Israeli Juggling Convention facts for kids
The Israeli Juggling Convention (IJC) is a super fun event that happens every year during the Passover holiday! It's one of the biggest juggling get-togethers in the world, right after the European Juggling Convention (EJC). About 2,000 people who love to juggle come together each year.
What Happens at the Convention?
Juggling conventions in Israel first started in the late 1980s. After a break, they began happening regularly again in the mid-1990s. Since the year 2000, the IJC has been held at the same place and has followed a similar plan.
The convention takes place during the middle days of Passover. This is a holiday time when many people are off from school or work. Since 2000, the event has been held at the beautiful Gan HaShlosha National Park. This park is in northern Israel, close to the city of Beit She'an.
It's a camping convention, meaning many people stay in tents. The main activities happen in a big gym on the park grounds. You can find shops selling juggling gear, classes to learn new tricks, and lots of space to practice juggling. You can also try many other cool circus skills!
On the first evening, there's a special juggling contest. It's called the Avi Rosenberg competition, named after someone important to the juggling community. For a long time, it was about juggling 3 balls or 3 clubs. But since 2014, it's a "best trick" contest, where you can use any juggling prop. The audience votes for their favorite trick, and the winners get cash prizes from the Rosenberg family.
One of the highlights is the Special Show. This is a big theater show with amazing performances. It can be artistic, funny, or show off really difficult juggling skills.
There are also many smaller shows to enjoy. These include an open stage where anyone can perform, a thrilling fire show, and "renegades." Renegades are late-night shows that are often silly and unexpected. There are also "juggle jams" for free practice, special shows for kids, and a closing show.
Since 2015, the IJC has had a fun parade. Jugglers and performers march through the city of Beit Shean, showing off their skills to everyone.
The Juggling Olympics is usually held on one of the last days or nights. This event features many different juggling games and contests. Some popular games include seeing who can juggle 5 balls the longest. There's also "combat," where jugglers try to knock props out of each other's hands. In 2015 and 2016, the Olympics were held in the ancient Roman amphitheater at the Beit She'an National Park.
Other contests at the IJC have included "Fight Night," and games like "IJA IRC" and "volley club." Many years also featured an "Israeli Show," which showed off the talents of the best performers from Israel.
The International Gala is held on the very last evening. This is a high-quality variety show. It features about a dozen world-class performers who come from all over the globe to entertain everyone.
The IJC also invites special groups to visit the convention every year. These include groups with different needs. They get to join in workshops and activities, making the convention welcoming for everyone.
Workshops are a huge part of the convention. In 2019, there were over 220 workshops! These classes are for all skill levels, from beginners to advanced jugglers. There are 10 special places where workshops are held, including covered areas near the pool and the big gym.
A Look Back at Past Conventions
Here's a list of past Israeli Juggling Conventions, showing where and when they happened, and some of the amazing guest artists who performed.
| Number | Year | Main Organizer | Guest Artists | Attendance | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 2020 | IJC Team | 7pm Opening Show, 8pm JugTed (Ted Talks), 9pm Olympics, 10pm Quiz Game, 10:30pm Big Toss Up | ~110 | Zoom |
| 26 | 2019 | Dekel Azulay | Guillermo Leon De Keijzer, LPM (Lucas Castelo Branco, Hannes Bauhofen, Andrés Torrez), Lucas Zileri, Kellin Quinn, Raul Cañas, Ezra Weill, Mounâ Chan, Pen Zen | ~2,000 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 25 | 2018 | Dekel Azulay | Delaney Bayles, Ron Beeri & Itamar Glucksmann, Francesco Caspani, Edward Cliffe, Cirque Democratique (Gab Dondewel & Sander De Cuyper & Bram Dobbleberre), Joe Fisher, Juliette Hulot & Emmanuelle Legros, Nelli Kujansivu, Sebastian Landauer, Ariane Oechsner & Partner | ~2,000 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 24 | 2017 | Dekel Azulay and Ron Atazky | Juan Duartemateos, Chihhan Chao, Lu Yu Cheng (Lucas), Yang Chin Yao, Chan Yi Kan, Onni Toivonen, Thom Wall, Doreen Grossman, Olena Biambasuren, Sveta Kolodiy, Christine Oymann | ~2,000 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 23 | 2016 | Ron Atazky and Dekel Azulay | Joseph Viatte, Alexis Levillon, Yosuke Ikeda, Lucas Castelo Branco, EAEO (Eric Longequel, Sander