People came from New England, mid-Atlantic states, Oregon and Canada for an event staged over the weekend at Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School.

Juggle Fest, the annual Pocono Juggle/Circus Arts Fest, attracted more than 400 people.

The event was organized by Kim Laird and Rob Barowski, teachers in the Panther Valley School District and longtime jugglers themselves.

Laird has been juggling for 25 years while Barowski has been doing it even longer, since his high school days, he said.

Laird is also a member of the International Jugglers Association.

“We know a lot of performers,” she said. “This is like a family reunion where you actually like the family members and everyone’s the crazy uncle.”

Although Juggle Fest is an annual event, it hadn’t been held the past two years because of the pandemic. It’s the third time it has been at Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School, hosted by Laird and Barowski, the Panther Valley Junior/Senior High School Juggle Club and the Panther Valley Junior/Senior High PTO.

Several students of Laird attended Juggle Fest, which included performance, workshops, demonstrations and camaraderie.

It wasn’t just juggling. There were circus-style performances, unicycles, yo-yo antics, ring manipulations and vaudeville.

Although some of the best juggling and related artists from around the country attended, it was also open to the public - they could view the performances or take part in juggling and miscellaneous instructions.

Several of Laird’s students attended, including Skylar Jandrisevitz, who was taught skills on a diabolo, a circus prop consisting of an egg-time shaped device. The object is spun using a string attached to two hand sticks. Various tricks are possible with the diabolo.

Participants ranged in age from 6 to 72. The senior performer was Larry Vee of Philadelphia, who rode a unicycle, juggled on a six-foot pogo stick and helped with teaching spectators how to juggle.

Brian Austin of Lowell, Massachusetts, while practicing juggling on a rolla-bola (balancing on a flat board atop a cylinder) said he had attended a previous Juggle Fest at Panther Valley.

He said he doesn’t consider himself a performer but enjoys going to festivals. He said he got into juggling “as a rainy day” activity.

Austin began juggling at age 13 and has been doing it for 20 years. He is a machinist by trade and uses that knowledge to create and modify juggling props.

The emcee was Jen Slaw, a speaker and workshop facilitator who has appeared on network TV including David Letterman’s show.

Zack McAllister, a juggler from Philadelphia who is a two-time gold medalist in the World Championships of Juggling, did performances. He has appeared on ESPN and various shows including “America’s Got Talent” on ABC.

Laird and Barowski said they plan to bring Juggle Fest back to Panther Valley next year when the event is scheduled for March 1-3.