SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — As Nik Wallenda prepares to bring back his holiday circus spectacular show dubbed ‘Wonderland: Believe‘ later this month, he and his sister, Lijana are gearing up for a record-setting feat.
This Saturday at University Town Center, the sibling duo will attempt to set the world record for the highest and longest criss-cross tight rope walk.
“We will be walking over 500 feet in distance each and we will meet at an intersection directly over Cattlemen Road, right in the middle of the entire epicenter of Sarasota shopping. At that point, we will cross over each other and then I will decide which direction I am going to go, because there are two cables, there are four cranes, there is a lot that goes into it,” said Nik Wallenda.
Saturday will be Lijana’s first hometown high wire performance since she was seriously hurt during a rehearsal stunt back in 2017.
“I remember rolling her out of Sarasota Memorial Hospital in a wheelchair, not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing with the future was. She had a lot of broken bones, she broke every bone in her face, essentially crushed her head, 73 screws and plates in her face alone and not only did she recover from that, but again then getting back on the wire and doing what she loves and using that situation that could have destroyed her mentally and physically to help inspire others that may feel destroyed,” said Nik Wallenda.
Lijana said she is excited, but nervous about the stunt this weekend.
“I had that accident back in 2017 and that fear comes back sometimes and I just have to remind myself that I have trained so hard and I am ready for this and just don’t listen to that fear in my head,” said Lijana Wallenda. “I went through so many hard things getting through the accident, but I have come out on the other end pretty good. It is a miracle I am even alive, much less back to performing.”
She hopes her story inspires others.
“I don’t want to have gone through all of that and not hopefully inspire someone else that they can get through whatever it is they are going through. There are so many hard things in this world and I think we can all get through it. Maybe it looks a little different than our life prior, but we can all get through it and get back to life as we had known it,” said Lijana.
The performance is also meant to be a kickoff to the holiday season
Schedule of events at University Town Center for Saturday, Nov. 8:
- 4 p.m. Pre-party performance by NoFilter
- 5:45 p.m. Veterans Day tribute
- 6 p.m. Criss Cross Skywalk and lighting of UTC’s 50-foot Christmas tree
6:30 p.m. Santa’s Grand Arrival Parade featuring giant balloons, fantastical floats, marching bands, dance troupes and Santa Claus - 7:30 p.m. Fireworks show
- 8 p.m. After-party concert
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