The European Juggling Convention (EJC) is the single largest gathering of jugglers around the world. This year was its 41st edition, and took place in Newark, England – a two hour train ride north of London. The nine-day-long festival drew some 4,000 jugglers from dozens of countries across the globe. We camped together, ate together, watched the same shows, trained, and drank coffees and beers elbow to elbow – if there wasn’t a common language, it didn’t matter – a smile, a wave, and a shared interest in circus is all you need to become fast friends in the juggling world.

I was invited to perform at the EJC gala show late in 2018, back when I was still working with Totem. When the email pinged in and I read the subject line back at my makeup table, I’m pretty sure my eyeliner slipped across my cheek as I showed my neighbor. This is incredible! I can’t believe they want me to perform! No matter what your resume looks like or how different your act is, when you grow up in the juggling community you’re always surprised, delighted, and encouraged by the support of your peers. And now my peers – the peers who were organizing the biggest juggling soiree in the universe – wanted me to close the gala show.

The EJC is big and long and I simply don’t have the memory or digital stamina to offer a minute-by-minute recap. In an effort to capture the flavor, I offer a series of vignettes that work towards some kind of thesis. (What is that thesis? The festival was good. The people there are good. And I think I did a good job in the show.)