By JoAnn Ireland
The Philadelphia Area Jugglers’ Association (https://phillyareajugglers.org) and the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts (PSCA) (https://phillycircus.com) hosted the Philadelphia Juggling Festival (https://phillyareajugglers.org/festival.html), which was a full weekend of juggling for professionals, hobbyists, and beginners in the West Mt. Airy neighborhood. The festival commenced on Friday, June 12th at 5:00 PM with open juggling. The weekend festival cost $35 (which included the Saturday evening show ticket), or was $25 plus fees if preregistered and purchased in advance). Alternatively, if you were interested in purchasing items a la carte, $10 per day and $25 for the Saturday evening show. Philadelphia Area Jugglers’ Association t‑shirts were also for sale. The circus campus is 20,000 square feet of indoor training space, has two large gymnasium spaces, smaller classrooms for workshops, and Greg Kennedy’s Innovative Juggler (http://www.innovativejuggler.com) studio. There was also lots of parking – that’s rare for Philadelphia. PSCA is conveniently adjacent to the Upsal SEPTA regional rail station on the Chestnut Hill West line that runs though downtown Philadelphia and the 30th Street Amtrak station; however, SEPTA trains don’t run very frequently or late on the weekends, so plan accordingly if you are staying late for the evening show. There was also a large green space with picnic tables, so you are welcome to bring your own food. There were also a few snacks and drinks for sale inside the gym. There was one vendor, “Handles!,” (https://handles-vsnick.square.site) in attendance who came in from Alabama and had 3D printed and wooden jewelry for sale.
Philadelphia Juggling Festival at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts (PSCA)
Friday evening included open juggling, three workshops, and a fire jam. Saturday started off with a morning mountain unicycle (muni) ride, open juggling, six workshops, juggling games, a big toss-up, and the evening public show. On Sunday there were five workshops and an afternoon show, the Kellin Show, featuring Kellin Quinn, (https://thekellin.com) for an additional $20.
Saturday Evening Public Show Performers (top row, left to right – David, Lyla, Hazel, and Gail; bottom row, left to right – Kellin, Greg, and Thomas)
The Saturday evening public was emceed by David Darwin (https://www.daviddarwin.com) who has evolved past sideshow into a new age of vaudeville and has appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. All of the performers are available for hiring at your performance venue / next event and included:
- Greg Kennedy (http://www.innovativejuggler.com) who was originally trained as an engineer, performed an artistic piece by rolling balls in a large acrylic frustum of a cone and concluded by getting out of the frustum of a cone while the balls were continuing to spin inside. His piece was very well received by the audience with a standing ovation. Greg is a 1996 IJA Individuals gold medalist.
- David Darwin (https://www.daviddarwin.com) juggled with his daughters, Lyla and Hazel on stage, who each also juggled.
- Kellin Quinn (https://thekellin.com) a graduate of the National Circus School in Montreal Canada, performed an artistic and technical piece with rings. Kellin is a 2012 IJA Juniors gold medalist, 2013 IJA Individuals bronze medalist, and IJA People’s Choice Award winner in 2013 and 2014.
- Galus “Gail” Hosford (YouTube: @willowhosford8748) a Circadium Class 7 graduate and based in Philadelphia, performed a hoop piece.
- Stephen Doutt (https://www.stephendoutt.com), a Circadium Class 1 graduate, performed a technical and artistic piece with up to two diabolos.
- Thomas Miller (https://www.thomasjuggler.com), a Circadium Class 5 graduate, performed an artistic piece entitled, “Spores,” with up to four dust-filled bags.
Saturday Evening Public Show Performers
(top row left to right – Bennett, David, Jonathan; bottom row left to right – Lauren, Zak, Bete)
- Bete Lapel (https://www.patreon.com/cw/BETELAPEL), who is proud of her Puerto Rican descent, performed a variety piece, first manipulating an umbrella, then balancing on a rolling globe while playing the accordion.
- Lauren Raske is the founder and creative director of the specialty artists agency, 7textures (https://7textures.com). She performed an artistic piece with four S-shaped staffs (Buugeng).
- Jonathan Perry was honored during the show with an award for his volunteer efforts this year with the Philadelphia Area Jugglers’ Association.
- Zak McAllister (https://www.zakmcallister.com), a Circadium Class 1 graduate, two-time gold medalist in the IJA stage championships both in 2019 (teams and individuals). He performed, in his words, an esoteric piece with bright lights and mirrors while juggling rings that was well received by the jugglers and audience.
