Family of clowns performs together in Mott Community College troupe

Three sisters carried on the family tradition of clowning around on Thanksgiving Day in a very special way. 

Performing with the Mott Community College Campus Clowns, the three Draeger sisters performed for the first time together. Former Mott student clowns Libby “Sprinkles” Draeger and Melody “Shortcake” Draeger joined their sister and current Mott student Katherine “Snickers” Draeger to perform in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade. 

“I love doing the parade. This will be my third time doing the parade, the second time with the clowns … but this year I get to do it with both of my sisters and I couldn't be more excited to ‘clown around’ with them,”  Libby Draeger said.

Katherine “Snickers” Draeger, the last of the Draeger sister clowns, chose to attend Mott Community College because she wanted to carry on the family tradition of clowning there. “I don't know who's more excited them or me,” she said before the parade.

The MCC Campus Clowns started in 2011 as part an honors level service-learning course. The group’s focus has shifted over the years to a focus on an anti-bullying program. After seven weeks of rehearsals, the troupe takes their show on the road performing in schools, Boys and Girls clubs, and public events in the Flint, Lansing, and Detroit areas. 

“When we first started participating in the parade, we only had five clowns from MCC,” said Brian Ivory aka “Dr. Bubby,” director of the Mott Honors College and founder of the MCC Campus Clowns. Ivory also recruited the Draeger’s father Tim, aka Skippy, to be a campus clown at Michigan State University before Ivory came to MCC. 

A group of 26 current and past MCC clowns participated in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade.