Next month, Habibi Shriners of Lake Charles will host a revamped, reignited, “reloaded” circus at the Burton Complex.

“Moto Xtreme Circus Reloaded” will be an exhilarating “circus with a purpose” that replaces animals (think elephants, big cats and chimpanzees) with machines (instead, think freestyle motorcycles and a transformer).

The circus has been hosted since 1956 to raise funds for the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Shreveport.

Habibi Shriners is a more than 150-year-old Masonic organization centered around philanthropy and community services, particularly the Shriners Hospitals for Children — a network of 22 hospital systems throughout the United States and North America. There are more than 200 Shriners chapters across the world, totaling nearly 200,000 members.

Shriners was created to create a fun space fueled by charitable acts, said David Hyatt, chief rabban.

“We exist as a fraternal organization to promote brotherhood and friendship and support our hospitals to provide care to children, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.”

The operating expenses of the hospitals are $1 million a day, he said. Shriners in Lake Charles’s main focus is on the hospital in Shreveport — the first Shriner’s hospital, which was built in 1922. It treats cleft lip, cleft palate and orthopedics. Close to home, the Shriner’s Hospital in Galveston treats burns.

Locally, Habibi Shriners maintains a transportation fund.

“So, children from this area that have to have surgery in Shreveport or Galveston, we pay for hotel rooms, gas, food, whatever the family might need to facilitate their trip.”

The Moto Extreme Circus Reloaded is Friday, Nov. 15, through Sunday, Nov. 17. The first show is at 7 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, there is a 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. show. On Sunday, a 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased ahead of time online, or at the box office. If purchased online, tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids ages five to 12. If bought at the box office, they are $25 for adults and $15 for ages five to 12. Children 4 and under always get in free.

VIP tickets are $30 online and $40 at the box office.

Motorized Circus

The circus’s evolution was serendipitous, Hyatt said. The switch from an animal circus to a motorbike circus was partly in response to a general pushback from animal rights activist groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

But mostly, he said, it was a symptom of circumstance.

The circus was historically hosted at the Lake Charles Event Center. Each year, the first weekend of October was reserved for the event. Following a change in management companies, that weekend was already taken.

“When we called, they said, ‘We’re booked.’ So, we didn’t have a place to go.”

Luckily, the Burton Complex had dates available for the third weekend of November.

“Then we had to call circus providers and see who was available to do a show, and it wound up this Moto Extreme had an opening,” he said. “It was kind of a chance thing that we changed our venue and our type of service.”

The “Xtreme” circus will live up to its namesake and is stacked with adrenaline-spiking motorized acts, he said. The shows will feature freestyle motocross, BMX status, the “Globe of Death” — a steel ball that stunt riders drive motorcycles in — and “Rocketman’s daring sky-soar.”

Audiences can still expect classic circus acts like clowns, acrobats and an emcee (Calcasieu Parish District Defender Harry Fontenot).

Hyatt said the club is hopeful that this event overhaul will reinvigorate the community’s excitement for the circus.

“Because it seemed like a random circus, we just kept getting lower and lower attendance, so with the change of venue and the change of what we’re doing, we’re hoping to get attendance back up and raise more money.”

Renovations and Recovery

Craig Manuel, recorder, said the hospital in Shreveport has “billions of dollars” in endowments that have grown over 100 years. Now, the circus is the main fundraiser for the shrine’s operating expenses.

Habibi Shriners opened the Habibi temple in 1974. The center serves as the headquarters for the club, and as an event space for rent. Like most of Southwest Louisiana, Hurricanes Laura and Delta left the facilities battered.

“It blew bricks off the front of the building. It rained inside the ladies’ bathroom,” Hyatt said. “We had to replace the awning. Blew the whole awning off.”

Damaged facilities did not stop Habibi Shriners from aiding the community, however. The center became an emergency hub right after Laura, Manuel said.

“FEMA was looking for a place to start operating, and we were available. A group of us even slept over there on the floor for several weeks.”

Hyatt recalled how the center, despite damages, became a distribution center.

“People from all over the United States started shipping stuff here. And we brought loads of stuff to Cameron — food, supplies.”

Both the main building that houses the office and the event space got new windows, walls, floors and contemporary design upgrades. He said it cost about $200,000 to repair everything. Recovery took place in stages because Shriners depended on fundraising.

“Like everybody else, we had insurance, but we had to fight with insurance companies. So, all of our repairs were actually done off of fundraising first, before we got any insurance money back.”

To see people show up to help Habibi Shriners fundraise for the repairs was heartwarming, he noted.

“It’s a labor of love for us, so knowing that the community wants to participate and help us achieve the goals that we’ve set out to do is just a great feeling.”

The center reopened to the public in February. It can be rented as an event space. They said is has been used for weddings, mardi gras balls, birthdays, and even a funeral.

For more information on booking the event space, call 337-436-9782.