John Nations

 Most Astounding – 1989

 

Most Stupendous – 1992

 

Most Stupendous – 1994

 

A retrospective about my beloved Groundhog Day juggling festivals!! :-)

I attended my first EVER juggling convention, awash in the glow of the amazing discovery that there exist such a things as "juggling conventions," in 1986:  Groundhog's!!  I had been in Atlanta one year previous and JUST missed the huge 1985 IJA convention hosted there. I was there one week too late. D'OH! (I started juggling in 1984).

During that convention, Manic Expressions competed for a Phil (using the song "Life in a Northern Town " by Dream Academy ) and they later won the IJA Teams Nationals in Akron 1987. I also saw Benji Hill doing very high-level tricks in the Groundhog's gym.

I didn't have a car in 1986, so I was lucky to be driven to Atlanta for the convention by my friend Jim Lord, a computer programmer who taught me my first club passing. He lived in Columbia SC where I went to college ( University of South Carolina ).

I was blown away by Andy Ford's creative and smooth tricks (I still am). I was also impressed by Roger French and Bill Giduz because they were good at other things, had other jobs, and yet took juggling seriously enough to help document it and organize conventions about it. This was a new and encouraging concept for me.

I credit Groundhog's Festival and the AJA for saving me from the hopelessly boring juggling scene of my home state of South Carolina . If there is a worse place to grow up as a lover of juggling, its either some war zone, or it's underwater. All these years have passed and it's still lousy for juggling in South Carolina for some reason. Maybe they keep chasing us jugglers away? How very rude.

I won 3 Punxatawney Phil trophies over the years. I did not win in my first appearance, in 1987, because i attempted a technical routine to the song "Valerie" by Steve Winwood; my act could have been called 'A Great Many Dropped Objects.' That taught me something important about myself:  I can't get through technical routines to music under pressure. This humbled me but also led me to compete again with a talking act and a few brave attempts at comedy, and I won my first Phil that year (I think it was 1988). My co-winners were Cindy Friedberg (Marvell)  and the Howard Family Jugglers.

I have always been impressed by the variety and often the quality of acts who come to Atlanta to compete for the coveted Phil. Many of the winners I saw in Atlanta went on to win medals/trophies at IJA: Jeff Mason, Cindy Marvell, the Jongleur Jugglers, Jay Gilligan, Flight Patterns, Pat McGuire, Chuck Gunter, Manic Expressions and others. I, on the other hand, did NOT win the IJA, but then I never tried out for those competitions, because I can't get through a serious act without dropping like crazy (see above). That's why I love the Groundhogs bunch so much: they like both technical juggling and comedy juggling entertainment, and their enthusiasm for both young newcomers and oldies like me never seems to wane. Thanks to all of you for that!

Groundhog's helped me make one of my lifelong friends, Jimmy Robertson, and many other friends whom I still like even though I never see them anymore like George Strain, Mark Lippard and Randy Fenster. I feel like the AJA jugglers are some kind of family to me. They are extremely nice, helpful and encouraging to me every chance they get. The Howards, Bruce Plott, Toni Shifalo, DrewBob Ford, and many others are important to me even though I'm not around Atlanta much.

Speaking of "around Atlanta," I always, ALWAYS get lost trying to navigate during Groundhog's weekend, because even though my dad instilled in me a love for Atlanta from a very young age, back then, I WASN'T DRIVING. I gained a new respect for my dad's smooth handling of the zillion Peachtrees and 8-lane superhighways, not to mention the downtown maze of one-way streets. Groundhog juggling weekends have given me a chance to watch Atlanta grow huge.

The festival itself continues to improve in important ways. For example, I am very glad that recent Groundhog's festivals (I still like the word "convention" better) have NOT been held in Grady High School's decrepit Girl's Gym. (And by the way, I am not buying the "girl's gym" crap. I have NEVER once believed that human girls ever used that facility. Have you seen the bathrooms with the doorless stalls and creatively impractical faucets? Maybe that's only the boy's bathrooms, since technically the girl's gym wouldn't need to have deluxe facilities for males, but still, yuck. If that's a "girl's gym," I shudder to imagine the "Grady High School Boy's Gym.")

Some of my favorite moments spanning the 22 years of my Groundhog juggling career are:

The first time I ever saw the 'Marching Abominable' perform. 1986. Words fail me.

I met Darryl Sims, the amazing 7 ball juggler who had mastered his art while in prison and later was seen working at Taco Bell (even SEVEN ball jugglers don't get enough respect out in the Real World). Darryl, wherever he is now, had juggled 7 balls longer than the world record at that time (1995). I wish he'd show up again.

Roger French called me a "perennial favorite" while introducing me at Ghog's once. That was cool. Also he played "Masochism Tango" with his band, the Deluxe Vaudeville Orchestra, at the Midnight Cabaret and it was great.

I did the night cabaret a few times, and the one hosted by Matt Hall and featuring Mike Garner's singing of "Bakin' Cookies" was my favorite so far.

My first picture appearance in a juggling publication was from Groundhog's (Juggler's World, thanks to Bill Giduz).

I first saw Dana Tison do a 5 club, 5up 360 (back then they called it a 'pirouette') at Groundhog's in 1987. He also did five club single flips. This was the first time I ever saw these tricks, and remember: back then there was no YouTube, Google, or digital video.

Barry Abraham (later called himself Barry John, but I don't think he was copying my name per se) was the first person I ever saw bounce a ball on his head while juggling at the same time. He also did 3 club Albert throws and solid helicopters in his Phil-winning act, wherupon I immediately developed an obsessive desire to learn all three of these tricks, and eventually I did. His performance also influenced my style.

I'll try to come to Groundhog's as often as I can in future years, health permitting (though I'll be a bit late because I'll get lost driving there). I hope the Groundhog's Day Juggling Festival outlives us all and inspires future jugglers as much as it inspired me.  I still love juggling and my juggling friends, and even though I now attend more conventions in Europe than in the States, for me the whole idea of a fun meeting of friendly jugglers all started in the Big Peach. See you there!

John Nations