The circus is coming to Bay City, but there won't be any lions, tigers or bears.

Oh, my.

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The Nerveless Nocks - a circus of daredevils who do handstands on top of a 30-foot stack of chairs and flips in a giant hamster wheel - will perform at the 14th annual Labadie Pig Gig presented by State Farm Insurance. The rib-cookoff event starts at 4 p.m. today and runs through Sunday. Eleven rib-cooking teams will barbecue in Veterans Memorial Park during the four-day festival.

The Florida-based Nerveless Nocks are a new addition to Pig Gig, replacing the lumberjack show.

''We've done lumberjack shows for 14 years and although people enjoy it, I thought it was time for something new and unique,'' said Pig Gig organizer Wendy Dore.

The aerialists started in Switzerland in 1840, and have been performing ever since, according to Nerveless Nocks co-owner Michelangelo Nock.

''It's not like a Hollywood movie where you'll see Tom Cruise in front of a blue screen,'' said Nock. ''It's daredevils doing stunts without safety devices.''

The Nerveless Nocks will perform at 6:45 p.m. today; 1,4 and 6:30 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Also new this year is Rock by the Dock, a fundraising concert put on by the Youth Advisory Committee, a group of local youths that raises money for nonprofit organizations. The committee is part of the Bay Area Community Foundation. The concert is from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and will feature local musicians in eight different acts, including singer/songwriter Katherine Schell.

''Hopefully, it turns out so well that we'll be able to make this an annual event,'' said Renee Courier, program associate at the Bay Area Community Foundation.

Copyright © 2006. The Bay City Times.