Photo by Chris Smith
More than 200 professionally trained clowns squeezed into the Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center from April 16 to 21 for Clowns of America International's annual convention. Workshops were held in subjects such as face painting, balloon twisting and parading, as exemplified by Marie "Mischief" Beck, seen here in the latter competition. The gathering drew clowns from across the country and Canada. "People are looking for a hobby, maybe a way to give back to the community … to bring joy," says Richmond clown Sandra "Strawberry" Winstead.
Watch a video from the clown convention.
