European Juggling Convention

Summer in Europe continues to inspire me. Last time, I stumbled upon a hippie festival in the UK and this time, I found myself knee deep in a juggling convention. I met up with Neil in Amsterdam for a quick reunion. We hadn’t seen each other in a few months and were excited to catch up. Afterwards, he was supposed to go to this juggling convention and surprisingly, I decided to go with him. In Belgium, I was feeling a bit disconnected and craving community. Neil mentioned that the juggling festival might have “my kind of people” so I decided to see what it was about. 

As a non-juggling muggle, I was hesitant to go, but assumed there would be other flow arts present and that proved to be true. Though there were numerous people juggling all sorts of items, there were also lots of other forms of movement and entertainment. 

Performances: 4.5/5	Dates: August 2nd - 10th, 2025
Workshops: 5/5	Social: @ejc2025
Organization: 4.5/5	Website: https://ejc2025.org/

Performances:

There were so many options. Two nights in a row, we saw the open stage performances. One performance by a cry wheel artist literally left me speechless. I’ve never been left speechless after a performance before, but it was truly captivating. Most of the performances for the open stage were good. Some were meh and didn’t capture me, but I think that’s typical for this kind of set up. Another time, I was busy dancing in the rain and missed the chance to see “Escalate” which was apparently really great. I saw some of it on the big screen. A man playing guitar and juggling balls that were falling from floating hands. Also, Neil and I swung into the WJF (World Juggling Federation) where we were transported into a more competitive and athletic way of juggling… we left that one early to go play in the grass. 

Things I missed: live band, renegade, city day, the parade… There was so much going on. Knowing which performances you wanted to attend was essential. It was easy to lose track of time or not get in because there weren’t any seats left.

Workshops:

I only attended a few workshops, but the ones that I did were engaging and relevant. There was a wall where facilitators chose a time and place to write in their workshop. I wonder if the organizers invited people. Regardless, the amount of options were plentiful and qualified candidates happily filled the space so that we all had a chance to learn.

Organization:

From my perspective, the organizers did a great job. It seemed like they could’ve used some more volunteers, but the structure and flow of the event was great. The venue was spacious with multiple halls for different purposes. This was essential especially because of spontaneous rain. They had multiple circus tents for performances and the bar. There was a high wire, slack line, a space for vendors, and multiple fields of grass for people to play and learn. OH! And the juggler’s version of volleyball. The only thing that was lacking was in the food. There were three vendors. One Asian Kitchen and two Comfort Food Trucks. In the mornings, there was a coffee truck. In the evenings, there was a bar. And they assembled a mini grocery store with simple needs. Though this was sufficient, for a week-long festival, it felt a bit lacking. The lack of options and my need for calories made me want to run away to the city 15-20 minutes away, but that would mean missing out on the festival. I guess it’s a balancing act, but I would’ve been happier to have more food options.

Overall Impression

Great time. Great energy. Overall positive experience.