By Mary Ann Albright
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Thursday, March 29, 2007 12:00 am
There's nothing like nailing a juggling trick for the first time. Just ask Ed Provencher. He fell in love with the dexterity-taxing activity the first time he gave it a serious go back in January 2004.
New to Corvallis, Provencher was working at Oregon State University and taking post-
baccalaureate classes in psychology, education and communication when he heard two motivational speakers talk about juggling as a metaphor for life.
He took home some of the free juggling balls they were handing out. He's been practicing daily ever since.
Provencher joined the Corvallis Juggling and Unicycling Club and went on to found the OSU Jugglers Club. He moved to Seoul, South Korea, about nine months ago to teach English, but Provencher is back in town this week getting ready for the city's first regional juggling convention.
He started organizing the event before he left for Seoul, and wanted to see it through.
"The three years I spent in Corvallis were the best of my life. This is me saying thank you to Corvallis for everything," said Provencher, 30.
The three-day event kicks off Friday afternoon, and features open gym practice times, workshops and performances.
Co-sponsored by the OSU Jugglers Club and the Corvallis Juggling and Unicycling Club, all events are free. The clubs raised funds to put on the convention, and private donors and corporate sponsors, including Corvallis Cyclery and Benton County Schools Credit Union, also contributed.
Provencher is bringing several juggling celebrities to Corvallis for the convention, including Aaron Gregg and Matt Hunt, who will perform in a show Saturday night emceed by the Vanillatown Vaudevillians.
Provencher met Hall when he attended his first juggling festival in Portland in 2005, and is excited to work with him again.
"Matt Hall is a juggling hero. He's like the people's champion of jugglers," Provencher said of Hall, who is based in California.
Integrated with the juggling convention will be the Sean McKinney Freestyle Competition. Competitors are coming from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, northern California and Vancouver, British Columbia, according to Provencher.
The preliminary rounds will take place Friday, and the finals will be held during the show Saturday night.
On Friday night, there will be a "renegade" show where anyone can volunteer to do juggling and comedy acts. This show is for adults only, organizers said.
Provencher was born in Guam. His father was in the military, so the family moved around a lot while Provencher was growing up.
He graduated from Radford University in Virginia in 1999, and moved to Corvallis several years later.
Although he lived in Corvallis for only three years, he considers it home.
"My first Fall Festival I was like, 'Wow. People here actually want to hang out together and dance and have fun,'" he said.
Because Provencher organized most of the convention from South Korea, he needed some help.
Angela Schwindt, founder and facilitator of the Corvallis Juggling and Unicycling Club, is working with Provencher to pull off what they hope becomes an annual event.
Schwindt coaches and choreographs the One Wheel Wonders, a unicycling troupe that will perform a "Mary Poppins"-themed routine at the convention.
Schwindt won't be on a unicycle, but she will dress as Mary Poppins while "Burt" and a group of chimney sweeps dazzle the audience with their balance and coordination skills.
Juggling and unicycling help people build confidence and, she noted, they're activities that can be done individually or in a group.
The conference will be both educational and entertaining, Schwindt said.
"I don't think anyone who goes could possibly be disappointed," she said.
IF YOU JUGGLE
WHAT: Pacific Northwest Juggling Convention
WHO: Sponsored by the Oregon State University Jugglers Club and the Corvallis Juggling and Unicycling Club, with guest performers including Aaron Gregg, Matt Hall, Vanillatown Vaude-villians and the One Wheel Wonders
WHEN: Workshops and open gym run from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. At 10 p.m. Friday there will be an adults-only renegade show. A vaudeville-style show, including finalists in the third-annual Sean McKinney Freestyle Competition, begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Closing ceremonies will take place Sunday at 3 p.m.
WHERE: Workshops, open gym and closing ceremonies are at OSU's McAlexander Field House, 1800 S.W. Jefferson Way. The renegade show on Friday night and the vaudeville show Saturday night will be at Milam Auditorium, 2520 S.W. Campus Way
All workshops and performances are free, and no previous juggling or unicycling experience is required. More information about the convention is available online at http://jugglingconvention.blogspot.com
Mary Ann Albright can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.