Spotlight On Our Associates
Welde Bear Show Delights Fairgoers for Over Six Decades What began as a unique family busi-
ness in Norway nearly ninety years ago is still a popular attraction throughout the U.S. and Canada three generations later.
Like his grandfather, bear handler John
Welde III and his wife Monica entertain thousands of fans with their Welde Bear
Show. They take to the road for a couple of months at a time, leaving their 15 acre Bearadise Ranch home in My- aka City, Florida to perform at dozens of Fairs and special events through the Country. It all began in 1926 as Johnny Johnson Welde, a per-
former who had a great love for the circus and a fascina- tion with bears, was operating in Europe, Russia and South America. In the mid 1940’s a promoter spotted this unusual act. He and his wife Tove came to the U.S. with 16 polar bears and 18 brown bears, and a contract to perform with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Eventually, the Welde Family took the bear act to Holly-
wood, and they appeared in television sitcoms such as Lassie, The Lucy Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and a number of movies including National Velvet. During the mid 1950’s Johnny III’s grandparents and mother, Conny, began
taking their act on the Fair and Carnival circuit. At three years old young Johnny III himself began handling bears. Today, Johnny and Monica’s children, Jennifer and Johnny IV are also learning the business and have helped hand feed and raise baby cubs. The gang mostly travels to and from Fair gigs in a specially designed bear transport trailer.
Over the years, the show has traveled to Fairs as far north as Newfoundland
and as far south as Puerto Rico. The Welde Bear Show has also performed at the Hawaii State Fair in Honolulu, and the Los Angeles Fair. “Our family were true pioneers in the field,” say Johnny III. The Welde Bear Show regularly plays a number of Florida Fairs including the
South Florida Fair, the Sarasota County Fair, the Collier County Fair, and the Central Florida Fair to name a few. The Bears have been entertaining fans at the Florida State Fair since 1979. One of the show's biggest fans was none other than the late George Steinbrenner, who served on the Board of Directors of the State Fair Authority. He was so impressed with the act, his New York Yankees baseball team has since been a sponsor of the Welde Bear Show at the Florida State Fair. The Weldes make bear training look almost effort-
less. They say have immense respect for these magnifi- cent animals, however, they feel they have nothing to fear. The Weldes’ training methods are based on en- hancing each bear’s individual natural behaviors and talents through patience, reward and understanding. “It’s all in how you raise them,” Johnny Welde recently told a reporter. “The bears are our best friends and they look at us like we’re their Mom and Dad.” Of the Weldes’ 13 performing brown bears, six are
actually direct descendants of Johnny Johnson’s original group. The others are rescues from undesirable circumstances. The Weldes say their goal is to educate the public and promote habitat preserva- tion for these amazing creatures. They note that the bears’ natural habitat
is diminishing at an alarming rate. The Welde Bear Show is
family entertainment, educa- tion, and conservation aware-
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