Last year's ringmaster and BlumShapiro's partner in charge of southern Connecticut, Michael Niedermeier, presented Santa with the whip "to keep everyone moving along the next month and a half ...

the handing over of the whip, whistle and watch to the new Barnum Festival ringmaster. Frank J. Carroll Jr., of Shelton, the third of the Carroll brothers to be so honored, is the 64th ringmaster ...

GORGEOUS Jessica Alba will be cracking the whip when she hosts this year's MTV ... and I'm thrilled they asked me to be this year's ringmaster," she claims.