|
In an age of packaged entertainment, special effects and YouTube, Coney Island sideshows continue to stun and amaze, much as they have for more than a century. The weird, the amazing, and the simply gross are alive and well at Coney Island, where sideshow performers test their limits. Coney Island draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. For more than a century, the amusement park has offered tourists fantasy, thrills and cool ocean breezes at the southern tip of Brooklyn. The bizarre sideshows, a big draw, originated with the circus in the 19th century. Dick Zigun founded Coney Island USA. The non-profit organization keeps that culture alive. "If there is going to be one place left in America that is going to preserve sideshow or freak show of course Coney Island is the right place," said Zigun. "If you go to a sideshow, you are going to scream or laugh or cry or maybe even throw up." Princess Pat of Nigeria - that's her stage name - is one of many sideshow performers here. "I am from an artistic family, so when I got here, that was years and years ago. The first thing I did here was a blade box and slowly I started learning," she said. Alejandro Dubois specializes in escape acts and dangerous feats. "My inspiration from Harry Houdini had taught me to do is just keep pushing the envelope and see how far you can go before you end up killing yourself," noted Dubois. | 
