PREVIEW: The Flotsam River Circus sets sail on the Erie Canal
**This article originally appeared in our August 2025 issue.**
Photos by Paul Kahl
“There's always been this idea percolating to build a ramshackle boat that serves as a stage and put together a musical circus theatre show involving some of the amazing performers I know.”
Sometimes the best opportunities are those that encourage you to embrace the uniqueness and spontaneity of everyday life. On August 1st, the Flotsam River Circus—an eccentric band of musicians, puppeteers, and circus performers—threw down their anchor in Buffalo for the first stop of their Erie Canal and Hudson River tour.
The Flotsam River Circus, founded by Jason Webley in 2019, has toured waterways across 13 states for the past five years, hosting free performances on their ramshackle ship.
“What makes it the most exhausting, yet so exciting, is that we don't repeat ourselves; we [always] do a different route and I spend a whole year researching and making connections,” Webley told me.
These performances harken back to traditional American showboats, popularized in the 19th and 20th centuries, which were vessels full of wonder and entertainment for communities along the waterways. When speaking with Webley about how he put together this distinctive production, he revealed, “I used to be a touring musician for many years, and I've always had this obsession with rivers. I grew up under the spell of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. For many years, I lived on a little houseboat just outside of Seattle. There's always been this idea percolating to build a ramshackle boat that serves as a stage and put together a musical circus theatre show involving some of the amazing performers I know.”
For Webley, this show serves as a canvas to put all of his passions, creativity, and life into. With 12 artists and performers ranging from sword swallowers and Cirque du Soleil entertainers, to wildly versed musicians, this show is swelling with immense talent. 40 locations have already confirmed their canal tour, so audiences can witness wild trapeze, out-of-this-world nautical puppets, and songs that put a new twist on the traditional sea shanties.
"It's sort of set in this post-apocalyptic future where the world has changed and been taken over by mutant fish… I hope people see this as a form of story, not just circus tricks,” Webley noted when asked about what attendees can expect. “It's a glimpse into a world; you're seeing these characters interact and sometimes they do amazing things. There's not a preaching message of ways people should change course, the message is adaptation. I hope this show is more poetic than preachy.”
The Flotsam River Circus’ 2025 tour coincides with the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal. This tour is not only bringing unique entertainment to a variety of nearby cities such as Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Hudson at the end of the month, but also serves as a celebration of our local history.
Entry is free, however FLOTSAM! is a nonprofit group depending on support from waterside communities to keep their show afloat.
“The whole project is a large production with a lot of moving parts and people,” Webley notes. “Due to the shows being free, if attendees can't afford to pay anything, they are totally welcome. In the past we've been really lucky; audiences have been very generous with their donations.”
Upcoming Dates:
Aug 26 - CANAJOHARIE - Riverfront Park - 6:30 pm
Aug 27 - AMSTERDAM - Riverlink Park - 6:30 pm
Aug 28 - SCHENECTADY - Gateway Landing Park - 6:30 pm
Aug 29 - WATERFORD - Lock 2 Park - 6:30 pm
Aug 30/31 - CAPITAL DISTRICT - Location TBA - 6:30 pm
Sept 1 - HUDSON, NY - Henry Hudson Riverfront Park - 6:30 pm
Sept 2 - SAUGERTIES - Tina Chorvas Waterfront Park - 6:30 pm
Sept 3 - KINGSTON - Kingston Point Beach - 6:30 pm
All shows are free to attend. For more information on tour dates and locations, you can visit https://www.rivercircus.com.