My wife and I have raise a family in the western Maine town of Bridgton for the past 35 years. It is a beautiful area to live and raise kids, and there's always new surprises after all these years. A new discovery from a year ago is the Bear Mountain Music Hall in the outlying town of Waterford. We were invited to attend a book reading of a friend's newly published children's book last summer. When the event ended, we spoke with the director of the hall, and she expressed an interest in having me juggle there. We were able to book a gig for summer of 2024, and it was a joy to do it.
BMMH is housed in an old church from the 1840's which became a school in the 1900's, then was vacant for a while. Elizabeth bought it a while back, and has turned it into the art center it is today. On a back mountain road, it is a light that brings people together to enjoy arts, literature, and education. There's a cool theratre upstairs that I did not perform in as it was crazy hot the day of my show, but I'd love to some time when it's cooler. My show was in the same parlor area that our friend's book reading was in.
Elizabeth brought me in for her summer kids program with the theme of 'when I grow up', so my task was to perform, talk about being a professional juggler, and then do a workshop with the kids. Although the turnout was small - probably a beach day for a lot of the area families due to the aforementioned heat - the show was greatly recieved. Elizabeth is already talking about having me back next summer (hopefully upstairs!). Since the theme was what it was, I shared a lot of stories from the road, and did just a hint of Gospel routines; just enough for people to know who I am (or whose I am.)
After the show, my wife taught the kids and adults who were present how to make homemade juggling balls and balloon animals. I then did a quick intro to juggling, including balls and spinning plates. Then I introduced kendamas to the group. This Japanese juggling toy is something I've played with a bit, and adapted for a handful of performances, but am not terribly skilled at. However, I was gifted a bgful of them a while back, and was able to send every kid home with one due to the low turn out of children that day.
If you are ever in the area of western Maine in the summer, look up Bear Mountain Music Hall. Perhaps you'll be blessed to catch a jaxx concert, book reading, dance lesson, or even a juggler! Hope to see you there.