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NEWS

Denver Convention Offers Rocky Mountain Excursions

The 41st Annual IJA Convention will be held July 12-17 on the campus of the University of Denver in Colorado. The hosts, Tricia Allen and the Rocky Mountain Jugglers, promise a week of surprises!

The itinerary contains traditional activities and new additions. A street performers competition will be held in downtown Denver's mile-long 16th Street Mall. A Field Day features the Big Toss Up, joggling races, juggling lessons and workshops in unicycIing, footbag, flying disc and skip rope. The awards banquet will be a casual outdoor barbecue with brief presentation. And Club Renegade will be bigger and better than ever!

There are a number of options for extended vacations. A small pre-convention retreat will be held July 9-12 in Estes Park, Colo., on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. Flying disk enthusiasts may opt to attend the Frizbee Golf Tournament July 10-11 in Fort Collins, Colo. (Call The Wright Life.)

During the convention, a one-day mountain tour will be offered. Following the convention, a week-long Rocky Mountain camping trip is scheduled from July 18-24. Space is limited on the mountain excursions, so make your plans early. Then, its the World Footbag Championships July 26-31 in Golden, Colo.

Make the IJA convention your opportunity to go cascading all over the Rockies! For more information on convention activities, call Tricia Allen.

Surrs Up! Imagine That...

Eric Berg prefaced a description of his juggling feat with the explanation, "I am fascinated at the imagination of jugglers. So I finally came up with an idea of my own."

He grabbed his surf board and three clubs and headed for the California beach. The photo tells the rest - "Man Juggles While Surfing." Is there no end to jugglers' desire to combine their manual dexterity with other activities?

Berg said it was relatively easy. He's been a surfer for six years and a juggler for two. "The first time I got out there, I could do it," he said. The hardest part was holding onto the clubs while he paddled out to sea. He solved that by shoving them under the waistband of his wet suit.

He did admit, however, "Extra balance is necessary to juggle and surf, and I only start once I'm in full control of the situation. It's simply no fun losing clubs in the surf! "

It requires some refined surfing skills, he said. The 22-year-old California State - Long Beach student has plenty of that. He can hang ten, do 360-degree spins and even do a headstand on the board.

Other surfers have been supportive of his weekly show by letting him choose his waves and occasionally returning dropped clubs. "Where did you ever come up with that idea?" they ask him. His reply is a natural: "Jugglers have imagination!" *

New IJA Life Members

The IJA would like to thank the following people who have signed on as IJA Life Members since publication of the last issue of this magazine:

61. Dan Wasdahl, Rochester, Minn.;

62. Timothy Clyde Stevens, Berea, Ohio;

63. C.D. Cahoon, Marblehead, Mass.;

64. Larry Olson, Fargo, N.D.;

65. Christian Harel, De Lile Perrot, Quebec;

66. Glenn Phelps, Painesville, Ohio;

67. Michael J. Hoffman, Newark, Del.;

68. Michael S. Strong, Lombard, Ill.;

69. Erik Wikstrom, Waltham, Mass.;

70. Johnathan Rosenberg, Oswego, N. Y.

The IJA also recognizes eight "Honorary Life Members," elected by the membership over the years for their outstanding service to the organization:

George Barvin, William Brown, Bill Dietrich, Roger Dollarhide, Art Jennings, Bernard Joyce, Roger Montandon and Stu Raynolds.

In Memoriam: Homer Stack

Homer Stack, a vaudeville performer who taught and inspired many jugglers long after his own stage career ended, died .Sept. 10, 1987, at age 96.

His home just south of San Francisco was visited regularly by aspiring performers who sought his suggestions for their acts and were eager to browse through his enormous collection of photos and memorabilia.

His own juggling career began in 1904 as a teenager. Inspired by a comedy juggler, Stack put together his own 13-minute silent routine. As a tramp character, he "juggled three and five balls, clubs, a derby, and manipulated a broom and devil sticks.