Atlanta Jugglers Association

A not-for-profit but always-for-fun organization

See pictures and story from this year's festival

Groundhog Festival History from 1979 to 2008

Atlanta Jugglers Feed Stranded Soviet Troupe

-- article published in Juggler's World magazine Fall 1990

Most circus fans are familiar with the plight of the Circus Bim Bom, a Soviet troupe whose planned two-year tour of the USA bogged down in May almost immediately, leaving them stranded in Marietta, Georgia.

The problem was financial backing that fell through. The troupe couldn't pay its bills and ended up living in a motel in Marietta existing on the charity of local citizens for many weeks.

Initially the story grabbed media attention, but fell from the headlines as the situation dragged on. In late June Andy Ford, a curious member of the Atlanta Jugglers Association, drove out the interstate to see how things were going. "There they were, eating tacos on card tables in the parking lot," Ford said. "I asked if there was anything I could do and an interpreter asked me if I could feed 110 people the next night!"

Ford rounded up some friends in the Atlanta affiliate, including his wife, Pulley, Rick and L.J. Purtee, George Strain, and Mickey and Kathy Motti. They packed up the portable grills the next afternoon and did, indeed, feed burgers and hotdogs to the troupe that evening. "We took our juggling stuff, but they seemed a little depressed and aloof," Ford said. "I went into one room and found six or eight of them who couldn't speak a word of English mesmerized around the TV watching Wheel of Fortune."

Undaunted, the AJA signed on for another shift a week later. This time they brought some vodka as well as food, and things loosened up somewhat. Communicating through the interpreter, Ford found that the troupe included a strongman juggler and a female antipodist. However, none of the Bim Bom artistes were practicing their acts because their animals and equipment had been impounded in New Jersey. The circus eventually received a donation for travel expenses and most members left for home Aug. 22.