CHICAGO (CBS) — The Midnight Circus is usually an after-hours affair, but its troupe will perform during the day as part of a popular partnership with the Chicago Park District coming up this fall.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, back in 2007, the Midnight Circus staged its first show in a Chicago city park when aerialists, acrobats and clowns played Welles Park at Lincoln and Montrose avenues.

That event planted the seed for what has become the Circus in the Parks program, which this year will expand to seven parks.

Proceeds from the $15 tickets will help fund improvement programs at all the host parks.

The parks that will host the circus include:
• Hamlin Park, Damen and Wellington avenues, Sept. 8;
• Welles Park, Western and Montrose avenues, Sept. 15;
• Holstein Park, Oakley Avenue and Palmer Street, Sept. 22;
• Independence Park, Irving Park Road and Springfield Avenue, Sept. 29;
• Commercial Park, 1845 W. Rice St., Oct. 6;
• Mt. Greenwood Park, 111th Street and Central Park Avenue, Oct. 13;
• Chase Park, Ashland and Leland avenues, Oct. 20.

The Midnight Circus itself dates back to 1995, when clown Jeffrey Jenkins and classically trained artist combined their talents to create a company that combined circus arts and theatre.