Play board games with circus clowns

Local schoolchildren and their families are invited to join members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown family in a "game-a-thon" taking place Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. The clowns will lead participants through rotating sessions of classic games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Parcheesi and Yahtzee, including their junior versions. The event, designed for children age 5 and up and their families, takes place 10-11:30 a.m., and the first 200 participants to register, beginning at 9:30 a.m., will receive a free weekday ticket to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's newest circus show, called Zing Zang Zoom. The show runs through Nov. 15 at the Allstate Arena before moving to Chicago's United Center Nov. 17-29. For show details, go to ringling.com.