· Another IJA honoree is Myron Wilcox, who received the Sam Walton Business Leader Award in Porterville, Calif., for his lifetime blood donations. Wilcox also raises money for his church through sale of bean bags and juggling lessons.

 

· In addition, joggler Mike Hout of Kettering, Ohio, was inducted into the athletic Hall of Fame at Capital University in Columbus in early September.  Hout was a decathlete at the college in the early 1970s.

 

· In November, The Juggling Capitol of Washington, D.C., became owner of Rob's Magic and Juggling Shop in Albuquerque, N.M. The move provides Juggling Capitol with an additional outlet, and longer hours of phone coverage due to time zone differences. The former owner, Robbie Weinstein, wished to have more time to pursue his performing career. The shop is being managed for Juggling Capitol by Keith, who was manager of Juggling Capitol's store in San Francisco before it closed.

 

· Russian juggler Michael Ivanov, a former Silver Clown winner at the Monte Carlo circus festival, is now juggling seven stage balls while unicycling around the circus ring. He and his father, Alexander Ivanov, first put the trick into Michael's act last February, dedicating it to the memory of Rastelli on his centennial anniversary. Michael is performing with a circus in St. Petersburg through mid January.

 

· For three nights last summer, Dan Berg and Randy Fenster entertained Olympic athletes in the Olympic Village in Atlanta. Berg and Fenster performed their usual passing and solo routines, but really drew a crowd when Fenster held up five rings in the Olympic symbol and Berg stood next to him with three lit torches, a la the Olympic flame. "This drew immediate response and photos, especially with the Olympic fountain directly behind us," Berg said. They then juggled those props, and struck the pose again at the end. A line of athletes inevitably formed to have their pictures taken with the two jugglers in their Olympic pose, and many had their photo made standing in the middle of their six torch passing pattern. This winter the partners are the "official jugglers" of the Atlanta Hawks, entertaining sports fans with pre-game performances before 26 home games, including some center court appearances.

 

· Notes on jugglers appearing in circus shows... Victor and Lilly Dodonov with the Kelly Miller Circus... Claudius Specht, 22, does three, five and seven clubs with Circus Knie, then six, eight and ten "goblets"... Vladimir juggles an electric guitar, among other props, with Circus Olympia Gasser... Eddy Carelo does up to five soccer balls as well as ping pong balls with Circus Monti... Franck Tenot does balls on a table with angled flaps for Circus Archaos... Tony Phipps with Peter Jay's Hippodrome Circus...

 

Trio Russo with Santus Circus... Juggling props become weapons in battle strategies as the ensemble of Circus Baroque presents its version of Voltaire's "Candide"... Ramone and Cecine juggle balls, clubs, rackets, rings and fire with Circus Carousel... Thomas Aguilar with five clubs, balls, hats and ping pong balls with Peter Jay's Superdome Circus... Justino Zoppe with the George Carden Circus...

 

The Zenobia Shrine Circus in Toledo featured three jugglers ­Simon Abraham, Miss Diedre and Bobby Besmehn... Danny Carey juggling on the rola bola for the Marvelous Mystics on Parade... The Torino Brothers juggling in center ring with Circus Valentine... John Gilkey serves as ringmaster for Cirque de Soleil's new production entitled "Quidam" (a nameless solitary person who lives lost amidst the crowd). The show also includes a technically superb diabolo routine by Qing Liu , Xiaojing Liu, Yu Wang, and Meng Xie (ages 16, I5, 14, and 17), and a routine entitled "Manipulations" that was choreographed and written by Michael Moschen...

 

Oscar and Cathy Garcia, performing as the Aaron Duo, with the Famous Cole Indoor Circus... Almost the entire cast of Circus Flora participates in a juggling routine in its latest production, "Ruvna and The Great Exposition of 1904..." Pat and Maritess Davison with the King Royal Circus... Fudi Fudini, his wife, Suzanne, and their daughter, Vicki, with Circus Vargas... Miriam Moreno juggled clubs, rings, top hats, sombreros and ping pong balls with the American Family Circus... Armando Cristiani with Vidbel's Olde Tyme Circus...

 

· The "Celtic Juggler" illustration at the center of page 33 in the Fall edition of Juggler's World is available on greeting cards and t­shirts from the illustrator, Michelle Gerdes. For more information, contact her at Long Beach CA.

 

· The Raspyni family grew larger on Oct. 25 when Dan Holzman was married to Karen Puckett. Dan's performing partner, Barry Friedman, served as best man, while propmaker Todd Smith served as groomsman. Dan and Karen now live in the San Francisco area. Among the Raspyni's recent television appearances was a spot on the E! channel's "Talk Soup" show. They passed dangerous implements around host John Hensen, and "amputated" his arm with an errant throw as a grand finale!

 

· In other wedding news, the Passing Zone's Jon Wee also took a major step toward domesticity by marrying Leah Vriesman on October 19. The couple had dated for three years before the wedding, but has know each other since childhood. They grew up together in Northfield, Minn., were in the same class through school and both graduated in 1988 from Luther College. They are now living in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Wee and partner Owen Morse were well-received at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, did a series of opening act spots for Bob Newhart in Reno and Palm Springs, and headlined at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach.

 

· Occasional Juggler's World columnist Garret Mathews has published a book about kids and baseball. "Hey, Barta, Batta!" is the story of the 1996 Plaza Blue Jays, a team of nine- and ten­year-old boys. Mathews, metro columnist for The Evansville Courier newspaper and the team's assistant coach, chronicled the ecstasy and lunacy of the season from tryouts to tournament. The book sells for $11.25 (postage included). Send orders to Mathews at Evansville IN.

 

· Check out the Jewish Jugglers Home Page on the Internet. The site covers: Jewish occasions to juggle; juggling Mitzvahs; Jewish jugglers; photos of Jewish performers; juggling in Israel; Jewish juggling tricks; and a bibliography of Jewish articles concerning juggling (and juggling articles concerning Judaism).