Circus fans and elephant enthusiasts lined the streets last night for the annual Pachyderm Parade, the march that announces that the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus has arrived in town.

Six Asian elephants started at Garfield Park at Virgina and New Jersey avenues SE and walked past the U.S. Capitol before finally reaching the Verizon Center, where the circus will perform nine shows from Thursday to Sunday. Some Chinatown restaurants like Graffiato and Carmines offered pre-parade elephantine specials. The People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals, which abhors the circus for its treatment of animals (Ringling Bros. was fined $270,000 last year for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act), was no where to be found along the parade route, though protests outside the Verizon Center are planned for later in the week.

But for one evening, elephants roamed the streets, trampling pavement and waving their giant feet for the adoring crowds.