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A BIG HONOR Nik Wallenda receives applause as he steps to the podium. Pedro Reis (right, just behind Wallenda) and his wife, Dolly — co-founders of The Circus Arts Conservatory — spoke of Wallenda's accomplishments prior to Wallenda's introduction. All photos by Norman Schimmel INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN AERIALIST NIK WALLENDA BECOMES THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO BE NAMED A CIRCUS CELEBRITY Staff Reports During back-to-back summers, Wallenda won international acclaim for his crossings of Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. The 2014 Circus Celebrity program notes, "From his childhood, Nik dreamed of walking the wire in places no one had walked before. On June 15, 2012, he realized a part of this dream, During a Jan. 18 ceremony at The Ringling, walking 1,800 feet across the widest part of Wallenda joined The Rudy Rudynoff Family Horseshoe Falls." and Felix Adler in receiving that honor for 2014. The annual recognition goes to out- That event, the program points out, was standing representatives of the circus world. the focal point of ABC TV's highest rated Almost exactly a week shy of his 35th birthday — Jan. 24 — Nik Wallenda had only to walk across a stage to accept congratulations for his latest feat — becoming the youngest person ever to be named a Circus Celebrity in Sarasota.