As a juggler in a small town, I rarely lack for opportunities to share my skills. This weekend was a prime example of this. It started on Friday night when I was at our local high school to audition for "Lakes Region's Got Talent". This is a local talent show for all ages that runs during the month of January. In all the years (44) that I've been juggling, I've never had to go through an audition process, so this was a new experience. There were three judges form the local community theater sitting at a table in the front of the auditorium like a poor man's American Idol. I auditioned with my three ball juggling routine to Mahalia Jackson's "When the Saints Go Marching In". They seemed to like it and said they'd let me know by mail this week. One mentioned that in six years of doing LRGT, they'd never had a juggler before. I reminded them that actually, the very first year my then 12 year old daughter, Rose, had participated. Honestly, I'm not sure why I decided to do it except that, now that Rose i away at college, my wife and I have an empty nest and I'm trying things I've never done before. (See my gallery of acrylic paintings on this web site.
On Saturday morning, I did a show at the local nursing home, where I perform four times a year. I changed my routines a little to focus on the Christmas season, and we had a lot of fun. I adjusted my music, as I usually do this time of year, using mostly songs from Michael W. Smith's "Christmastime" and Melanie's "Antlers".
After a few hours at home, I set out for the Bridgton Festival of Lights parade. I was joined by three of my current students: Anna, Lillia and Grace. It was very cold, but it's a short parade with a real small town feel: think Mayberry North. The girls juggled clubs while I did diabolo. In spite of the cold, the dark and the strobing police lights that led the parade, the kids did great.
Finally, this morning I did two Christmas routines at our church for 'kids' church. This is something I do once a month on the second Sunday.
So, it was, in short, a busy weekend in which I did four presentations without traveling more than 12 miles from home. I love my community and am glad to participate where I can.