Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College. 

The fundraiser called Cirque de Shreve will be held 6:30 to 10 p.m. Nov. 1. at the Pinewold Manor.

The story of the Haag Circus dates back to the late 1870s when a young Ernest Haag decided to run away from his Indiana home. Hopping on a train and hoping for the best, he ended up in New York where he worked shining shoes and selling lemonade. It was there his dreams of becoming a circus owner began to foster, and after saving his earnings, he embarked upon a journey that would forever be a part of Shreveport’s history. 

Haag formed his entertainment business in 1895 as the Mighty Haag Shows, then renamed it in 1915 to The Mighty Haag Circus. It wintered first in Shreveport at Pinewold Manor, the location for Cirque de Shreve, a fundraiser benefiting the Meadows Museum.

“It’s a natural fit,” Sherry Kerr, owner of the Pinewold Manor at 2745 Fairfield Ave., said. “This is where everything happened.”

The show first began in Shreveport as a wagon show. A two-mile street pageant of elaborate, hand-carved tableau wagons, chariots, steam calliopes, elephants, bears, tigers, camels and artists paraded down Texas Street every year to their wintering quarters between Fairfield and Line Ave. The parade was free for all Shreveport viewers. 

Kerr will open her home to the Meadows Museum and the public for a one-night only event featuring acrobats, fire eaters, hoopers and contortionists.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Rachel Hill, who is a part of the Meadows board, along with Kerr and Scarlett Hendricks. The three have spearheaded the event. “If you’re interested in the Meadows and what we have going on, this is a great introduction to the type of work we do.”

The Meadows Museum is directed by Centenary College art faculty members Lisa Nicoletti and Bruce Allen.  

Art plays a central role in the event as over 80 regional artists, including William Joyce, have donated pieces to be auctioned during the event. 

“We’re going to have gourmet circus food and live music, too,” Kerr said. “And it’s all happening under a big top tent.”

Gourmet circus goodies, supplied by Drake Catering, include a “Grill Booth” with items such as goat cheese and balsamic sliders; a “fried booth” with zucchini bacon funnel cakes and shrimp and andouille on a stick; a gourmet hot dog stand; gourmet and organic cotton candy bar; popcorn booth, with smoked, white truffle and Parmesan and chocolate and red chili popcorn.

Kerr said partygoers should come in costume, but said she expects many to dress in casual attire.   

More on the Manor

Pinewold Manor, located on the corners of Fairfield Avenue and Kirby Street, was designed by Ed Neild Sr., who created some of the designs for the interior of the White House during Harry Truman’s administration. 

Pinewold, Anglo-Saxon for woods, was constructed in 1903 by lumberman T. M. Jones and expanded in 1919 by oilman J.P. Evans. The interior is described by homeowner Sherry Kerr as “Mediterranean Renaissance.”

Kerr said the research she’s done, says the property originally had three homes that sat on it, including one to the left of her home and one behind it, the original Pinewold Manor. She said with the help of one of J.P. Evans’s grandchildren she was able to find a photograph that showed all three homes together.

Over the years Pinewold has had few residences, including Kerr and her partner, Tom Giles, who purchased the home about eight years ago. She said as soon as she started learning about the history she knew it was worth the investment.

“I thought it was positioned in a place that could be used for the community, and I’ve been able to do that,” she said. “We’ve done events for the Opera, the Symphony, PACE and now for the Meadows, and we didn’t plan on it, but we’ve done quite a few weddings here, too.”

Kerr said the potential of the house was more than it just being a home for her family, but a home for everyone to use.

“Living in a house that has a story to it speaks in ways to your own story,” she said.

While the home may look massive from outside, it boasts a modest four bedroom layout with a basement and attic. There’s even a stained glass window from the original First Baptist Church on Travis and McNeil streets. 

“We’re trying to not do anything that would comprise the integrity of the house, but we have redone a few things including the kitchen and attic staircase,” Kerr
said.

She hopes to one day compile an entire historical text documenting the history of the home and all of it’s residents and guests. Kerr is originally from Shreveport, and while she has lived in other places, she said Shreveport will always be her home.

“When I’m in a house that has a rich history, it makes me reflect on my own story, my own life. As part of a sequence of people that have lived in this house, I want to do whatever I need to make this house a part of this community because I think it served and serves a very important purpose.”

If You Go:

What: Cirque de Shreve 
When: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Nov. 1. Pinewold Manor, 2745 Fairfield Ave., Shreveport.
Featuring: gourmet food, live music, circus entertainment and an art auction
Admission: $75, individual, member of the Meadows Museum; $100, individual, non-member; sponsors, $250 to $1,000.
Info: www.meadowsfriends.org.