LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas performer has taken his work home with him and built a three-story trapeze in his backyard. His neighbors say the high-flying practice space has been encroaching on their privacy for years and are demanding it come down.
Thursday, only FOX5 went to check it out. “My name is Renato Fernandes. These are my daughters Catalina and Vanessa. I am sixth generation circus performer…my daughters are seventh generation circus performers, and our specialty is the flying trapeze,” Fernandes told FOX5. After performing around the world, Fernandes now coaches here in Las Vegas and in his own backyard in the Shadow Hills neighborhood near Russell and McLeod on a trapeze he built. “We have supported a lot of the community with it…We are all about the community and that is why we build this in our backyard,” Fernandes explained.
This week, Fernandez went before the Paradise Township Advisory Board to ask for a permit, but several his neighbors showed up to express opposition. “That moment caught me off guard completely because I was unaware of that,” Fernandez recounted. After hearing his neighbors’ concerns, Fernandes agreed to take it all down within 30 days. A neighbor who spoke before the board this week but didn’t want his face shown on camera told FOX5, “It is an eyesore. It does bring property value down.” After years of trying to get the county to remove it, the neighbor says he will believe it’s coming down when he sees it happen. “Do I think they are going to do it? Nope. Nope. Nope,” the neighbor stated. Fernandes says he’s already looking for a new home for the backyard trapeze. “A ranch far away where I can just build my legacy with my daughters,” Fernandes shared.
The Paradise Township Advisory Board said they will follow up and make sure that the trapeze is removed within the given 30 days.
Fernandes is also the director of the inaugural International Circus Festival Circus Festival of Las Vegas . That will be taking place November 1st through 10th right here in Las Vegas.
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