ROCK SPRINGS –– As Wyoming’s Big Show winds down, there’s still time to check out of the fair’s most energetic performances.

Lessa Hoops has wowed fairgoers throughout the week with her hula hoop show. Her performances are a mixture of hula hoop stunts, audience participation, and a few acts of contortionism – such as passing her body through a tennis racquet frame. She can be seen in front of Sage Hall in the afternoon and evening at 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

She comes to Sweetwater County from Orlando, Florida, and has performed since COVID-19 restrictions started easing up in 2021.

“I dabbled a little bit, but that’s when I really started to launch the Lessa Hoops show,” she said.

Hoops can keep up to 30 hula hoops rotating around her body at once, saying she alternates between a stack of 20 hoops and a stack of 30. The coordination needed for that feat comes after 15 years of practice. She said she practices a minimum of one hour a day, five days a week. She said there are times she will have practice sessions running up to three hours a day.

“When I first started, I really practiced for hours and hours and hours just to get myself to a certain level,” she said.

Hoops said she has made a road trip out of her bookings, driving from Orlando into Canada for the Kamloops Buskers Festival that took place a week before the fair. The road trip allowed her to visit Yellowstone National Park, with the trip marking her first time being in Wyoming. While she hasn’t had a chance to see much of Sweetwater County itself, the county’s residents have left a positive impression on her.

“The people are really fun here, and they’ve just been so welcoming and encouraging of my show,” Hoops said. “So, I’ve been having a good time here at Wyoming’s Big Show.”