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Performers in the Late Night Cabaret:
- DeLuxe Vaudeville Orchestra
- Mike Garner (MC), Steven Garner, Laura Garner and Zechariah Pierce
- Acrotones -- Madison Bryan & Steve Seaberg
- Cate Flaherty
- John Nations, Steven Garner, Mike Garner
- Balance-in-Motion -- Heather Marriott & Neil Jordaan
- Andy Ford
- Christian Kloc
- Rodger French
- Anti-Gravity -- Alex Berkow & Craig Lewis
- Ted Joblin
- Kellin Quinn
- Kathi Motti presents Mouse Award
- Breaking Point -- Judah Andrews & Mitt Lenix
- Dan Brown and Andrew Ruiz
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Festival Report by Charles Shapiro
About 200 jugglers registered for the 34th annual Groundhog Day Jugglers
Festival held February 3,4 and 5, 2012. Most were from the Southeast, but
folks traveled from Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Minnesota. One or
two even made it here from Montreal. The weather mostly favored us in
spite of predictions of rain, and Friday's turnout was a little larger
than last year.
Saturday morning featured Juggling Games, ably directed by AJA member
Spencer Schwab. They included a ruthless version of Simon Says with clubs,
a 5-ball endurance contest, and a blindfold-juggling endurance event. Rain
fell on the Saturday evening fire juggling, the only precipitation of the
weekend.
Twelve jugglers contested for the Coveted Groundhog trophy under the
watchful eye of Atlanta Jugglers Association founder Rodger French, after
the traditional performance by the Kelly's Seed and Feed Marching
Abominable Band. Winners were Kellen Quinn of St Louis MO (Most
Marvelous), Daniel Brown of Seminole FL (Most Superb), and Lucian Fuller
of Orlando FL (Most Fabulous).
Quinn's act featured some
fine cane and ball manipulation, as well as juggling with square rings and
an umbrella. Brown did a technically impressive routine which included 5-
and 7-ball tricks. Fuller's act included a red costume, an attractive
assistant, and plenty of death-defying feats on high unicycle.
Other highlights included a demonstration of cane manipulation (Will
Brazwell, Austin TX), some inspired clowning by Safe-T-Third juggling (Luke Eden and John Jackson, Athens GA) and a parody of the Twilight movie
(Objects In Motion, Gainesville FL). The larger-than-life Picasso the
Gorilla puppet helped to pass the hat after the show.
The Cabaret, MCed by Michael Jay Garner, showed fifteen acts. Musical
interludes included a parodic song by Michael, Steve Garner, Laura Garner
and Zachariah Pierce about the tragic theft of a bag of juggling props,
John Nations exploring his inner singer-songwriter with "Fifty Ways to
Lose a Juggle", and Steve Seaberg with Madison Bryan performing music and
acrobatics. Other featured acts included Andy Ford premiering a stand-up
comedy routine, Cate Flaherty with some funny and effective parts of her
busking show, and Judah Andrews and Mitt Lenix bravely persevering through
a staff-spinning routine in spite of continuing sound system troubles. The
Mouse award went to Jerry "Free Hugs" Taylor for his continuing services
to the AJA.
Sunday was the usual mix of thrilling stunts and club-passing, plus a
large assortment of fond good-byes. The festival concluded with the
ceremonial dinner at Panahar Restaurant, where we ate, laughed, and
boasted about the weekend. |
