Back in September, I rented the gym space for our regular Saturday time through to December. The cost for this was about $396, which I hoped to mostly recover with our drop-in jar on a weekly basis. Unfortunately our attendance lagged quite a bit, only once surpassing twenty, and many times with fewer than ten, and once only three. As a result donations were often not there, or five or eight dollars a week. This meant that renting the gym for juggling was costing my family about $100 per month. Together with very low attendance, I sadly concluded the juggling club would have to end.

When I mentioned this to Caitlin she suggested a meeting with some regulars to see if a solution could be found to save the club. As a result Caitlin, Roq, Kim and I met two Sundays ago to explore options.

The first year of the club saw three families each rent the gym for a three month period, thus spreading out the cost. For the second year we decided to have a drop in fee, so that people who came to juggle would support the club, and since lots of people came much of the cost of gym rental was covered. Adopting a system to spread out the cost was felt to be a reasonable solution.

The four of us decided we would sell juggling club memberships on an annual basis, so that people who come regularly could pay once and have unlimited access. People could also buy memberships primarily to support the club, and then come whenever they had the time. Memberships would be available for families, individuals, and youth. There will still be a suggested drop-in fee for those who do not want to purchase membership, but who do wish to support the club on the days they are there.

The first membership has been purchased by Chris and Caitlin for their family; their membership card will sport the number 001. We look forward to selling many memberships, and any money left over after paying for the gym will be used to purchase new equipment, and to replace worn equipment such as our tired peacock feathers. Hopefully this arrangement will allow the club to continue long into the future.

This Saturday we will be in the multi-purpose room upstairs in the school, and next Saturday, the 19th, we will be back in the gym. The gym will be closed over the Christmas break, but we will be back in January. I wish to thank Caitlin, Roq, and Kim for their valuable assistance in helping me find a way to keep the club moving forward. This is great!   Thanks everyone.

Paul

Last Saturday the Juggling Club met on the grass in Artisan Square, primarily to provide a good venue for the fabulous performance given by Thomas Arthur. But it also gave us organizers food for thought, owing to the extra large numbers of people who came over to try this weird hobby of ours, and because we were so close to that fabulous chocolate cafe, Cocoa West.
Due to the messy construction occurring on on our usual summer juggling spot at the community school, we have relocated to the covered, concrete area near the entrance to the gym. It is less than ideal. Up at Artisan Square we were on the cool grass, surrounded by shade-giving trees, and yet jugglers could find space to toss their props without encountering too much in the way.
The huge down side of the Artisan Square location is the constant car traffic right beside the grassy centre. We almost lost one of our under four year old proto-jugglers to a car, because she decided to rejoin some friends on the other side of the road, without checking traffic first.
So we were wondering if there is anywhere else on the Island, preferably in Snug Cove that has cool grass, shady trees, not too much traffic, and high visibility for the uninitiated to become intrigued by our presence. Suggestions are welcome, either here in the comments or in person to the Juggling Club organizers, Paul and Karai.

Last Saturday the Juggling Club met on the grass in Artisan Square, primarily to provide a good venue for the fabulous performance given by Thomas Arthur. But it also gave us organizers food for thought, owing to the extra large numbers of people who came over to try this weird hobby of ours, and because we were so close to that fabulous chocolate cafe, Cocoa West.
Due to the messy construction occurring on on our usual summer juggling spot at the community school, we have relocated to the covered, concrete area near the entrance to the gym. It is less than ideal. Up at Artisan Square we were on the cool grass, surrounded by shade-giving trees, and yet jugglers could find space to toss their props without encountering too much in the way.
The huge down side of the Artisan Square location is the constant car traffic right beside the grassy centre. We almost lost one of our under four year old proto-jugglers to a car, because she decided to rejoin some friends on the other side of the road, without checking traffic first.
So we were wondering if there is anywhere else on the Island, preferably in Snug Cove that has cool grass, shady trees, not too much traffic, and high visibility for the uninitiated to become intrigued by our presence. Suggestions are welcome, either here in the comments or in person to the Juggling Club organizers, Paul and Karai.

Today Thomas Arthur will be showcasing his amazing talents and then participating in our juggling club activities, all at Artisan Square starting at 2:00 PM. Please come join us for an inspiring afternoon. See you there!

          More than twenty people came by yesterday to help us celebrate this years’ World Juggling Day. I was able to teach two people to juggle, at least the beginnings of a three ball cascade. We all had fun with lots of laughter, especially with the beach balls I had brought along. Pete, Roq, Tobi, and I tried to come up with different combinations for three, four and five beach ball patterns, although we had to move into the gym to eliminate the problem of the wind. I laughed the most, but we all had fun.
          The cookies were appreciated, as were the two t-shirts that were drawn for. All children twelve and under were entered, and both Aria and Thomas walked away with a juggling shirt.
          Devil sticks, diabolo, clubs, balls and lots of hula hoops, with Emera wowing people with her ease with two rings. She also worked with Olivia on bouncing the silicone balls in the tennis courts. Roq was impressive with his three hacky-sac juggling incorporating the tops of his shoes. Mike showcased his talents with diabolo, devil sticks, and of course his 500 gram “popeye” balls.
            All in all a great weather day for our world juggling day event right here on Bowen Island. Hope to see you all on Saturdays over the summer, Paul

          The wonderful people at the University of Victoria staged another great festival this weekend.   Three days of throwing, hooping, rolling, balancing and merriment.  Lots of quality workshops, plenty of interactive sharing, competitive action and laughter – does it get any better?

