sideshow

/ˈsaɪdˌʃoʊ/
noun
  1. A small, separate show or attraction at a fair, circus, or exhibition, often featuring unusual acts or curiosities.
    • At the carnival, we visited a sideshow with a sword swallower and a fire eater.
    • Kids were fascinated by the sideshow's display of two-headed animals.
    • The sideshow featured a man who could bend steel bars with his teeth.
  2. An event or activity that is less important than the main one, often distracting or secondary.
    • Don't let this minor issue become a sideshow that derails our main project.
    • The media treated the celebrity gossip as a sideshow to the election coverage.
    • The debate over the office decorations was just a sideshow to the real budget crisis.