Many countries, cities or juggling clubs hold their own annual juggling convention. These are the backbone of the juggling scene, the events that regularly bring jugglers from a wide area together to socialize. The attendance of a convention can be anything from a few dozen to a few thousand people.

What happens at a juggling convention

The principle focus of most juggling conventions is the main hall - where everybody and anybody can share tricks, juggle to their heart's content and try out multi-person passing patterns. There will also be more formal "workshops" in which expert jugglers will work with small groups on specific skills and techniques. Most Juggling Conventions will also include a big show (open to the general public), competitions and juggling games. Many juggling conventions host some kind of Renegade Show, an open stage where anyone can, at short notice, get up and perform just about anything.

The Internet Juggling Database maintains a searchable database of all conventions in the past and future.

Types of juggling conventions

Conventions can be split into three distinct types, though all call themselves "Juggling Conventions":

"Festival"

These last three to ten days and can attract between 150 and 5,000 people. Most attendees camp, pitching tents within the convention site, and this is covered by the cost of attendance. Onsite there are usually food tents, bar tents, various sports halls or large bigtops for juggling space. During the day there can be shows, workshops, games, parades and exhibitions. Every night there is entertainment provided in the forms of professional shows, open stages, Late night stages, live music, parties and more. The largest festival style conventions are held in Europe. Some notable festival style conventions are:

• The European Juggling Convention - The worlds largest convention visits different European countries each year. The first EJC was held in 1978 in Brighton, England and attracted 11 jugglers from five different countries (England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, USA). In 2004 it was held in Carvin, France and attracted almost 4500 jugglers from all over the world. The 2006 European Juggling Convention will be held in Ireland. The convention lasts 7 to 9 days.
• The Belgian Juggling Convention (BelJC) - A 3 day event at a great location in Ghent, Belgium. Will be held for the first time in 2006 but plans to grow each year. The first edition already looks very promessing with an interesting and highclass program!
• The British Juggling Convention - a 4 day juggling convention in the UK, now attracts between 750-1,000 each year.
• The Israeli Juggling Convention - runs over the passover holiday and held in a national park in the north of Israel. Attracts over 700 jugglers.
• Berlin Juggling Convention - Germany's largest juggling convention, about 600 people attend each year. It is very cheap and some food is included.
• The Dutch Juggling Convention - Runs each year in a different city in the Netherlands and is attended by about 500 jugglers.
• Bristol Juggling and Circus Skills Convention - a 9 day convention held in southwest England. It isn't very large (about 300 people) but has a very dedicated core group that return year after year.

"Conference"

These are held in city center hotels or conference centers. They are invariably in North America and slightly more expensive than the European Juggling Convention. Camping is only rarely an option, as most are held in hotel convention centers. Notable conference-style conventions are :

• The IJA Summer Festival - The first and longest running juggling convention. It is held in different cities each, with the largest attendance in the 1990s with up to 1,300 jugglers. In 2004 it was held in Buffalo, New York, and attracted about 800 jugglers.
• The World Juggling Federation Convention - the first WJF convention was held in Las Vegas in December 2004 and attracted 150-200 jugglers.

"One Day"

Small, regional conventions that can actually last up to two or three days. These usually attract between 25 and 250 people, have workshops throughout the day and a show in the evening of the main day. At these conventions accommodation and food is not normally provided. They are usually held in sports centres, schools or universities. Some notable one day conventions are:

• Chocfest - in York, UK
• Juggle This - in New York, New York
• Leeds Juggling Festival - Leeds, UK www.juggler.net/leeds
• Shefcon - Sheffield, UK
• Durham Juggling Festival - Durham, UK
• Nott A Juggling convention - Nottingham, UK (usually early March - Nottingham Juggling Club)

Conventions | Juggling