          At the Renegade show on Friday night we witnessed wonderful contact work by Chris and Ryan, a fast moving hula hood routine with lighted hoops, and quite a bit of funny material, although the renegade taste police kept issuing tickets because the acts were not “out there” enough.  I guess we are too nice in Canada.

          On Saturday we were there from 10:30 until 4:45.  Among many other activities, Calder and Tobi did a 6 and 7 club passing workshop which was thoroughly enjoyed, and Paul did a workshop with Blake – 72 variations of under the leg.  Mind boggling information, but I ended up withdrawing to simply watch because my body hasn’t contorted like that in many years.

          After dinner at the Noodle Box ( Calders choice ) we were out to Esquimalt for the evening show, MCed by the very funny and talented Aaron Gregg.  A wide variety of excellent performances, including some genuine blind juggling by Tony Duncan, who also did a contact ball routine, but this with his eyes open.  After the show we went back to the university for more juggling until about 11:30, when we finally accepted we were all tired.

          Back at the university at 10:45 on Sunday morning, we continued working on our newest (soon to be) skills. until the competitions began.  Calder and Tobi each entered a number of competitions, and doing well, with Tobi winning the endurance handstand competition, and claiming a prize of quality juggling balls donated by Higgins Brothers.  The announcer didn’t remember Tobi’s name, so he simply stated the winner was from Bowen Island.  Well done to both of you.

          Unfortunately we had to leave at 1:30 to catch a ferry (some things remain constant), so we could not stay until the end.  In the car we all talked about the next festival we can attend, and the boys were planning to enter the combination competition next time. We are all excited, pumped, and yet exhaust.  A bouquet of flowers to Dawn and her crew in Victoria.  Thanks again.

          The school will be closed on the Easter weekend, but if the weather is good Chris plans to be outside – call to confirm.  We will be back inside the following week.  See you then, Paul

     The Victoria Juggling Festival will be April 3 – 5 this year, the first weekend in April, at UVic, in the gym.  Last year ten members of our club were there, and we all had loads of fun.  It starts on the Friday night, goes all day Saturday with a public show that night, then concludes on Sunday afternoon.  Paul, Karai and Calder all plan to attend.  Hope to see some of you there.

     The following weekend has Paul and Karai in Santa Barbara, California for the 33rd annual Isla Vista Juggling Festival, at the UCSB campus gym. Calder and I were there two years ago and it was a blast.  On the Friday night we arrived at the gym, parked the car, and entered the building. Calder’s first words were, “Vova is here!”  That is right, Vova and Olga were both there, although that first evening Olga was completely immersed in the book she was reading.  It was great spending the weekend with all the talent that was there.  The Saturday night public show was awesome. I’m going to have fun.

     This coming Saturday, we will be in the gym at BICS at our usual 2:00 PM time.  See you there, Paul.

Paul has just informed me that somebody added us to the internet juggling database, the IJDB. The website for this is http://www.jugglingdb.com/. If you juggle at the Bowen Island Juggling Club you should make a profile and add yourself to our group. Paul and I have already joined but it would be great if we could get some more people to join. Check it out and leave some comments here if you have any ideas!

Tobi

     Yesterday we were in the community use room at the school and, even though it was snowing and the roads were slippery, we had a decent turnout.  Because of the lower ceiling no clubs or diabolos, but lots of fun anyway.

     Zelig and Ken were there for a while, but the weather conditions saw them leave early.  Pete came by for a while and did some three ball work.  Mike and Olivia walked over and Mike did lots of three ball work, including some with his Popeye balls ( 500 grams ).  He also got to show us all some devil stick moves.  Olivia did some wonderful three ball stuff, including with the silicone balls.

     Kai brought four friends by, and I enjoyed watching them try three balls.  Some of them had previous devil stick experience, and that was particularly interesting to watch.  Two of the boys were successful fairly quickly with the silicone balls with passive throws and catches; Kai picked bouncing up almost immediately.  Kai had tried passing balls before and wanted to get better at it, so he and I spent perhaps ten minutes at it, at which time it felt like he had done it many times before.  Great work!

     Devon dropped by and joined in the devil stick fun with Kai and his friends.  I really hope Kai brings these guys back again sometime because I really enjoyed the positive energy they added.  I will try to learn their names then also.

     Next Saturday we will again be in the community use room, but we are booked into the gym through April ( except for one Saturday during Spring break when the school is closed ).  Come on out and share in the fun.  Aloha, Paul.

     Another year approaches, and we look forward to lots of fun and dropping in January.  We will be in the gym on January 3, but in the multi-purpose room on both the 10th and 17th.  We can work on bouncing both of those days, so come prepared to intentionally drop.

     We lent our “Bouncing in Paris” DVD to Mikes’ family, and then to Zelig.  Olivia says she was inspired.  Everyone else simply enjoyed it.  If you are interested please let me know.  We need to have more people attending, so if you know someone who might be interested, don’t hesitate to invite them.  We will have a blurb in the next school bulletin; someone may ask you about it.

     Wishing all of you the very best in the new year, and hoping to see you all very soon, Paul