From: Darren D. MacDonald, thenorthbaybay.ca staff
NORTH BAY – Clowns have been around for thousands of years. A constant source of levity and joy, clowns spread laughter everywhere they go.
But one local clown now believes that people are laughing at him, and not with him.
Rowdy the Rambunctious Clown is a local entertainer in North Bay. Rowdy started clowning back in the big North Bay clown boom of 2005. He worked hard getting any gig he could get – from kids’ parties to Fanny’s.
“I remember being there when Rowdy was at Fanny’s,” chuckles a local pervert. “Some of the stuff he did, well – I’d never seen a guy do before.”
“Balloon animals, face painting, this bit where he made a puppet talk and spit water at us. It was a night I’ll never forget.”
Clown Down
After being awarded a Golden Big Ol’ Floppy Shoe for Entertainer of the Year from the Floppy’s (otherwise known as the “Clown Awards”), Rowdy thought that he had it made.
What he didn’t expect was a multi-coloured midlife crisis.
“I was doing a birthday show, and I did a very serious bit with a frying pan,” says Rowdy as he paints some tears onto his vibrant clown face. “I look around and people are laughing AT me, not with me.”
A Nice Jester
Dennis Copland is a performance artist who plays Mopey the Clown in North Bay.
“I remember when I learned that people were crying at me, but not with me,” relates Copland. “Once you find your place in the world, you can find peace with what you do. My place? Well, it’s crying in corners of businesses dressed as a clown. Rowdy just needs to find his purpose.”
Even with the current lockdown, Rowdy was booked for dozens of shows in the summer and fall. But the Rambunctious Clown has cancelled all of his upcoming gigs, to the disappointment of parents planning parties and to the delight of kids who were to attend said parties.