Feel the Glow.
That’s the theme of this year’s IJA Festival, and for good reason: it’s our big 70th anniversary event and we are going the distance to make sure that there is something special for everyone. We want manipulators of all ages, styles, and backgrounds to come experience the warmth and togetherness at our event as we welcome diversity yet celebrate our commonalities at this year’s festival. IJA Festival Director Dan Holzman is going the extra mile to ensure that the event reflects this with the addition of a number of new special attractions for this year.
Oldschool juggling fans may be interested to know that Juggling Historian David Cain will have his juggling history museum at the festival. Attendees will be able to see antique props up close and learn the history about how some of these props were created and what legendary performers used them. Erik Aberg and David Cain will also present a special juggling history show, demonstrating a variety of obscure juggling tricks from years gone by, some of which have not been performed for audiences in generations!
For those into more new-age juggling styles or flow arts, we will have a special Flow Zone at the festival to hang out, listen to music, and get your flow on. We also have a special Flow, Glow, and Diabolo Show, which will showcase the skills of top flow artists from all over the world.
If you’re into the more experimental side of juggling and want to get real weird with it, we’ve got that covered too! Jay Gilligan and Erik Aberg will be doing a extra show called ‘Object Episodes – Experiments in Entertainment.’ Gilligan will also be leading a free special workshop called ‘Juggling Junk Food’ and juggling prop innovator Ameron Rosvall will be onsite teaching a workshop on how to create your own magnet clubs!
Athletically inclined jugglers may be excited to know that in addition to our usual joggling championships, the IJA will also be hosting its first ever USATF-certified 5k joggling road race! If that wasn’t enough for the sporty jugglers out there, there will also be a water skuggling (juggling while skiing) workshop (contact the organizer in advance)!
Other special events for this year include a series of aerial workshops, a video screening/discussion on women in juggling, a coaching lounge, a definition of juggling lecture, a special presentation of Peter Davidson’s full show ‘Movings,’ and much more!
Of course, we will still have all of our regularly scheduled events as well. For full information on the festival, visit our website for all the details.
Speaking of festivals, our 2014, 2015 and 2016 event videos are now available on DVD! We’re running a limited time special where IJA members can get all three DVD 2-packs (six DVDs) for only $50. The videos will also be released to eJuggle for members in increments starting in April.
Feeling the glow,
Nathan Wakefield
IJA Chairman
Nathan Wakefield
Nathan is a juggler from Southeast Michigan. He first learned to juggle in college, and has written for the website Streetjuggling.com. He previously served as Chairman of the IJA and also held various officer positions. When he is not frantically trying to learn new manipulation skills, he enjoys producing music, acting, and watching horror films.