The greatest collegiate show on earth is packing up the big tent earlier than planned. The Florida State University "Circus by the Sea" is leaving town this Friday, more than three weeks ahead of schedule.

The reason is low ticket sales, but circus officials say they plan to make the most of their last week here.

The Circus by the Sea was flying high until ticket sales brought them down.

Tracy Budhall, Circus Marketing Director, said, "Unfortunately, as much as we'd like to keep this thing running throughout the second of August as scheduled, lackluster ticket sales have forced us to cancel the season a little early.”

There are a few factors that Rudhall feels could have affected ticket sales.

"When this idea came into conception it was a very different economy than when it came into fruition. That certainly played into it. It's a new event, that's always difficult. Our location may be a little tough because you can't see it from Back Beach Road, so it requires a tremendous amount of marketing to ensure that people know about it. We had some things in the beginning that maybe we needed to perfect and things were adjusted mid-season such as local ticket price, and I don't know that the word ever sufficiently got out that that had been changed for the season.”

The circus is comprised solely of Florida State University college students, so not only will the collegiate performers take their last bows this week, they'll have to leave behind the children at circus summer camp.

"The circus camp has been a phenomenal success, and certainly even though we are very, very disappointed to end the season early. We are absolutely looking forward to next season."

Even though the first Circus by the Sea wasn't as successful as they'd hoped, organizers say they plan to make some changes and be back in 2009.

Tickets for this week's last shows for panhandle residents are $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 4 to 16. Children under 3 are free. The box office opens at 6 p.m. and performances start at 7 p.m.

Thursday, July 10th will be the final performance this summer, with an opening act by the children from this week’s summer circus camp.