- Visual comedian Peter Geist directed and emceed "an opera without the opera" for benefit of the Lancaster (Penn.) Cleft Palate Clinic this spring. Among the vaudeville acts in the Fulton Opera House show were Paul Hadfield, who presented his juggling and unicycling.

 

- Peter Davison juggled three, four and five balls as part of a CBS-TV special on "The Magic of Harry Anderson" in late May.

 

- Randy Easterling (a.k.a. "Ami") set out for the bottom of the Grand Canyon after

deciding to juggle someplace he had never been before. The 5,000 vertical foot descent on a steep, narrow trail left his ankles and feet aching, but juggling beanbags by the Colorado River was inspirational relief. He wrote, "I take time to focus on absolutely nothing, allowing the sounds and vibrations of the canyon to contain me. What a wonderful, peaceful feeling! I'm corning back as often as I can ­ with every toss."

 

- Rhett Farber has been a "Have Balls Will Travel" guy in Asia for 15 years. His adventures include juggling in China for two months in 1982, India & Nepal for one month in 1985, Vietnam in early 1995, and other places. Besides guiding young Chinese adults around the world four to six times a year (and managing a social/travel/English club in Taiwan with more than 20,000 members), he also entertains for the World Family Club ­ bringing magic to thousands of Chinese children every year.

 

- "Focus," the newsletter of the Mathematical Association of America, reported in its April edition that Charles Naffziger taught a lower division mathematics colloquium at the University of Arizona called "Mathematical Juggling: An Introduction to Site-Swaps." he used combinatorics, computer simulation, and live juggling to establish and illustrate the mathematical analysis of juggling patterns.

 

- Sales were to begin in mid-July on a video entitled "Hey!! How'd You Do That? The Art Of Showing Off' produced by the Raspyni Brothers. Barry Friedman and Dan Holzman proudly note that showing off is a way of life for them, and share their secrets in this hour-long "edu-tainment" video.

 

Viewers learn juggling, sleight of hand, yo-yo and balance as the Raspynis walk through a saloon, kitchen, game room and office, doing tricks appropriate to each

setting. They claim these show-off skills can serve as ice breakers at professional meetings, help students climb in social circles and enliven family gatherings. Look for details on ordering in the Fall issue of Juggler's World.

 

On their live performance schedule, the Raspynis debuted three new routines on

nationwide TV on TNN's "Prime Time Country" in April - a bullwhip, raw eggs and a

"deadly Ninja blowdart." They were to open for Dennis Miller at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas in early July, and they planned to miss the IJA festival later in the month for a big show with Roy Clark at the Chesaning, Mich., Riverboat Festival.

 

- Atlanta jugglers Dave Altman and Drew Ford will be among those entertaining Olympic athletes, trainers and guests in the Olympic Village during that big event this summer. Altman will do his juggling, rola bola, rope spinning and unicycling July 20-22, and Ford will perform July 22-24.

 

- The Passing Zone, Owen Morse and Jon Wee, have been invited to appear at the "Just for Laughs International Comedy Festival" in Montreal in July, immediately following the IJA festival.

 

- Jasmine Iris Rose Peck, a.k.a. "The Human Bouquet," made her tight rope walking debut in February, a couple months shy of her fourth birthday. Jasmine, daughter of Rob and Linda Peck who perform as "Foolsproof," is able to tightrope walk with only morn spotting her (as dad prays in the background!), and delivers a few lines in the act. Before she starts across the wire, her "punny poppa" gives her a cocktail umbrella, which he describes as "a magic mini Mary Poppins protective parasols," guaranteed to keep her safe on her perilous journey.

 

- Bounce & 000 La La, along with their son, Daniel, appeared on the Statler Brothers Show on The Nashville Network on March 30.

 

- The first Berlin Variety and Comedy Festival will be held August 28 - September 10 to mark the centenary of Enrico Rastelli's birth. Kris Kremo is acting as patron of the event. Shows will begin at 9 a.m. each day, with humor, madness, buffoonery and juggling continuing until well past midnight. The festival motto is "16 hours of laughter, 8 hours of sleep." International jugglers will be presenting their art in all its forms. The concept for the festival carne from Hacki Ginda, cofounder of Berlin's Chamaleon Variete. Contact: Hacki Ginda; Chamaleon Variete; Berlin; Germany.

 

- Raphael Harris of Jerusalem is pictured juggling four rings on the cover of the March "Horizons" magazine ("The Jewish Family Journal"). The issue includes an article about the history of juggling.

 

-· There's a new circus school in Britain offering courses beginning this summer.  Anyone wanting to study circus skills for three weeks beginning August 12 should contact Circus Maniacs; Bristol England.

 

- "Jessie & James" the team of Scotty and Joan Houghton who were formerly known as "Disorderly Conduct," have moved to Sevierville, Tennessee, with their children Ashley and Glenn to work a multi-year contract in Lee Greenwood's new country music show there. Their 20-minute act includes bullwhip, slack rope and passing six clubs between two six-foot unicycles.