Final preparations are underway as one of the area's longest running shows comes to Springfield.  The George Carden Circus International is celebrating 50 years of entertaining across the nation.

Thursday night, workers continue to put the finishing touches on the big top and in less than 24 hours the seats at the Shrine Mosque will be filled with people as performers and animals take to the stage.

During its regular season the George Carden Circus International runs for 42 weeks, traveling 40,000 miles each year in the U.S. and Canada.

"I feel that we are kind of the last line of decent family entertainment.  You never have to worry about what your kids are going to see and you can always be amazed.  It’s such a traditional thing." says Alberto Valencia, the circus’ ringmaster.

For many workers performing under the big top has been a long family tradition.

Valencia says, "We have what we call a two unit, which is, we have a smaller unit for the smaller town where we play one day stands.  We'll be in town for one day and go to the next town everyday.  This is one of our longer spots of the year."

And preparing for the circus can be hard work.  It normally takes crews between 10 and 12 hours to set things up.  At the Shrine Mosque, crews will work up to 40 hours.

"Springfield is one of the many places we go.  It's one of the most exciting because it's one of the most difficult.  The Shrine Mosque is a very hard facility to get into and get out of, but once we are in the building and people fill it up, every seat is a ring side seat." says George Carden, the owner of the circus.

The three-ring show features an array of lights, wardrobe and production numbers involving monkeys, dogs and elephants.

"It's amazing to see the things that they can do.  We have one that walks on her hind legs and one that walks on top of a barrel." says Justin Slack, one of the crew members helping set things up.

Carden says they try and keep the shows exciting every season.  So, this year instead of the tiger acts, a new number features lots of horses.

The first show is at 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, March 23rd, and it runs all the way through Sunday, April 1st.  Advance tickets are available at area Price Cutters, Rameys and the Shrine Mosque.