2005 IJA Festival
Bix Beiderbecke Jazz & Juggle Competition

Sound the horns! Blast the trumpets! And play that jazzy cornet!

The Bix Beiderbecke Jazz and Juggle Competition is coming to Davenport, Iowa, this Summer as part of the annual IJA festival. How big a deal is jazz in Davenport? Enter town from the East and you pass a statue of native-son Bix Beiderbecke. The Jazz and Juggle competition is sure to stir up local interest, and receive lots of coverage.

Care to compete? First, pick a piece of music that features Bix as one of the musicians, or that Bix composed. Second, pick a prop; any prop is elibible. Third, start to juggle. The judges, consisting of jugglers and Bix Beiderbecke aficionados, will be looking for the best juggling interpretations of the music of Bix Beiderbecke.

There is no entry fee to compete, and the prizes, donated by the Laughter Arts Foundation, are lucrative: $100 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third. Along with the prizes there will be all sorts of fame and glory bestowed upon the participants.

Care to spectate? That's even easier. Just make your way to the Figge Art Museum (a short walk from the RiverCenter) at 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon during the festival. Admission is free for all. It's a juggling boogie by the Mississippi. Come and find out why Bix arranged and recorded a session with a group called "Bix Beiderbecke and his Rhythm Jugglers."

The Bix Beiderbecke Jazz and Juggle Competition is being co-sponsored by the IJA, the Figge Art Museum, and the Laughter Arts Foundation. Our host, the Figge Art Museum, is just a few blocks from the RiverCenter. The Laughter Arts Foundation, producer of MotionFest and its replacement MiniFest, is putting up the prize money and providing the emcee.

If you would like to enter and/or have any questions please contact me at ...

Look forward to seeing you there.

Michael Rosman