Cirque du Soleil to Celebrate 25th Anniversary with June 16 Stilt Walking Events

Cirque du Soleil will hold stilt walking events around the world — including New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Montréal (Canada), Fortaleza (Brazil), Lisbon (Portugal), Macau (China), Nagoya (Japan), and Tokyo (Japan) — as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, on June 16.

The company is organizing public events to reclaim the Guinness World Record title of the most people simultaneously walking on stilts, which it originally set five years ago. Stilt walking was a crucial part of the beginnings of Cirque du Soleil. In the spring of 1980, Gilles Ste-Croix, of the Quebec-based Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers), walked 56 miles on tall stilts from Baie-Saint-Paul to Québec City to raise money for a group of street performers that would soon influence the founding of Cirque du Soleil.

For more information, including how to be part of the stilt walking events, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/25.