They come from all walks of life and are drawn together by their alter egos who wear makeup, colorful wigs and the occasional big, red nose. The boisterous, laugh-inducing clowns of Virginia Alley #3 make up the oldest active Clowns of America International group. Now, the Richmond-based group is gearing up for one of its busiest weeks—seven days dedicated to clowns. International Clown Week begins tomorrow.

“I took the course simply to be doing it. It got to be the joy of my life.“ In 26 years of being Poppy the clown, Betsy Lyons Terry spread the joy around.