The early hours of this morning found me sitting in the emptied-out fountain at LOVE Park, depressed because there was no blood-red water for me to swim in (and because I was even considering swimming in October). The people-watching was sub-par, given the hour, but I did notice that the bicyclists and skateboarders had come out to play… and so had a group of jugglers. Yes, jugglers.

Turns out, they were students from western New York who had road tripped it down to Philly (and were planning on sleeping in their cars for the weekend) for the 25th Annual Philadelphia Jugglers Festival at the Friends Select School at 17th St. and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. Their tricks were impressive, and so was their dedication: according to Joe (below), they practice for 3 hours every day and are willing to sacrifice pretty much anything for the sake of juggling. His parents all but disowned him when he told them that he wanted to drop out of school and make juggling his career.

They tried to teach me the basics, but my level of uncoordination is high. If you think you can do it, though, head over to the Friends School anytime until 7:00 tonight and check out the festivities, which include a $6 show, competitions and free juggling workshops. Then, on Sunday, there’s more of the same, this time from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It’ll be kind of like a trip to the circus, except better, because you won’t have to see any underfed elephants traipsing miserably around. Just don’t call the clubs they’re juggling “pins.”