The Canberra Circus Festival is here for the week ahead — a huge, self-funded, community celebration with something for everyone.

When I visited the festival site near Warehouse Circus headquarters in Chifley, director Tom Davis was overseeing preparations inside the largest of three tents.

Mason West from Red Canvas Productions in Castlemaine and his crew were busy tightening the final rigging in the 340-seat big top — a capacity that must be filled if the festival is to match the success of its two predecessors.

“Circus is specialised, but it’s also for everyone,” Davis explains, pointing to the diverse people drawn to it, from young performers to older Canberrans.

Warehouse Circus, he observes, has long championed this ethos with its informal motto: “for everybody and every body.”

“Everyone has the capacity to learn something. Juggling, for instance, is easy to start but perhaps the hardest to master — the trick is to be brave enough not to mind the occasional ‘drop’.”

The week also coincides with Warehouse Circus’ 35th birthday, which will be marked with a big, members-based celebration this Saturday, an alumnus show, and a very big cake, but there’s plenty more on offer for the general public.

Then on Sunday things really get into swing with Sydney’s The Gagliardes Family Circus with their old-time variety acts and penny-farthing acro-balance; Coalesce, the brand-new full length show by the Advanced Performance Troupe of Warehouse Circus and The Great Big Circus Gala(h).

Davis has managed the biennial festival for several years, but this year he is joined by Annabel Carberry, former teacher at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, who is helping steer the program.

Audiences can expect a mix of ticketed and outdoor shows: from large-scale productions to free performances like Thunder Rumbles, created by the entire Warehouse gang to be shown on market day, October 4.

The program is nothing if not varied: Popcorn Circus; the Circus Monoxide troupe; the pirate show, Swashbuckling Circus; magician Tricky Nick’s popular children’s show; Scott Hone’s BMX stunt act (he’ll also run workshops); and Monoxide, the major gala spectacular.

But for Davis, the heart of the festival lies beyond the performances: it’s a rare chance for young circus artists from across the country to meet, collaborate and make new work together. “It’s immersive and holistic,” he says.

So why is circus so enduring?

Davis points to its mix of physical activity, diversity and risk.

“It’s non-competitive yet demanding; playful yet real. “The perfect juggle,” he reflects, “is to have one drop.”

And in an age of AI and high technology, circus offers something irreplaceable: the thrill of live performance, with all its thrills, spills and skills.

Canberra Circus Festival, Chifley Oval until October 5. All program details and bookings here