Nine year old Scotty Bakalor and his brother, Mark, filmed a chicken commercial in Los Angeles. The ad, which will run .nationally , features the Bakalor kids juggling various chicken chunks.

 

Rev. Walt Westbrook of Highland Springs, Va., promoted the joy of juggling on Easter at two morning worship services. He led the choir down the center aisle of the Highland Springs United Methodist Church during the opening hymn while juggling three gold lame beanbags. The point was to emphasize that Easter is the most joyful of all Christian holidays, representing Christ's defeat of death. Westbrook has also juggled in special Christmas childrens' services and at vacation Bible school in a previous church.

 

Dick Franco, a featured juggler in "Glitter" (the long-running ice/variety revue at Atlantic City's Trump Castle Hotel/Casino), made an appearance in the premiere Keswick Spring Stage Circus at the Keswick Theatre in Philadelphia, Pa.  Franco's contract with "Glitter" has been extended through Sept. 15. He also entertained at the White House on April 27, helping Barbara Bush kick off a new program called "Reading is Fundamental."

 

Every year, as the popular Isla Vista, Calif, jugglers festival grows bigger, there are rumors floating around that say the festival has been cancelled. To put an end to these questions, here is the official line from the organizers of this event, the Strombolis: "We are definitely having another festival next year, and the year after, for a long. long time. Just plan on showing up the first weekend in April. No matter what, even if there is no publicity." And there rarely is. Next year will mark the 14th annual Isla Vista festival.

 

Miami's Roni Lynn is using juggling to good advantage in her work as an occupational therapist. She has taught thousands of patients with strokes, bums, fractures and hand injuries, as well as those in halos and wheelchairs to juggle. In a Miami Herald article about her sessions at the North Shore Medical Center , Lynn said, "It really works. It helped one stroke patient get her left hand back in use. And it develops self-esteem because juggling is not considered easy." She hopes to conduct a workshop at upcoming professional conferences to interest others in her methods.

 

The San Francisco Chronicle featured a review of Sara Felder's new show. Felder, formerly with the Pickle Family Circus, teams up with Gulko, an ex-Cirque du Soliel clown. "She is a born juggler," writes the Chronicle about Felder. "Her routines are politically leftist and socially conscious; she wants her audience to understand her as a person and not just a juggler who does tricks. She dances to Swan Lake while juggling four balls and talking about her childhood experiences."

 

Long time IJA member Ron Wirgart, one of the few people who owns a convention t-shirt from the 1976 Los Angeles festival, has left the San Diego area to move east. Ron and his wife Barbara (and Ranger the wonder-puppy) are traveling across the country and will end up in Blacksburg, Va., where Barbara will do graduate work. Ron, who can juggle seven balls without trying too hard, taught Barbara how to juggle. They will be juggling at rest stops across the country.

 

Suspended Animation magazine, published by the IJA affiliate club of the same name, is going slick and quarterly. Editor Dale Peterson and art director Tim Nyberg most lately produced a 24-page magazine with a Johnny Lux interview, Cindy Marvell poem, advertising and a now-regular column on animal training by Leesa Collins. A year's subscription is just $10. Contact Peterson at Shelton, CT.

 

Last year's second place IJA Team Champions, The Passing Zone, are performing at the Southern California Renaissance Faire this summer as "The Passing Zonarily Brothers." Owen Morse, who graduated in June from UC-Irvine, and his partner, John Wee, include a solid nine­club passing pattern and seven clubs back to back in their act. They explained that the temporary name change was necessary for the medieval theme of the faire.

 

Jason Garfield of Seattle, Wash., has been practicing for three hours a day, six days a week in preparation for the IJA Individuals competition in Baltimore. Garfield, who won the Juniors last year, says his practice has definitely paid off. He is currently having great success with six clubs, eight rings, and a flash of nine rings. He has also expanded his repertoire with three, four, and five clubs to include pirouettes with three and four clubs, five-club back crosses, and some other five-club tricks that he says "everyone will be surprised by." Unlike some rising juggling stars, Garfield has no coach or trainer. "I don't really have any inspiration. I just do it because I love it," he says. Contrary to what was reported in this magazine last fall, he and Benji Hill decided not to compete together in the teams competition this year. In addition to his heavy practice schedule, he has been doing school shows in the Seattle area with Dave Finnigan, aka "Professor Confidence", and will be the subject of a feature article in the upcoming issue of "Sports Illustrated Junior."