Milwaukee circus parade's future in peril

MILWAUKEE, July 6 (UPI) -- Organizers of Milwaukee's Great Circus Parade said the event's future is in doubt beyond this coming Sunday's parade.

William Fox, co-chairman of the Great Circus Parade, said officials have already decided not to hold a parade in 2010 and the event scheduled for 1:20 p.m. Sunday may be the last of the parades for several years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday.

"The American economy must show signs of life" before the parade can gather enough funds to return, Fox said. "So for some people this parade on Sunday will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Fox said the last Great Circus Parade, which took place in 2003, cost $1.5 million to produce.

"I would love to see another parade put on, but we just don't know," Fox said.