For the second year in a row Danny Grant and his Cowboy Circus came to town as one of the feature shows in the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair. Danny builds his show as the "World's Smallest Rodeo" you will ever see.
A native of Texas, Danny grew up with parents in the entertainment business. His family split their time between Texas and a home in Key West. He spent every summer of his childhood in a camper traveling the country as his parents performed at local fairs. Their shows were named "Bounce" and "OllLaLa." His moms show was a musical variety show and his dads was a great balancing and audience participation show.
His mom and dad actually met at a state fair convention and their shows across the country were at many of the same events Danny is performing at now.
Following family tradition he met his fiance Lindsay Carpenter, a FSU grad, while she was attending a fair in West Palm Beach, Florida.
FAU Business Grad
Danny is a true cowboy at heart, but fell in love with Florida and ended up graduating from high school and college in Florida. He graduated with a business degree from Florida Atlantic University (FAU), where Chad Lundsford is coaching now.
During his senior year of college he was interning for a large company that would have provided him the opportunity for a great career in business, but he discovered through the internship that a typical 9 to 5 job just didn't fulfill him.
A few weeks before graduation he was hired for a cowboy themed bring your kid to work day. He had a blast, the kids loved him and he made more money in a little over an hour than he made all week with his internship.
Making People Happy
He reached out to his dad and told him that he was struggling with the path he should take as a career. His dad asked him what does he feel he is good at. He replied, entertaining people and making people happy. His dad then encouraged him to chase his heart and his strengths.
Following his dad's advice he spent the next two years traveling weekly to horse shows and entertained families out front of the arena as they arrived. He began doing this for tips. Then the show promoters saw the value he brought and started hiring him.
While he was doing the horse shows his family videoed him and shared it with an agent who booked fair shows. The agent loved the video and hired him to do a fair. That was such a hit, the agent convinced Danny to lean into the fair circuit.
That was eight years ago and now he travels over 250 days a year performing in fairs from Texas to New York.
"We were at a fair convention a few years ago and met Danny in the lobby of the hotel. We loved how approachable and down to earth he was and decided after spending a few impromptu minutes with him that he would be a great addition to the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair," said Lisa Turner, Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair Chair. "It was no surprise to us that he was such a hit two years ago. It was an easy decision for the fair committee to bring him back again this year."
The Roping Arena
Danny Grant's Cowboy Circus is located in the entertainment area of the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair near the petting zoo and beside the K9's in Flight show.
The show takes place in a roping arena that is welcoming and inviting to kids who along with their parents become the stars of the show. All of the props in the arena were built by Danny including roping dummies configured out of old rocking horses he bought off facebook marketplace.
He also built a motorized mechanical bull that he rides around the fairgrounds wowing kids with roping tricks. He calls it his "Cow-a-saki".
Kids and parents are the stars of the show
What is most remarkable about Danny is his how he the kids and parents take center stage becoming the stars of the show.
"Often in stage shows the performance is about the performer. I mixed that up and make the stars of the show the kids, their parents and the audience. I always pick a cowboy and a cowgirl from the audience along with two adults," said Danny Grant. "I see my role in the show as the rodeo announcer and everyone else in attendance as the stars of the show. I want it to be a real fun family affair."
Different show every night
The show is different every time you watch it because the "stars" change each show. What really makes the show so special are not the incredible tricks and stunts that Danny performs, but how for a few minutes each night, he makes kids feel like they have amazing cowboy and cowgirl abilities. They also get to see how incredibly fun grown ups can be.
If you are old enough to have grown up watching westerns on TV and pretending to be John Wayne, the show takes on even more significance. For a few minutes each night those kids get to be our heros.
Well done Danny Grant. Make sure you catch Danny's show at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair.
Check out a few minutes of Danny's show below:
