31st Congress of Jugglers at the University of Maryland

• By JoAnn Ireland

The University of Maryland (UMD) and the student run University of Maryland Juggling Club hosted the 31st Congress of Jugglers that was open to the public with free admission and commenced on Friday, May 9th during the late afternoon, welcoming jugglers of all experience levels to the Ritchie Coliseum, a gymnasium on campus, drawing jugglers from surrounding states. The UMD Juggling Club’s mission is to serve as a forum for teaching, learning, and performing juggling and other related arts of object manipulation. There was plenty of seating in the gym for taking a break, or socializing with other attendees throughout the event, and for prop storage. The Congress of Jugglers was free to attend but funded on t-shirt ($20) sales – this year with a juggling octopus that was asking, “Need a hand?,” as well as raffle ticket sales. There were plenty of great raffle prize options, including five sets of flower sticks from the JollyLama, five sets of LED poi or juggling balls from Fun in Motion Toys, a clava lamp (an LED club for ambient lighting on a 3D printed stand) from Flowtoys, a set of three collapsible Pocket Clubs, a diabolo and handstick set, a Flowstyx fidget spinner, quite a few unique yo-yos / spin tops, and a giraffe unicycle, among a few other props for jugglers. If you are coming to the Congress of Jugglers next year, it’s all the more reason to consider bringing something to donate that another juggler / object manipulator would appreciate.

 

Fire and LED juggling on Friday

Friday night included juggling in the gym as well as fire and LED juggling outside the gym, at the University of Maryland fire juggling fits in incredibly well, they have a very well regarded fire protection engineering program. The fire juggling area was located in the large concrete plaza outside of the Ritchie Coliseum, was well sectioned off with two individuals standing at the ready with fire blankets and extinguishers, also limiting two individuals at a time to be within the fire juggling area.

Donnell Griffith of New York City teaching a club manipulation workshop

Jugglers in the Ritchie Coliseum at the University of Maryland on Saturday afternoon

Saturday afternoon

Jugglers participating in the games

Saturday afternoon

Saturday morning and afternoon included juggling in the gym, plenty of social passing, workshops (e.g., one by Donnell Griffith who shared his unique style of club juggling and manipulation) were conveniently going in the gym, as well as the games. The games included the simultaneously held three, four, and five ball endurance, participants self-selected their level of expertise, and at each one-minute interval participants had to change their pattern. There was also three quarter juggling, the price of participation was only 75 cents, with the last individual juggling their three quarters winning all of the quarters in play from the participants. Another game was distance six club passing with multiple pairs of passers participating simultaneously by having one passer of each pair continuing to backup to achieve a longer distance. There was also club balancing that included challenges like balancing the club on your face while also balancing on one foot, or spinning in a circle.

A favorite game of many jugglers of all abilities is Simon Says where jugglers have to continue juggling a pattern only when Simon says to. Quite a few jugglers were out of the game rather early when Simon [Editor’s note: Simon was played by Jasper Murphy] said, ‘Jugglers, please move closer together,’ but the call wasn’t preceded by “Simon says…” There were some other great calls including: take off a shoe, followed by drop a ball and start juggling your shoe, it was great to watch. Soon there were two jugglers left and they were instructed to face each other and coordinate together to start passing their collective four balls and two shoes, by specifically passing their two shoes. Somehow though, one juggler ended up with two shoes; it was a really fun conclusion to the game to watch.

Another game that I wasn’t familiar with was distance self passing. Jugglers lined up to participate with three clubs each, then while juggling, threw one club as far as  reasonably possible ahead of themselves, to then run forward to try to successfully catch it and continue juggling. Other props were also used including a diabolo and cigar boxes.

Saturday evening show

The Saturday evening show was conveniently located in the gym this year and started at 8:00 pm. On a few occasions during prior years the evening show has been in the UMD Stamp Student Union in the beautiful 500 seat Hoff Theater. Also during prior years, the show has been put together on Saturday, often by Wil Allyn from Bowie, Maryland who would walk around the gym, asking whether jugglers would like to perform in the evening show. A wonderful show had always been put together in the matter of a few hours, and it’s a great opportunity for jugglers to try out new material for a welcoming audience. However, this year, Richard Kennison, of Ellicott City, Maryland put together the show in advance with two additional performers added that day. The raffle was also held at the start of the show to not interrupt the overall flow of the entertainment. Kathryn Carr, living in Ellicott City, Maryland and IJA individual silver medalist from 2022, was one of the emcees for the Saturday evening show along with longtime emcee, Wil Allyn.

The first performer was Salih Mahammed who started by juggling three white silicone balls in the air, moving on to four transitioning effortlessly from juggling in the  air to bouncing on the ground. His movements were artistically very well choreographed, with body placements, and included lots of fancy footwork to accompany his juggling. He proceeded to bounce five on the ground, compressing the pattern to a very small space, and then again transitioned to juggling in the air, and back to bouncing. He concluded by bounce juggling six, and then seven in many multiplex patterns, as well as with single throws.

Arthur was next and he performed a brief stand-up routine along with juggling up to three balls. He started by joking that he was feeling paranoid as if people were watching him and laughing at him too. He concluded his routine by getting a phone call from his mom and juggled two balls during the phone call.

Jason was next, this was his first performance on stage, he used three cigar boxes during the first part of his routine followed by performing poi with fans during the later part of his routine, ending with a few more cigar box moves.

Donnell Griffith was next, and he is both a circus educator and college English teacher born and raised in New York City. He started his act by balancing a club on nose while taking off his jacket, then throwing it to one of the four excited groupies behind him, which set the exciting tone for the act. During his act he artistically spun, manipulated, balanced, and juggled one through four clubs.

Wil provided a bit of history of the Congress of Jugglers, the event started in 1993 at the Bethesda Chevy Chase High School and could draw from many local clubs (e.g., the US Department of Juggling, the Baltimore Jugglers, the Jugglers of Bowie, and the Fairfax Juggling Club.) The Congress of Jugglers eventually moved to UMD for quite a few years, then it cost too much to have the event there and they had to move it again. Then the UMD juggling club had a budget, so the Congress of Jugglers was able to come back to UMD. The Congress of Jugglers greatly appreciates that the UMD Juggling Club students put on the festival even though their parents pay them to come to UMD to do other things.

FL Ettlin was the next performer, she had been part of the Baltimore Jugglers many years ago, left to pursue other activities, and then more recently has come back to juggling. She used devil sticks during her routine.

Wil took a few minutes to share a bit more about his recent life circumstances as the longtime emcee of the Congress of Jugglers. In 2018 his aorta literally blew up, it’s not something that many individuals are able to survive, but he did! He had four strokes, he still can’t do a kick up, but he’s glad to be back. He shared with me later that as part of his physical therapy he bought a monthly pass to a local movie theater, he would walk there and was so tired, he would sleep during the movie, and then would walk back home. Eventually though, he got stronger and was able to stay awake to watch the movie.

Bekalu of Washington DC was the next performer sharing his first performance with a juggling audience. He rode a unicycle on stage and then started by juggling with three beanbags with plenty of movement during his routine, holding at key points for applause from the audience. He continued with juggling four beanbags with multiple patterns, concluding his juggling with five beanbags, and then rode his unicycle off stage; it was a well received routine.

Jim Frank was the next performer, he used a collection of bullwhips during his routine, adding that he has a degree in physics and that his parents are so proud. He thoroughly explained his skills well, including the circus crack and around the world. Jim concluded his routine with a volunteer on stage, who held targets in each outstretched arm that he proceeded to cut with the crack of his whip.

Saturday evening show

UMD Juggling Club alumnus, Jessica Lee, who won first place in 2024 at the USA National Diabolo Competition as part of a diabolo team, was the next performer. She wowed the audience with her graceful presentation and incredible skills with one and then two diabolos. This wasn’t her first performance at the Congress of Jugglers and we’re glad she came back to share her talents.

Elliot Kaplan, who has performed with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, was next, performing a cane balancing routine to Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” and tying his necktie while balancing the cane on the bridge of his nose before performing a series of seal rolls. In the later portion of his act, he let loose by removing his white button-down shirt and necktie, for a more artistic, black t-shirt as he continued his performance.

Ben and Shelby Lipman, a father and daughter duo, were the next act. They shared banter, traded juggling three balls with takeaways, then juggled three each with various patterns, followed by Shelby juggling four balls. They segued into a three club juggling takeaway routine, and six club passing. Shelby proceeded to juggle three clubs on Ben’s shoulders while he also juggled three clubs, which included a 360 degree turn by them both. They also juggled three balls each in other balanced orientations, all with great showmanship throughout their entire performance.

Abby Brodsky, a UMD Juggling Club alumnus, performed many yo-yo skills very appropriately to “I’ve got the world on a string.” Throughout her act, Abby skillfully executed multiple yo-yo tricks that included intricate string wraps using two hands, and she also incorporated a juggling ring with her yoyo skills in the second half of her routine. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Abby perform, and I’m always amazed by her skills.

Matt Walmsley, 2022 IJA Juniors gold medalist and World Juggling ederation (WJF) 19 Advanced Overall Champion winning first place in 2024, and Jasper Murphy (also check out his recent eJuggle article on animation and juggling) of Philadelphia were the final act for the evening, and for the first time worked together as a passing duo act. They performed skilled and continuous takeaways with four and five clubs, Matt then juggled five clubs, and they continued with fast paced five club takeaways. They then segued into more fast paced six and eight club passing, transiting into seven club passing, concluding with passing seven back to back. Jasper proceeded to leapfrog over Matt who was juggling four clubs and Jasper then continued to juggle them. They transitioned back to passing eight and then nice clubs. They concluded their act with Jasper juggling five clubs with Matt coming behind him to lift him up on his shoulders while Jasper continued to juggle five. It was an incredible closing act to a collectively  impressive night of entertainment.

 

Saturday evening show

Fire and LED juggling on Saturday evening

After the evening show, juggling continued in the gym and outside for more LED and fire juggling, as well as fire breathing. Juggling also continued in the Ritchie Coliseum on Sunday throughout the afternoon.

 

The University of Maryland campus

College Park, Maryland is a large college town, with a population of approximately 34,700 people (as of the 2020 census) about 10 miles from Washington DC; therefore, there are plenty of hotel options nearby, either within walking distance or commutable by car. Camping is available in nearby Greenbelt National Park, which is located approximately six miles away. The University of Maryland at College Park has over 41,000 students (with over 31,000 undergraduate students), 12 colleges and schools, over 300 degree programs with top ranked academics (often within the top twenty of U.S. public institutions depending on the ranking list) and research (with $1.4 billion in combined research expenditures with the University of Maryland, Baltimore in FY23) at a public university. The estimated cost of attendance (tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food, books, transportation, and misc. expenses) for 2025-2026 is about $32,500 for Maryland residents, and $62,500 for out-of-state residents. Fun fact – eJuggle editor Christian Kloc graduated from UMD with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and was also a member of the UMD Juggling Club.

The College Park – U of MD metro station is on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) metro’s green line and is conveniently a beautiful one mile walk to the UMD Ritchie Coliseum. Each of the area airports are also accessible by metro train–Dulles Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (DCA), both located in Virginia), or by Amtrak train (Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) in Maryland). Note that without using a car, the two airports in Virginia are the easiest to use to get to UMD. The Washington DC area is also conveniently served by Amtrak at Union Station on the metro’s red line, and this is also the location for Greyhound bus service.

