The Umbrella Factory is a privately owned grocery store in Naples, Maine, that boasts 'the largest wine selection in Naples', has a ceiling decorated with inverted umbrellas of all sizes and designs, and hosts a huge community Christmas party every December.  It used to be called Tony's Foodland, and I don't know why the name change a few years ago, but my family has been juggling at their Christmas party every year for the past eight years.  

The party is really an amazing thing.  There are at least a dozen fully costumed characters such as the Grinch and Winnie the Pooh, thousands of dollars worth of free food is given out all evening long, a local worship team sings Christmas carols between my performances, all while the store is still open for business.  Occasionally an unaware customer comes in and inevitably bewilderment overcomes him.  But most of the time people are there for the party, complete with a visit with Santa himself.

As for our shows, we did two half hour gigs in the meat department.  Rose had dance class, so it was just Sue and me.  I opened with a new routine just for the Christmas season.  It was done to an instrumental medley of “I Saw Three Ships” and “Joy to the World”, and I juggled three and four balls, both traditionally and bounce juggling.  When the music slowed down, I incorporated an illusion that led to the production of an eight foot cross from a six inch gift bag.  While producing it, I spoke of the first and truest Christmas gift of the Messiah Himself. 

I incorporated the theme of Christmas throughout the whole show, of course.  I used a variety of Christmas music ranging from “Jingle Bells’ to ‘the Hallelujah Chorus’.  Party goers by the dozens stopped in the meat department and enjoyed our show. 

One of the best parts of the evening is seeing people we haven’t seen for a while, and this year was no different.  Anthony was a student at Ossipee Valley Christian School where I was once principal.  I have not seen him since he was eight, but I saw him at this show.  He’s now 26.  There were several other friends and acquaintances as well.

BAWT, the Bridgton Alliance church’s worship team played between our two gigs, and they were great as usual.  The store was full of Christmas music all evening, and the deepest meaning of the holiday season was shared with a great many people.