The circus is coming to town – or rather – it’s bought one.
Spiegelworld, the extravagant entertainment company behind spectacles including Absinthe and Opium has taken an unlikely stage: the tiny desert town of Nipton, California.
Nestled on the edge of the Mojave Desert and home to just a few dozen residents, Nipton was once a forgotten mining settlement.
Now, it’s the location of one of Spiegelworld’s most daring acts yet – a retreat for circus performers.
Spiegelworld has been transforming the 80-acre plot of dirty dusty land into its global headquarters, or as they call it, a Circus Town.
The vision is bold. ‘What if an audacious circus company purchased a small town in the middle of the Mojave Desert,’ its website reads.
‘As new caretakers of this circus oasis in the desert, Spiegelworld will be writing the next chapter of Nipton’s centuries-old story.’
Spiegelworld says it will be a ‘living town where performers and artisans can retreat to dream and create’.
It will be a ‘place to tell stories around the campfire’, and ‘dine under the stars and wake up to a panoramic view of the mountains’.
The company purchased the plot of land in January 2023 for a reported $2.5million (£1,962,708.50) The town is located in San Bernardino County’s Ivanpah Valley, around 12 miles from Primm, Nevada.
Surrounded by sweeping desert landscapes, it features just a handful of buildings and a population of just 25 people.
The purchase has been compared to a real life’s Schitt’s Creek – the name of the town bought by fallen billionaire Johnny Rose as a practical joke in the Netflix hit TV series.
It sat for sale for years until it was bought on a whim by Californian Jerry Freeman, who bought it for $200,000 (£157,017) as a surprise for his wife.
The similarities are not lost on Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison, who told The Wall Street Journal ‘Imagine it’s “Schitt’s Creek” but owned by a circus.’
It’s set to have a major facelift as travelling circus performers use it as their regular base, brainstorming ideas for future shows or simply relaxing for a few days.
Spiegelworld’s usual HQ is in Las Vegas, just an hour away. The company has described it as their ‘own stretch of paradise’, where they have been entertaining audiences with ‘electrifying’ shows since 2011.
This isn’t the first time the land has been sold to less-than-conventional buyers. In 2017 Nipton was bought for $5million (£3,925,417) by America Green cannabis company with plans to turn it into a ‘marijuana mecca’.
Local newspapers dubbed it ‘Pot Town’ as the company’s plans took a surreal turn, with everything from cannabis-infused dinner parties to marijuana medical baths suggested.
The business hoped to transform it into a weed-friendly haven for cannabis tourism, but the bold vision never materialised as the company failed to secure the necessary funding.
While plans are in place to turn Nipton into a circus oasis, the town is yet to open to the public. The seasonal miners and locals who have lived there for years are watching it unfold while, so far, only two performers live there.
Its buyers, however, have promised an exciting future, with proposals including a huge sculpture park, performance venues and underground accommodation bunkers.
Spiegelworld has been updating its progress on its Instagram page, where they claim: ‘We’re building the world’s first Circus Town.’
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