- Bennett Santora of Fly Juggling (https://flyjuggling.com) performed a technical piece with balls, explaining how the patterns evolved.
Saturday Evening Public Show Performers
(Left photo: Sammie, Sylvie, Jael, and Lilah; Right photo: Tanooki)
- Sammie, Sylvie, Jael, and Lilah have each been students at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts They performed a fun and energetic piece with lots of movement using rolling chairs while each juggling three balls and also performing some passing.
- Tiffany aka Tanooki (https://www.tanookitwirls.com) based in Philadelphia, who also teaches private hooping lessons, performed a beautifully fluid piece with hula hoops.
Trenton Circus Squad
- The Trenton Circus Squad (https://trentoncircussquad.org) was back this year and better than ever, they brought their always entertaining and enthusiastic act that included three club juggling, balancing on a rolling globe, diabolo, hula hooping, ring juggling and passing.
Kellin Quinn closing out the Public Show
Kellin Quinn came back onstage to close out the evening’s show with incredible club juggling using, three, five, and then concluding with seven clubs!
Philadelphia School of Circus Arts (PSCA)
The PSCA juggling club meets on Wednesdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and all ages and skill levels are welcome to practice juggling and unicycling.
PSCA’s sister school, Circadium closed in June 2026 (https://circadium.com/updates/index.html). Circadium was the first licensed and accredited higher-education program for circus arts in the United States, offered nine years of classes, had seven graduating cohorts, granted 35 diplomas of circus arts, and was located in Philadelphia at the PSCA building.
If you are interested in part-time, recreational, or youth training, that can be considered at PSCA (https://phillycircus.com). PSCA is a recreational program featuring the largest variety of circus classes, equipment and disciplines in the region for students of all backgrounds – ages 2 and up. Youth classes are grouped by age with no prior experience required and are $84 – $204 per month meeting weekly for 45 minutes to two hours.
PSCA also offers performance preparation for students ages 10-18. Students can attend two or more classes per week on acrobatics, aerials, balance, dance, juggling, and performance, which is $340/month for two classes per week, or $450/month for three classes per week. PSCA also has a youth performance troupe that meets twice a week developing ground-based skills (no aerials) that then performs at events around the city. However, students must be enrolled in weekly classes or regular private lessons to participate and there is also an audition process.
PSCA also has options to hold circus parties at their site for kids or adults, as well as a few 1-week (Monday – Friday) summer camp options for kids and teens at $495/week with options for before and after camp care at an additional fee.
Adult classes are grouped by level (intro, beginner, intermediate, and advanced) at a range of prices ($30/class, 5 classes for $130, 10 classes for $220, or monthly with a minimum commitment of three months for $230). There are quite a variety of class options – e.g. rope, trapeze, flexibility, strength training, pole, lyra, sling, fabric, straps, trampoline, handstands, and tumbling. Private lessons and classes are also available for ages 8-adult at $100 for 1-2 people, $240 for 3-8 people, and $30/participate for 10-35 people. PSCA is also always looking for talented coaches, resumes are welcome (info@phillycircus.com).
In addition, the PSCA sanctuary space is available for special occasion event rentals at $3,500 on Saturdays from 3:00 pm to midnight, or at an hourly rate of $350 with a minimum of four hours. (https://phillycircus.com/event-rentals/).
Finally, if you are in the area for a day, or the weekend, I definitely recommend visiting the nearby Chestnut Hill neighborhood (https://chestnuthillpa.com), located northwest of PSCA. It’s easily accessible on the Chestnut Hill West SEPTA line (or three miles from PSCA) and there are plenty of unique shops, restaurants, bakeries, and cafes to enjoy while there. Another nearby option is Manayunk (https://manayunk.com), located 2.5 miles to the southwest of PSCA. For an even more convenient option to enjoy some food, the Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy is only a half-mile walk from PSCA and offers plenty of great choices to enjoy while outdoors at the circus campus.
Huge thanks go out to Greg and Shana Kennedy for hosting the Philadelphia Juggling Festival at PSCA, Jay Ko for recording the evening show, the many volunteers, workshop instructors, as well as the performers for putting together another entertaining Saturday evening show. Definitely keep a lookout for next year’s Philadelphia Juggling Festival, most recently it has been in June.
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.