There are also plenty of places to eat along, or not far off of Baltimore Ave. – Route 1 that are within walking distance to the UMD Ritchie Coliseum. There are also a few picnic tables outside the UMD Ritchie Coliseum, so it’s also very convenient if you want to pack some food to eat at the juggling event, or pick some food up at the Trader Joe’s grocery store that is south on Baltimore Ave. and only 0.6 mile from the gym. Three (of many) unique options to eat at in the area are HallCP, only a 0.2 mile walk from the gym, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating (including a pickleball court), and a solid menu of food and beverage options that will not leave you hungry. There are also the UMD dining commons if you are interested in a fixed price buffet for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (South Campus Commons and the newer Yahentamitsi Dining Hall with an extensive selection of global cuisine are 0.6 and 0.8 miles from the gym, respectively). Finally, there’s Board and Brew, Maryland’s premiere board game cafe located 0.5 miles from the gym. Board and Brew has a very well curated lending library of over 600 board games for use while in the restaurant (there is a rental fee to use board games), including one strategy game called, “3 Ring Circus,” where players take on the role of a circus director who tours the United States at the end of the 19th century and your objective is to hire artists and offer performances in various towns and cities with the intention of gaining fame.

If you are interested in other nearby activities (not that juggling and the manipulative arts cannot easily fill up your weekend), some recent IJA festivals have had disc golf excursions and conveniently, the Calvert Road Park disc golf course is located 1.5 miles from the gym, so this is an event to also consider bringing your discs to.
You might not be aware, but also only one mile away from the Ritchie Coliseum is the world’s oldest continuously operating airport, the College Park Airport (KCGS), established in 1909 as the military demonstration site for the Wright Brothers, today it serves general aviation pilots. The small College Park Aviation Museum is also nearby and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

While slightly less convenient, but truly incredible to visit for any aviation (and space) enthusiasts is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in downtown Washington DC (free entry passes are required for the Air and Space Museum) and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia near the aforementioned Dulles Airport.

Washington DC

Once you are on the metro at College Park – UMD you are only about 30 minutes away from downtown Washington DC and its many sights including the Smithsonian Institute museums, all with free admission including the impressive National Zoo (free entry passes are required for the zoo); however, the zoo is about one hour away from the University of Maryland by metro. The Smithsonian Institute is the world’s largest museum, in actuality is made up of multiple museums and galleries, the majority of which are located in Washington DC and includes areas to explore such as art and design, history and culture, and science and nature. The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846 with funds from James Smithson and according to his wishes to be an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Washington DC is of course also home to numerous monuments and memorials, and opportunities to learn about historical heritage and culture,
so it is easy to spend many days exploring the area if you have the opportunity. And there’s also the Capital City Circus established in 2023 to support the DC area circus community, so you can also consider signing up for a class while in the area.

The weekend of this juggling event was also Mother’s Day weekend. My mother was in attendance this year and has attended quite a few other years; while she is a non-juggler, she does enjoy gathering with the jugglers who have welcomed her over many years. There of course were many other mothers in attendance, practicing their juggling, watching the juggling, or helping their children learn more about juggling, so do not hesitate to bring your mother, stepmother, grandmother… to this juggling event independent of when it is held. And if you need a unique gift for your mom – not that your mom wouldn’t consider a trip to a juggling festival a unique gift – consider the Shop Made in Maryland store, which is dedicated to showcasing the talents of Maryland-based designers, artists, and makers. Shop Made in Maryland also includes a small cafe, and is a convenient 0.5 mile walk from the gym.

Again, huge thanks go out to the UMD Juggling Club members and Saturday evening show organizers, Wil Allyn and Richard Kennison, as well as the performers for putting together another astounding Congress of Jugglers. Definitely keep a lookout for the 32 nd Congress of Jugglers at the University of Maryland next year (the event is typically in early May, although it has also been in March and April).

Written and photographed by JoAnn Ireland.

JoAnn Ireland is a longtime hobbyist juggler who especially prefers juggling beanbags, joggles (running and juggling), and occasionally rides a unicycle. She is grateful for the opportunity to have been able to attend many IJA and regional juggling festivals.