As students at Stanford, we’re always looking for new ways to de-stress. For members of the student-run juggling organization Down With Gravity, relaxation came in the form of flaming torches and dance battles.

Palo Alto High School hosted its first juggling festival, aptly-named “Game of Throws,” during the last weekend of January. The event drew hundreds from across California, the country and the world, including Stanford juggling aficionados.

According to Matt Hall, the high school’s Juggling Club faculty advisor and co-director of the festival, the weekend took about a full year to plan. About 400 attendees came for the wide variety of juggling acts and styles.

Logan Pearce ‘20, co-President of Down With Gravity, attributes her initial passion for juggling to a trip to see Cirque du Soleil. She attended the meet-up as a novice eager to learn more about the eclectic hobby.

“It was just like, really cool because I was surrounded by people who love juggling … I learned some new tricks, we had workshops, I went to a dancing-while-juggling workshop which was really cool,” Pearce noted.

Aside from workshops and learning new tricks, the festival also featured performances and demonstrations from professional jugglers.

Due to the event’s success as well as support from Hall’s principal and colleagues, the event will undoubtedly be back in 2019.

Members of Down With Gravity meet every Friday in Cubberley Auditorium from 5 to 6 p.m. to sharpen their skills. The club is open to students of all experience levels.

Contact Elizabeth Gerson at egerson ‘at’ stanford.edu.