The northern Illawarra 15-year-old gave up netball and surf lifesaving to spend more time at the Fairy Meadow headquarters of Circus Monoxide, and is most at home on the tissue, or aerial trapeze - a dramatic curtain of fabric made for climbing up, spinning down and feats of aerial acrobatics.

"It's so much fun because it feels like you're falling but you know that you're safe," Elizabeth said.

"I like circus because it's just so different. It's unlike anything else."

Elizabeth was among performers showcasing the possibilities of the apparatus at Circus Monoxide's open day on Saturday.

Perhaps encouraged inside by persistent rain, between 500 and 600 people came to watch performances and try for themselves skills like juggling, rope climbing and unicycling.

Circus director Kristina Dzelmanis said the 12-year-old business, once heavily subsidised by Wollongong City Council and the Australia Council, was increasingly reliant on the fees from community classes to be financially self-sufficient and capable of turning out professional performances.

"We've had people come into Circus Monoxide and go off to professional circuses to work and we want to keep that happening here," Ms Dzelmanis said.