| Story of the festival by Charles
Shapiro: A total of 173 jugglers and yo-yo players attended the 29th
annual Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival in Atlanta February 9-11. The
festival was delayed a week from its usual first weekend in February time
because of difficulties finding a suitable space. The new space is a large
banquet hall which features glare-free ceiling lights, on-site food
service, a stage and a tile floor suitable for bouncing and unicycle work.
We have an understanding to rent it next year at the correct weekend.
The festival started Friday afternoon with the usual assortment of excited
jugglers and cranky vendors piling in from the cold and dark outside. The
PA system was in place early and started pumping tunes to a space already
filled with clubs, balls, unicycles and people flying in most directions.
John Nations did some wonderfully long runs with 7 yellow lacrosse-sized
balls, and many of us mere mortals spent the time warming up the juggling
parts of our brains, greeting old friends, browsing the vendors and, of
course, passing props.
Saturday everything cranked up at 10:00 sharp. The fountain in the
courtyard outside the venue was festooned with ice in the bright sunlight,
encouraging people to work indoors. There was enough space, although
bleachers were missed this year. Several photographers wandered around in
the mix, risking their heads and equipment for the perfect shot. The less
intrepid of them stood on the stage, slightly above the general fray. New
passing patterns this year included a five-club, three-person pattern
we're calling "zap-zap-zap", the "Seattle Shuffle" and the "Shifty
Ferret". The Seattle Shuffle is a continuous rotation between a double
feed and a tick-tock. The "Shifty Ferret" is a three-part rotation between
a three-person sweep-feed, a tick-tock and a three-person sweep feed on
the opposite side. The Pogo Stick of Death (aka the "FlyBar 1200") made an
appearance, somewhat to the chagrin of the management. It was noisy and
looked like it might hurt the floor, although folks enjoyed it and some
even looked pretty ok on board.
The Yo-Yo competition started on the stage at 11:00, with a big complement
of chairs put out into the better-lighted part of the hall, pushing the
jugglers toward the back. Yo-yo players competed in four divisions. The
freestyle division included music and choreography. The new Georgia
freestyle yo-yo champion is Katelyn Anton; other winners include Mark
Allen (Advanced), Kevin Jones (Intermediate) and Elliot Duncan (Beginner).
The Groundhog Day Juggling Competition started at 2 pm with the
traditional Marching
Abominable Band introduction. The A-Bombs performed a rousing set
which featured songs by James Brown and Ray Charles. It featured not one
but two international performers -- a diabolist from Taiwan and a juggler
from Germany. Winners were Book Kennison (Most Special) for a
well-choreographed sleight-of-hand ball-juggling act, Ted Joblin (Most
Stupendous) for a very clear and rhythmic diabolo set and Tony Pezzo (Most
Spectacular) for an elaborate act featuring sets, costumes and music based
on the musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", which premiered well
before he was born. Other notable performers included Roger Smith, with
some truly astounding unicycle/club tricks performed on the floor below
the stage, Szu-Wei Chen with a fast-paced and technical diabolo act and
Will Penman with some very pretty ball work. John Nations graciously
entertained the crowd with his flawless technical juggling and funny
schtick as the judges deliberated.
Juggling continued after the show. Greg Cohen showed his very interesting
way of teaching three-ball juggling to a non-juggler. This method relies
on a whole-pattern approach rather than the traditional build-up of
skills, and when it's successful you can take a civilian from a dead stop
to the first three throws of a cascade in about four minutes with regular
props (e.g. without scarves). Groups on the floor attempted some truly
gnarly patterns, such as 3-man Jim's 3-count feeds, as well as marginally
less hirsute ones like double weaves and drop-back feeds.
After most of our hands were cracked from the impacts of our props, we
closed the gym for the evening and went to the Late-Night Cabaret. The
traditional fire-juggling gathering on the front lawn before the show was
flashy as advertised, with a good gathering of coat-clad spectators
watching those of us brave enough to risk self-immolation. Several folks
selflessly placed themselves between the fuel dump and the action as
others ate fire, blew flame and twirled or juggled staffs, poi and torches
in the still and chilly air.
Inside, a quintet from the
Deluxe
Vaudeville Orchestra warmed up the crowd, and Mike Garner emceed the
show with unshakeable aplomb. He started with the old clown "applause
warm-up" bit, then sang a suitably self-referential song. The first act
was Mika, who did a wordless set which ended with a 5-ring juggle while
running a hula-hoop around her waist. Book Kennison followed with his
trade-mark contortionist juggling routine. Mike Garner then did a
spectacular chemistry experiment involving alcohol, a wine bottle, a
cigarette and a lighter. Next was Dan Grider who did some nifty chair
gymnastics and then a very respectable run of 5 clubs. Jeff Marsh followed
with a funny and polished street magic act, using Katherine Fernie as his
hapless volunteer. The act featured some flashy card tricks, the
cut-and-restored rope and ended with a straitjacket and chain escape. John
Nations was up next with a specially-written act on "Tricks that I Cheat
On". Ted Joblin reprised his winning diabolo act, and the show closed with
Mike Garner singing "Drivin' in Atlanta Georgia", which he correctly
credited to National Public Radio's "Car Talk" show. Some fool in the
audience had to yell out "Ride a Bike!" after, of course.
The following day passed quickly in a blur of flying props, music,
unicycles, pogo-sticks and other arm-breakers. Greg, alas, had to leave
early to catch the Toy Show in New York. At 5 pm the hardy souls left in
the gym swept the place out and repaired to Sbydee Thai, where for a
miracle the staff was ready to serve 30 of us a hearty meal and provide a
full bar. The "Next Year is a Generation" toast was given, and eventually
we all stumbled home to our sad little lives.
--Charles Shapiro |
