What do you do at a juggling festival?

We juggle. Juggling is fun; we can do it all day. In addition to ball, club and ring juggling, there will almost certainly be some or all of the following happening:

• diabolo manipulation,
• devil stick manipulation,
• contact juggling,
• frisbee manipulation,
• yo-yoing, and
• other fun stuff.

You don't know how to do any of these? No problem! We have workshops, and we all like sharing what we do. The basics of juggling (or of any of these skills) can easily be picked up in a day.

Sounds like too much work? Heck, sitting around and watching people do this stuff is fun too.

You're holding this in a military facility? Weird!

One of the juggling clubs hosting this festival is from the Royal Military College of Canada, and RMC just happens to have a terrific new field house we were able to reserve for the weekend. Don't let the military thing freak you out — the RMC people are very friendly and really excited about hosting the festival.

What's the space like?

We have roughly half the Sports Centre's field house, which is the large white building in the picture to the right (click for a bigger view). It's a big room! The field house has excellent light, a very high ceiling with wide areas free of light fixtures, and elastomer athletic flooring. Tip for numbers jugglers: the ceiling is off-white so bring your dark beanbags. If you want to bounce juggle you'd best bring a platform — the foyer is tile over concrete but there are gaps between the tiles.

I need some new juggling gear; will I find any at the festival?

You bet. Don of the Higgins Brothers will definitely be there with oodles of yummy juggling props. There may be some other vendors too — we're waiting for confirmation. In addition, you'll find most festival attendees are happy to let you try out their props and "talk shop" to help you figure out exactly what it is you want.

Why isn't there a show?

Imagine your favorite band. How much would you pay to see them play some stadium or giant concert hall? Now, how much would pay to hang out with them when they were jamming in their basement the night before?

That's what our juggling festival is all about; it's a juggler's jam session. Some of the best jugglers in this part of the world will come to bounce ideas off each other (sometimes literally) and to attempt tricks too hard or too crazy to ever do on stage. And you can be a part of the action, whether you're an expert juggler or an absolute beginner.

What about unicycling? Fire? Sharp objects?

Sorry: if we damage the floor we pay to fix it and won't be allowed back next year, so no unicycles, fire or sharp objects in the gym. But bring that unicycle anyway; if the weather's good, you might be able to take a tour of the RMC campus or downtown Kingston, or just hack about the parking lot.

Should I bring my kids with me?

Certainly. Unfortunately, we can't supply child-care services, so you'll have to stay with them if they're not old enough to be left alone and care must to be taken to keep them away from flying objects. But even if they're too young to juggle (about nine; younger if they're unusually coordinated or motivated), there are other activities they will be able to do and enjoy.