Today’s performer at the library was  Yo Yo People.  Rebecca had hurt her ankle that morning, so John came and did the show alone – and it was fantastic!  I had a fantastic time, and everyone I spoke to who was in the audience had a fantastic time, too.  How many times can I use the word fantastic in one paragraph?  But it was!

We lucked out with the weather, too, and were able to hold the show outside in front of the original main entrance to the building.  Not too sunny, so no baked audience members, but also no rain (and there are torrents of rain predicted for tonight).   A quick note about the stress and misery that Jennifer and I went through trying to figure out if it was going to rain at 3 PM today or not:  we both studied the online weather forecasts from various sources, and ultimately couldn’t decide what the weather was going to be today, since one of the sources kept telling us there was a 100% chance of rain at 3 PM.  Finally, at 2 PM, that source changed its tune, and said there was only a 10% chance of rain at 3.  Typo, mayhaps?  Annoying, for sure.  But who cares, since it all worked out and we were able to have the show in the best possible spot – outdoors. 

So, obviously, the weather forecast isn’t what’s important here: the show is what matters.  John is extremely professional, and presents his material in a way that makes you feel like he’s just doing it for the first time.  That’s a real skill, in my opinion, and the mark of someone who is a born performer, since the only way to do a great show is to rehearse and practice ad nauseum.  If you can still make the audience believe that your material is fresh and exciting, despite having rehearsed and performed it dozens of times – well, then you’re pretty good at what you do.

Lot of kids (and one adult) from the audience got to participate as volunteers, too.  One second grade girl showed off her impressive hula hoop prowess (I’m not kidding – she was great!).  A fifth grade boy served as unicycle assistant, steadying John as he got on to his unicycle.  A fourth grade boy helped out with a very cool yo yo trick, then treated us all to an awesome dance (I think the music was James Brown).  A brave dad held out a match, which John lit with a flick from a yo yo, then balanced a quarter on his ear, which John knocked off with a yo yo – without hitting the dad.  Wow.

And, of course, there were the yo yo tricks.  Pretty darn cool stuff – things that I never knew you could do with yo yos.  Throw a yo yo in the air and catch it in your pocket?  Awesome.  Make a yo yo and its string look like a bow tie or the Eiffel Tower?  Wicked pissah.  Ride a unicycle while working two yo yos?  Amazing.  At the end of the show, lots and lots of kids were clamboring to learn yo yo tricks from John, who very kindly stuck around to teach them.  What better way to spend a summer day than learning yo yo tricks?

For any of you children’s librarians looking to book a great show, Yo Yo People are tons of fun and an absolute crowd pleaser.  Totally worth it.  And now I’m going to drag Jim in to Faneuil Hall someday to see them perform…