Up For Grabs Fest Attracts A New Generation

by Scott Schaeffer

 

Jugglers came from far and near to share in the organized frenzy of object manipulation and juggling camaraderie. Despite the unusual heat on May 18 and 19, over 125 people showed up at the Up For Grabs Third Annual Jugglefest held in Aurora, Illinois. Space was not a problem. The Fox Valley's Park District Guy V. Prisco Community Center sports a huge double gym, balcony area and full locker room facilities. The oppressive heat was a different story. As temperatures soared to 95+ degrees outside, the un-air-conditioned gym cooked. Large ceiling fans in the rafters and doors opened for cross ventilation did provide some much needed air movement.

 

The festival officially started at 9:00 AM on Saturday but there were a few eager jugglers who showed up early. The registration formality was the first thing that greeted people as they entered the gym. There was no charge to participate for the weekend and everyone was given one raffle ticket for the free raffle, held Saturday afternoon. The registration area also provided a central location where donated props and literature from vendors were on display, lJA registration information could be obtained and our official "Jugglefest 96" T-shirts, designed by graphics artist Maura Podrazik Gonsalves, were sold. The early birds also found some free doughnuts and goodies to get the day started.

 

It didn't take long for the gym to become a beehive of activity. The newest (and oldest) ball tricks were being worked on, complex club passing schemes were in full swing and old and new friendships were being sewn. A seasoned fest goer would probably notice something a little different about this crowd of jugglers, however. Something that you don't find at a lot of festivals. A large percentage of the participants were high school age and younger. Highly enthusiastic and budding with great potential, these young jugglers showed some amazing skill. There were a couple of young jugglers, under the age of 15, that were spotted working on 6 and 7 balls!

 

A few local high school juggling groups turned up for the fest. One member, Brad Harris from Glenview, Illinois, took 3 out of the 7 competitions. Brad has been juggling for almost 5 years and is already a veteran jugglefest attendee: He will be a senior next year at Glenbrook South High School and is an active member of his school's juggling club.

 

Part of the festival's success in drawing younger jugglers stems from the juggling course that the Up For Grabs Juggling Club teaches through the Fox Valley Park District.

 

Todd Claxton, from Montgomery, Illinois, is the primary instructor of the class and other club members take turns teaching.  It is a 6 week course that covers everything from ball juggling to club passing.  Twenty-five students have taken the class in the last 3 months. 

 

Festival attendees and former students, Steve Brawley, Sam Bradley (both age 12) and Ben Hoffman (age 10), all from Aurora, Illinois, have gone on to do paying performances at a local hospital and other community events.

 

The festival also extended the welcome­mat to all non-jugglers. Beginning workshops were held and each participant was given three weighted tennis balls to practice with and take home. David Lyons, from Oak Park, Illinois, Chuck Spreitzer from Lisle, Illinois, and Steve Walk from Naperville, Illinois, taught the beginning juggling workshops. Impromptu workshops on specific tricks or skills were also held. Mark Hayward, from Madison, Wisconsin, helped people with their yo-yo skills; Joe Niedziakowski, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was teaching people 4 ball Mills Mess and 3 dub backcrosses; Jim Ellison from Jefferson City, Missouri was demonstrating a neat 4-ball multiplex pattern that defies a simple description; and Mike Hilicki, from Chicago, Illinois, taught people Burkes Barrage.

 

Of course something that everyone enjoys is a raffle with lots of good stuff. The festival actually had two raffles. The 1st raffle was held during the day on Saturday and was completely free, with each registered juggler holding one ticket. Prizes were geared toward more of a beginners level, including scarves, bean-bags and balls. Quite an extensive haul of local area restaurant coupons were also given away.

 

The 2nd raffle took place Saturday night at a party hosted by the Up For Grabs Club and held at Steve Rahn's house in Aurora. This was a pay raffle and contained tons of prized juggling paraphernalia. From silicone balls, juggling clubs, and devils sticks, to t-shirts, juggling books and video tapes, this raffle had it all. A big "muchas gracias" to all the vendors that supported the fest!!

 

Competitive events were held late in the day on Saturday, before the party kicked off. They were held outside the gym in a park-like setting along the Fox River. The big winner was Brad Harris. He went for 3 minutes 5 seconds in the 5 ball endurance, 46 seconds in the 4-ball shower and collected over 60 nickels in the coin juggling. Joe Niedziakowski was the next big winner, collecting over 60 quarters in the coin juggling and going for 11 seconds in the 3 ball blind juggling. Jeff Evertz, from Darien, Illinois, also won a coin juggling competition, winning over 60 dimes. A very popular event again this year was the "diabolo can-can". A garbage can was placed about 20 feet out from the throwing line and one at a time, everyone got 3 chances to launch a "diabolo into the can. Amy Mayschak, from Lake Villa, lllinois, won the event by being the only one to get it in on the first try (nothing but net!!)

 

The party kicked off about 7:00 PM on Saturday. Steve Rahn's house provided the perfect place for socializing (and juggling of course). By this time the temperature had moderated down a bit to feel like a warm summer's evening.

 

Keith Allison, from Evanston, l1linois. brought his five new Astro-Balls which glowed bright red against the dark sky. Everyone enjoyed taking turns with them and seeing what kind of cool light patterns could be made. Kathy Glynn, from Lombard, lllinois, demonstrated some fabulous torch swinging maneuvers and a lot of people got into the torch passing scene. Steve Rahn has an extensive library of juggling videos and later in the night people were entertained by some of the past greats such as Francis Brunn, Enrico Rastelli and Trixie Larue.

 

At 9:00 AM Sunday, day two of the fest got under way. The crowd wasn't as big as on Saturday but the juggling was just as good. Jeff Wiggs from Lisle, Illinois and Steve Otteson from Madison, Wisconsin, were working on an interesting double, triple, single, 8 club passing pattern. The doubles and singles were self throws and the triple was a pass straight across. The triples alternated being thrown from the left and the right hand. The four club (solo) version of the double, triple, single pattern breaks down to a double to the same hand that throws it, a triple to the opposite hand and then a single to the opposite hand. Tony Flowers, from Chicago, lllinois and Mike Hilicki were working on 5 club steals and Rhonda Horwedel from Chicago, lllinois, was doing some nifty unicycle stunts. Full pirouettes, riding backward and wheel walking were just some of the tricks she was doing.

 

By the time the fest officially came to a close on Sunday afternoon, everybody still in the gym seemed to be moving a little slower. The hot weather and continuous activity had taken its toll. It was a fest to remember. Thanks to Steve Walk for organizing it and to all of the Up For Grabs members for their hard work. See you all next year! !