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NEWS

Thinking Ahead To A Summer Week In St. Louis

The IJA is expecting an all-star lineup at its 44th Annual Festival next summer in St. Louis. Special guests Sergei Ignatov and Trixie Larue will receive IJA awards, and Anthony Gatto will be there to push on the boundaries of IJA numbers records.

The festival will be held July 16-21, 1991, on the campus of Washington University, a short city bus ride from downtown and the famous Gateway Arch. The main juggling venue will be the 18,000-square-foot floor of the university's almost-new, air conditioned field house. Housing will be in air conditioned dorms close by the field house, and jugglers will all eat together in one of the university's dining halls.

For those who recall the "varied" terrain of UCLA, festival coordinator Ginny Rose promises "no hills!" in St. Louis! More information on the festival, as well as a festival registration form, will appear in the Spring issue of Juggler's World.

New to the festival this year will be an IJA raffle. Beginning immediately, $5 buys you a chance at three prizes (or five chances at the reduced price of $20) - two roundtrip American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the contiguous USA; a good-anytime IJA festival events package; and four IJA videos from the 1988, '89, '90 and '91 festivals. Also call if you'd like to help sell tickets. The raffle drawing will be held at the St. Louis festival, and you do not have to be present

to win! To purchase tickets, send a check or money order made out to "IJA" to Tom Bennett at Akron OH.

New Membership Brochure Could Be Your Ticket To St. Louis

Folks interested in helping others become enthusiastic about juggling should keep a supply of the IJA's new membership brochures on hand. Each one you hand out could get you closer to winning a trip to this summer's festival in St. Louis!

The attractive 3-color brochure, designed by Sharon Jacobs, IJA art director, features Sergei Ignatov on the cover. Its inside panels include more photos and copy telling how the IJA serves the interests of jugglers.

There's a line on the membership application panel saying, "I learned about the IJA from..." By writing your name there, you win prizes in the IJA membership contest when a new member joins. The prize structure is: 5 referrals - IJA tshirt; 10 referrals - free IJA membership plus the t-shirt; 20 referrals - free convention package, membership and t -shirt; 30 referrals - all of the above plus a convention room and board package; 40 referrals - all of the above plus up to a $500 airline ticket to the convention.

You can get the new membership brochures free of charge by writing or calling IJA secretary Tom Bennett at Akron OH.

Europeans Announce First Juggling Festival in USSR

The Theatre Union of Georgia in the USSR invites jugglers to a festival in that republic's capital city, Tbilisi, Sept. 8-15, 1991. The invitation arose from a visit to that city by European convention organizers Lee Hayes and Haggis McLeod.

Some details remain to be negotiated, but preliminary plans call for up to 300 jugglers to take a charter flight to Tbilisi from Berlin. There are two sports halls available for juggling, and accommodations will be in hostels at a university or in the homes of families in town. There will be public shows on three of the seven

nights, two of which will be in the 1,850seat circus building, and one in a 6,000seat sports hall. Sightseeing trips will also be part of the package. It is probable that jugglers and teachers from several Soviet state circuses will also attend. Cost of the whole festival, including air fare, food and accommodations, is about $500.

The airline seats will be assigned on a first come, first served basis, and visa processing takes some time. If you wish to reserve a spot, send a check for 50 pounds Sterling made out to "Tbilisi Juggling Festival" to: Haggis McLeod; Somerset; England.

Jugglers For Peace Expand Efforts

The Jugglers for Peace organization is expanding its efforts to promote peace through the common experience of juggling and other forms of play.

The group, founded about three years ago, has traveled to Nicaragua and Cuba to perform, and is planning future Central American trips. However, they now are also creating "The Full Spectrum Circus" as a school assembly team "promoting the integration of environmental and trans-cultural awareness... to encourage children of all ages to see a positive world outlook." In conjunction with the school assembly program is a "Sister School Friendship Program" to link American schools with Central American schools through their common experience of play.

The Full Spectrum Circus also plans to become involved with other groups fighting oppression to form an "Eternal Traveling Peace Festival" A caravan would be formed to travel this country collecting donations of seeds and basic living supplies to carry to Central America.

If you know of a school that would like to host a Full Spectrum Circus show, or if you're interested in joining the effort yourself, contact Kaj Fjelstad at Magnolia TX.