Giovanni Zoppé believes Snowmass Village is an "extra special" destination to recreate his family's 176-year-old traveling circus because its small mountain town setting is how he imagines the show's early days overseas.

"It's like a little European village," Giovanni, a sixth-generation Zoppé performer who stars as Nino the Clown in today's show, said of Snowmass. "It brings back an emotional connection to all of my father's stories" set in a mountain village in southern Italy. The Zoppé Italian Family Circus returns to Snowmass Village for its fourth summer this weekend.