Our sheltered playspace has been under construction for a couple years as they improved the lighting, replaced the leaky skylight domes, rebuilt the rink surface, and shined the place up! I am really impressed with the new look and improved functionality, and cannot wait to participate in all of the events that will be scheduled for this space.

The Saturday Circus will hopefully be able to squeeze under the extended domes on fall and winter days with questionable weather, but we may need to wait and see how the space is allocated for the next few months: for the next couple of weeks, there will be a test-run of the ice sheet, then the rink will be cleared again for two weeks at the beginning of November, and then the ice will go back on for public use through until the end of the Olympics. We will have to wait and see how the people supervising the plaza space feel about having a circus group practicing among the other area users!

Once the Olympics are over and the ice has cleared out, I will be looking into the possibility of offering one-hour lessons in this space on Saturday afternoons before the Circus. Please let me know if you would be interested in these classes!

In other Saturday Circus news… I think that I am finished with my summer and fall travelling, and will be able to attend the Circus each weekend up to the start of holiday travel! I’m really looking forward to participating weekly, as these sessions are a valued part of my social life, and provide me with a decent chunk of personal practice and play time. I hope you can join me!

Here’s an old video that shows the space pre-renovations (and also records a point in time before our playdates were dubbed “Saturday Circus” … but you can see that along with a ton of hoopers, there were a lot of poi spinner showing up, so the change was already in progress):

August 23 - there IS space in this workshop! Due to technical glitches, the course has not appeared on the online registration system, and if you called to register the staff may have told you that the course was full, and this is NOT TRUE! Come down to play, you can register before the workshop begins!

I have just realized that I will be missing the Saturday Circus for the first three weeks of August… this is where weekend trips (so I don’t miss work) get in the way of weekend play, and I’m sad!

The Saturday Circus is definitely one of the high points of my week: time to play with my hoops (teaching is great, but playing is sooo important for me!), time to learn new skills on things other than hoops (Double-Dutch skipping is on my list now that my back is better and I can probably skip without causing damage), and a chance to socialize with friends and other skill-toy enthusiasts! I don’t think I’ve ever missed this many weeks… *sigh*

Events that are taking me away include a weekend trip to Saltspring Island - I’ve always wanted to go check out the market, and the BC Day long weekend is when my partner and I celebrate our anniversary, so this will be a lovely sweet little trip. I’m looking forward to getting lots of knitting done during the ferry ride, and the B&B where we are staying has a private hot tub for us, and SHEEP! (If you are surprised to hear about my fibre obsession, visit http://christaknits.com to see the other work that I do!)

My friend Katie is getting married the second weekend, so we’ll be going up to Gibsons for her beach wedding. Katie and I worked together at the UBC Aquatic Centre for six years, keeping the pool running, the staff on track, and each other sane. She gave me incredible support when I had to leave that job due to harrassment, and encouraged me to find work that I loved.. thanks, Katie! (she’s marrying a guy that she met at the pool, who I dubbed ‘Flicky Wrists Dude’ due to the way he swam when he first showed up at the pool to train… he’s now an internationally-competetive triathelete, and his stroke is better than mine has ever been!)

The third weekend will be one more mini-vacation, this time heading to Seattle. My friend Paul (longest friend still standing - we met when I was 16) and his wife have invited us to stay with them as a home base while we explore all of the touristy things in Seattle that Chris has never seen (I’ve seen about half of them, but am happy to do repeats).. any suggestions for must-see locations are welcome!

Anyway… so, good reasons to miss the Circus, but I’ll be overflowing with excitement when I come back!

Other August news: the Earlybird Deadline for cheapest Flow packages is coming up on Aug 14 and 16 - just $11 per class when you register for a Season Flow! Summer classes end Aug 24 and 26, and Fall classes resume Sept 14 and 16.. and yes, we may be packing in another trip during that break, perhaps Tofino this time!

There are still spots in summer classes: Mondays and Wednesdays are both running through August so you have lots of learning options! Oh, and Scratch and Dent listings will be up after Wednesday’s class, so look for those sweet hoop deals to give an old hoop some new love!

That’s all.. stay cool this week, no hooping in the midday sun!

http://thefestival.bc.ca

I love this event… I think I’m on year 10 of volunteering, and am enjoying my gig with the Info Booth crew for the second year!

The Folk Fest has always been high on my list of favourite places to hoop - in 2005, after I started hooping in May, I hauled extra hoops into the fest and started meeting other like-minded people (including Dave, who you can see in the photos on the Classes page - he started playing with hoops at the festival that year, then went away and built his own and worked on figuring it out over the next year, and then he started coming to my classes!) who fell in love with the beauty of dancing with a ring.

This year, I was happy to be asked by the Festival to put together a group of roving performers to play in the Little Folks area and around the other stages. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, I got top billing in the program as a roving performer myself, and my lovely group of flow artists didn’t get the credit they deserve.


So, these are the people you will be seeing in performer and teacher roles throughout the weekend:

David Yates (poi spinner) and Diane Garceau (hooper) of Night and Day Dance
Ariel (hooper - and a co-performer from waaay back!)
Lars (poi spinner - Saturday Circus regular)
Sia (juggler - Saturday Circus regular)
Yuki (juggler - Saturday Circus regular)
Sarah (poi spinner - Saturday Circus regular)
Tamara (hooper - fabulous ex-student)
Dani (hooper - friend to Tamara, with a ton of kiddie hoops to share)


Along with the personal hoops I’ll have with me at all times, I’ll have 15-20 adult-sized hoops spread throughout the Fest as usual… (if you happen to see one with my business card taped to it, about to wander off-site without me, please snag it!) … and I can’t wait to get playing! Please say hi if you spot me in the fields, or at the Info Booth from 8:30pm onwards

See you there

I’m so excited about the new website!

To celebrate, I’m offering an extra 10% off any Flex or Flow package purchased between now and June 1, 2009. Visit the Weekly Clases and fees page, then use the Contact page to register, and I’ll send you an adjusted total with payment options!