Former Silver Dollar City aerialist to take on Chicago skyscrapers

A former performer at Silver Dollar City, tightrope-walking daredevil Nik Wallenda, has announced plans to tiptoe 50 stories above the Chicago River.

He’s scheduled a cold Nov. 2 date for the Windy City stunt – between high rises Marina City and the Leo Burnett building – which will be aired live on the Discovery Channel.

Wallenda, a seventh-generation member of acrobatic touring family The Flying Wallendas, took his act to the Branson theme park in summer 2011 and 2012. He took a break from SDC in June 2012 to walk a 2-inch rope across Niagara Falls, a feat that earned the 33-year-old stuntman the title of first person ever to cross the brink of the falls on a wire. Wallenda worked to get two laws changed in the United States and Canada to do so.  

In the return to his SDC gig after the successful Niagara stunt, Wallenda was welcomed with a parade.

"It's awesome that I could pursue my own dream and inspire people around the world in the process,” Wallenda told the Branson crowd, according to a news release. “I hope to make a difference by motivating others to follow their own dreams."

In 2011, Wallenda performed before a capacity crowd in SDC’s 4,000-seat amphitheater when he hung by his teeth, 200 feet above the ground on a trapeze suspended from a helicopter.

"We still stay in touch with him and are extremely proud of him," said SDC General Manager Brad Thomas.

The Sarasota, Fla.-based family of acrobats has performed twice in St. Louis, with a third planned in December for the St. Louis Symphony.

Last year, Wallenda was the first to cross the Grand Canyon via tightrope, according to his website.[[In-content Ad]]