James Reid – Juggler Extraordinaire

I recently attended a juggling show hosted by “James the Juggler”. This show was presented by the Town of Gilbert, Arizona as part of the “Turn Off the TV Week” activities.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to the show. It turned out to be mind-blowing! He did some classic juggling routines along with some things I had never seen. He juggled bowling balls, baseball bats, golf clubs, tennis racquets, soccer balls, apples, and even a football helmet. At one point, he let the audience decide what he would juggle based on how loud we cheered. The audience picked a baseball bat, a bowling ball, and a golf club.

Even though his sign says “James Reid – Juggler Extraordinaire”, he did more than just juggling. He performed some tricks with a yo-yo, flower sticks (also known as devil sticks) and a Chinese Yo-Yo. A Chinese Yo-Yo (or Diablo) is like a huge Yo-Yo that is not connected to a string.

James ended the show with a black light juggling show set to music. He turned off all of the lights except for some really big black lights. Then he juggled balls, bowling pins, bowling balls, and many other items. James had painted all of his juggling props with florescent glow-in-the-dark paint that lit up the stage under the black lights. During his finale, he used streamers to create a really awesome light show. He was waving the steamers so quickly, I even got a little dizzy just watching him.

James Reid started juggling 27 years ago. He was eight years old. He was inspired by going to a juggling show hosted by Ron Bauman, better known as Hugo the Juggling Clown. Once James got pretty good at juggling, Mr. Bauman actually let James perform with him.

In his free time he obviously practices A LOT! James practices in addition to doing about 5 shows a week. The most shows he’s done in one week is 9.
James enjoys music, hiking, and well, juggling (of course). For his shows, there is a HUGE variety of age groups. In one day he could go from a retirement home to an elementary school! James lives in Arizona and has gone as far as Connecticut to Yale University where he was invited to perform his black light juggling show.

James said the hardest objects to juggle are 3 bowling balls (they are 12 pounds each). It took him a long time to learn how to juggle 3 at once.
I would highly recommend seeing the show of James Reid Juggler Extraordinare!