The big top hosts special guests

(NECN: Katie Daly, Worcester, Mass.) – Crickett the clown is used to having the center of the ring all to himself, but Friday was different. “It’s important for them to get down and see so they can get a hands on feel for what its like to be in the circus,” Crickett said. The spotlight was on two special groups of kids. Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus invited the New England Center for Children with Autism and the Worcester Boys and Girls Club to come experience their show up close. And that means getting to meet their biggest star — an elephant. Gabriel Addarich had never been to the circus and could not wait to see what the big top was all about. “I’ve started thinking about since I woke up this morning, because you get to pet the elephant and see all the cool tricks,” Addarich said. While the clowns may have stepped aside for the afternoon, allowing others to steal the show, they still brought smiles and laughs to their special guests.