The cast of real characters began arriving singly and in small groups early Friday evening, exchanging balls and clubs, news and greetings in the Memorial Building. After this first evening of reacquaintances and juggling practice, most of the crowd retired to their tents or vans in the Stanislaus camping area of the park, next to the zoo. With only a little imagination, we could imagine ourselves not close to interstates and 7-11's but out in the jungle on safari, as the cats occasionally disturbed the silence of the night with their roars. Of course, we could dream of being hobos also, if we wished, as a few freight trains passed by. Trains and roaring cats - in the middle of the night, awakened from a deep sleep, it was a little disorienting.
At least we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore, even though the sunrises in the central valley are similar to those of the Great Plain states. However, the next morning not many others except a special two-and-a-half year old (my friend Dan) and I watched the giant orange sun pull itself out of the horizon and begin its journey to the west. By late morning, though, in the Delta picnic area, the clubs and balls were twirling paths through the air, the unicycles were circling the pavement, the slack rope was sinking under the weight of yet another body attempting a graceful crossing as the atmosphere was filled with the noise of happy people learning new tricks and perfecting old ones. Many people came just for the day, including some Lodi locals interested in checking out the scene.
It wasn't all happening at the zoo, but the performances there on Saturday and Sunday were excellent. (Well, I only saw two, but I just know they were all good.) I can imagine the delight of those who came upon a show unexpectedly - like finding a few home-made chocolate chip cookies at the bottom of the lunch your mom prepared for school!
Meanwhile, while most people were practicing the chop or tossing balls, back at the kitchen, the volunteer cooks - including a disproportionate number of Pisces, who, it was noted, are known for hanging out in kitchens (a characteristic related to their love of food) and helping out without being asked - were chopping vegetables and tossing pasta salad in preparation for the big barbecue. Ngaio Bealum wielded the tongs at the grill, cooking up chicken, turkey dogs, hamburgers, and veggie kabobs. The feeding frenzy ended just in time for the Vaudeville Show at the Memorial Building.
Drawing a crowd of more than 150 people, the show, orchestrated by Barry Bakalor, included tricks of every kind - cigar boxes, clubs, balls, unicycles, diabolos, devil sticks and more. Each act was wonderful in itself, but what was most marvelous was the diversity of talent, including the quick comedy of Ngaio. Many jugglers do impressive tricks where the movement of the props are amazing, but I was really impressed with those who seemed to have most successfully integrated graceful body involvement with manipulation of the props, where it was possible to forget that there was a person and there were things, separate. I've seen Charlie Brown perform many times, but each time he is more of an artist and I really noticed during the performance that night the unified flow of movement through his body and the cigar boxes. Of course, for the beauty of movement, for me, Kezia Tenenbaum was by far the most outstanding.
After the show, the party moved back to the Delta picnic area, where there were rumors of an impromptu Renegade show which never came together. It didn't matter. The juggling continued late into the night, I hear. (Two-and-a-half years old can only stay up so late.) I was delighted to join in singing of old songs from the sixties and seventies accompanied by Gary Karp on guitar (we remembered fairly well the words to most of them) - James Taylor, Carol King, CSN, Joni Mitchell, Eric Burton and the Animals (Wild Thing!). But Dan was turning into a wild thing from lack of sleep, so we went to slumber once again near the animals. (It was a fairly peaceful village of tents, but the lion did not sleep all night.).
Without company, I watched the sunrise the next morning as Dan and most everyone else continued to sleep. Eventually, the crowd stumbled out of tents and vans, making their way to the picnic area in time for the potluck brunch, featuring an abundance of pastries and an oversupply of pasta salad doing an encore appearance from the night before. Revived by sugar and fruit-juicy Hawaiian Punch, the jugglers brought out their props again for a final day of practice and fun. As the day wore on, the crowd diminished as people left to return to lives of everyday jobs or travelling to perform.
I had a great time, and I don't even juggle. I can only imagine the pleasure experienced by those sharing in hours of this playful yet challenging activity - the joy of learning or perfecting a new trick and the delight in seeing again old friends and acquaintances from the juggling community. Certainly, this is what it was most of all, a brief and delightful community experience to be remembered - and looked forward to next year.
Sherri Rodgers