It's official: Cirque du Soleil, the Quebec-based entertainment conglomerate, will bring its oldest show, "Saltimbanco," to its newest market, Honolulu, in October.

Cirque lore has it that founder Guy Laliberte was inspired to create Cirque du Soleil by a Hawai'i visit, so a creative circle was closed yesterday when Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced that "Saltimbanco" would come to the Blaisdell Arena Oct. 30 to Nov. 16. Cirque du Soleil representatives joined Hannemann at a press conference in the Blaisdell Arena to make the announcement.

Carmen Ruest, a former stiltwalker who is now Cirque's director of creation, told the assembled media about Laliberte's inspiration after a visit "to your paradise Island," and emphasized the Cirque mantra: "Impossible is not a word in our company."

Cirque performances feature diverse, fantastical forms of physical performance, including song, dance, acrobatics, aerial ballets, physical comedy, pole-climbing, juggling, bungee-jumping and more.

Two Cirque specialty artists, Adriana Laura Pegueroles and Eduardo Luis Rodriguez, performed their flamenco-inspired Boleadoras act from "Saltimbanco," with drumming and tap-dancing to create staccato tempos, and the twirling and tapping of boleadoras — weighted balls on cords, which hit the ground and create a clacking sound complementing the rhythm and motion of moving feet.

"Saltimbanco" — from the Italian "saltare in banco," literally meaning "to jump on a bench" — is a family-friendly show in an urban setting, said Ruest, presented in Cirque's trademark world of mystique and fantasy.

She described the show as "a ball of joy ... full of colors."

"Saltimbanco" will be staged in a three-quarter proscenium format, in an arena now boasting a new air-conditioning system and new blue-hued cushioned seats. It is one of 18 productions Cirque du Soleil is producing worldwide.

Tickets, $40 to $95 for adults, $32 to $72 for children 12 and under, go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at the Blaisdell box office and via Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 877-750-4400, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Online sales for certain performances already are under way for those who sign up via the Cirque Web site, www.cirquedusoleil.com.