by Todd Claxton

 

The Up For Grabs Juggling Club hosted its second annual Jugglefest  May 20-21 in Aurora, Ill. This year's fest was free once again, and was as successful as last year's, attracting more than 70 jugglers from around the Midwest.

 

Juggling began at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in a spacious double gym. Free lessons were offered to the public every hour on the hour by members of the club. Balls, clubs, rings, diabolos, rola-bolas, unicycles, and other props were in use throughout the gym to amuse spectators and practitioners alike. The afternoon featured competitions and the free public raffle.

 

Besides the usual four-ball shower competition (won by Steve Walk of Naperville, Ill.) and the five-ball endurance (won by Andy Duffy of Columbus, Ohio), the fest included new "Coin Toss" and "Diabolo Can-Can" competitions.

 

The "Coin Toss" is an endurance juggling "gamble" with each entrant cascading three coins of the same denomination. As entrants dropped a coin, they drop their other coins on the floor as well and sit down. The last one juggling gets to keep all the coins!

 

The penny round (for jugglers on a budget) was won by Aaron Fowles of Normal, Ill. Aaron also won the nickel round.  The dime round was won by Gary Luber of Oswego, Ill., and David Lyons of Oak Park, Ill., won all the quarters.

 

Todd Claxton created the new "Diabolo Can-Can." The competition involved accuracy and skill, with competitors attempting to throw a diabolo into a 33 gallon garbage can. Each of the 12 competitors was given three tries from approximately 20 feet away, and nobody made it into the can. The can was moved five feet closer and all the participants got three more tries. Dennis Wu of Glenview, Ill., was the winner, making two out of three throws from roughly 15 feet away. If you do diabolo, try this sometime. It's not as easy as you think!

 

After the competitions, a free public raffle was held to get juggling props and related items into as many different hands as possible (jugglers and spectators alike). Many, many prizes were given away, with most families in attendance winning more than once! The Up For Grabs Juggling Club would like to acknowledge the generosity of many vendors who donated the prizes.

 

Juggling in the gym ended at 5 p.m., and it was off to grab a bite to eat before the party at 7 p.m. The party was once again hosted by Steve Rahn of Aurora, Ill., and included plenty of food and beverages along with lots of interesting social conversation. There was torch juggling and swinging in the back yard, as well as an obnoxious home burglar alarm going off across the street!

 

The highlight of the evening was another raffle for the "really good" juggling prizes. This was a "double-dip" raffle (another Todd Claxton creation). Prizes were numbered, and when a winning ticket was pulled, the winner picked another ticket from a separate pool to determine his or her prize. Using this method, winners were responsible for picking their prizes, and the crowd continued to cheer as long as the silicone balls remained unchosen! The biggest laugh of the night came when Terry Kimpling (renowned unicyclist from Effingham, Ill.) won the "flea-market special" unicycle (complete with bicycle seat, solid hard rubber wheel, and bicycle pedals!). Another unicyclist said "The frame is okay. All it needs is a new seat, a new wheel and tire, and a new crank." Everyone was thrilled to see Terry win this prize since it meant that they couldn't win it!

 

Open juggling began Sunday at 9 a.m., and there was plenty of free coffee for those who needed it to get going. Many group passing patterns were formed throughout the gym, and club members again offered free juggling lessons. Open juggling and workshops continued until the 3 p.m. festival conclusion.

 

We look forward to hosting another successful jugglefest next year, and invite you to join us!