De Cuyper, Bram Dobbleberre, Jordan De Cuyper, Neta Oren), Jonglissimo (Manuel Mitasch, Dominik Harant, Daniel Ledel) | ~2,000 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 22 | 2015 | Ron Atazky | Dan Holzman (USA), Alexandra Soboleva, Patrik Elmnert (Sweden), Wes Peden (USA), Bogdan Illouz, Gon Fernandez, Emil Dahl (Sweden), Solvejg Weyeneth, Matthew Poki McCorkle (USA). | ~1,500 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 21 | 2014 | Ron Atazky | Michael Davies, Kyle Johnson, Miguel Gigosos Ronda, Samuel Youde, Guillaume Martinet & Eric Longequel, Roxana Küwen, Guillaume Karpowicz and Daniel Sánchez Rodríguez. | ~1,300 * (Limited attendance) | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 20 | 2013 | Ron Atazky | Lorenzo Mastropietro, Mikel Ayala, Mael Tabibi, Jordi Querol, Steven Ragatz, Gustaf Rosell, Anni Kuper, Laura Von Bongard, Mario Danee, Arata Urawa, Antoine Terrieux, Julien Mandier. | ~1,900 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 19 | 2012 | Ron Atazky | Paul Ponce, Eric Bates, Tony Pezzo, Luis Sartori, Etienne Chauzy, Marianna De Sanctis, Riccardo Tanca, and Petter Wadsten. | ~1,700 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 18 | 2011 | Ron Atazky | Ines Brun, Stefan Sing & Cristiana Casadio, Matt Hall, Shake That (Hans Vanwynsberghe, Joris Verbeeren, Sander De Cuyper, Nino Mertens, Gab Bondewel), Cie Ea Eo (Eric Longequel, Sander De Cuyper, Jordaan De Cuyper, Bram Dobbelaere), Florent Lestage | ~1,300 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 17 | 2010 | Ron Atazky | Pol & Freddy, Joelle Huguenin, Jacob and Nate Sharpe, Jorden Moir, Jeanine Ebnöther, Mathieu Moustache, Pavel Evsukevich, Isabella Du Bois, Cyrille Humen and Daniel Shultz | ~1,200 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 16 | 2009 | Ron Atazky | Matthias Romir, Lena Köhn, Mike Rollins, Ronan McLoughlin, Luis "Toto" Villesca, Le BoTrio, DeFracto (Guillaume Martinet and Minhtam Kaplan), Carlos Muñoz, Alexander Kulakov. | ~1,200 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 15 | 2008 | Ron Atazky | Wes Peden, Lorenzo Mastropietro, Frida Odden, Sean Blue, Look Sharp (Peter Aberg and Viktor Gyllenberg), Fred Normal, Nicolas Longuechaud, Audrey Decaillon and Fraser Hooper | ~1,100 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 14 | 2007 | Ron Atazky | Erik Aberg (Sweden), Morgan (France), Marco Paoletti (South America), Jan Oving (Holland), Luke Burrage and Pola Braendle (England/Germany), Tempei Arakawa (Japan) | ~1,000 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 13 | 2006 | Ron Atazky | Maksim Komaro and Markus Lahtinen, Matt Hall (USA), Tr’espace, the German/Swiss Diabolo Duo, La Petit Travers (France), Get The Shoe | ~1,000 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 12 | 2005 | Ron Atazky and Kulu Itsik Orr | Pas En Rond (France), Jean Furry (France), Markus Furtner (Germany), Stefan Sing and Philip Mayhofer (Germany), Thomas Dietz and Mark "Schani" Probst" (Germany/Austria), Bob Cates (Canada) | ~900 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 11 | 2004 | Kulu Itsik Orr and Ron Atazky | Thomas Dietz (Germany), Peter Gerber (Germany), Mark "Schani" Probst (Austria), Tony Duncan (USA), Vincent Berhault and Compagnie Du Singulier (France) | 864 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 10 | 2003 | Kulu Itsik Orr | Vova and Olga Galchenko (Russia), Denis Paumier and Les Objets Volants (France) | 775 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 9 | 2002 | Kulu Itsik Orr | Tom Murphy (after a last minute cancellation by the Gandini Project) | 400 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 8 | 2001 | Kulu Itsik Orr | Luke Wilson (England) and Ilka Licht (Germany), Tomas Dahlen (Sweden) | 300 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 7 | 2000 | Kulu Itsik Orr | Pepretuum Mobile (Israel), Isaac Orr and Amir Levi (Israel), Ofer Blum (Israel), Mikhail Staroseletsky (Israel). | 200 | Gan HaShlosha National Park (Sachne) |
| 6 | 1999 | Guy Lev | Rod Laver (England), Bim Mason (England) | 140 | Yafit, Jordan Valley |
| 5 | 1998 | Guy Lev | Flying Bob (Canada) | 120 | Kibbutz Tuval |
| 4 | 1997 | Scott Seltzer | Francois Volet and Rena Penna (Australia) | 100 | Hebrew University, Givat Ram, Jerusalem |
| -- | 1996 | Raphael Harris | Yosef (Jonathon) Rosenberg | 100 | Hineni Center, Downtown Jerusalem |
| 3 | 1990 | Omri Bar-Lev | Lee Hays | ~70 | Eilat |
| 2 | 1989 | Roni and Rusty | ~70 | Eilat | |
| 1 | 1988 | Roni and Rusty | Eilat |
Who Makes it Happen?
The Israeli Juggling Convention is supported by a special non-profit group. This group works to help juggling and circus arts grow in Israel. The convention is mostly run by volunteers. These amazing people give their time to make sure everything runs smoothly. Only a few roles, like security and registration, are paid.
