LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A travelling river circus, FLOTSAM! is in Kentucky this month.

What You Need To Know

  • River circus FLOTSAM! stopped in Louisville for three shows Sept. 13-15

  • The show is performed on a wooden boat designed by Jason Webley

  • The crew is traveling along the Ohio River this summer, from Pittsburgh to Paducah

  • The boat will make a few more stops in Kentucky in September

A group of musicians, circus artists and puppeteers wrapped up its performances Sunday in Louisville. For Jason Webley, his handmade wooden boat was a lifetime in the making. 

“I always felt this poetic connection to rivers, especially like in cities and towns, with rivers going through them,” said Webley, captain of FLOTSAM!

Built for a circus with music, stunts and puppets, it's not a typical watercraft. 

“The story, basically, is there's a few people on the boat," Webley said. "They have a strange visitor, and things happen." 

The nine-person crew and baby are floating down the Ohio River this summer from Pittsburgh to Paducah, making stops along the river for shows.

“People said that …  they haven't seen something ... that made them feel like a child since they were a child," Webley said. "That's a pretty high compliment." 

FLOTSAM! got to Louisville Friday, Sept. 13 and wrapped up its last area performance Sunday, Sept. 15.

“We've gotten two standing ovations the past two nights; that never happens," said Tanya Gagne, sailor character on FLOTSAM! "I don't know how many people were here last night; maybe over 500. Our Louisville experience has been wonderful." 

The raft is not only a stage, but it’s also where many crew members are living while they’re on tour.

“Some of my favorite time is spent on the floats between the towns that we've been performing for," Gagne said. "I love being on the boat; we go nice and slow. We see lots of beautiful nature." 

It connects both the artists and the audience with the water around them.

“It feels like we're enacting some kind of unconscious ritual, everyone's participating in it and it's activating the river, activating the town and the town's connection to the river ... it's just a beautiful thing,” Webley said.

The FLOTSAM! crew will continue floating down the Ohio River this month with several more stops in Kentucky, including West Point (Sept. 16), Brandenburg (Sept. 17), Owensboro (Sept. 20), Henderson (Sept. 23) and two nights in Paducah (Sept. 28 and Sept. 28). Next summer, Webley said, he's planning to take FLOTSAM! to New York's Erie Canal. 

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