Rhys Thomas learned his life’s work from a book, and he made sure the young people who came out to the public libraries in Port Angeles and Sequim to see him knew this. In one of the North Olympic Library System’s free shows this month, Thomas of JuggleMania wowed crowds of children and grownups in both libraries with that work: juggling boxes, clubs and several sizes of balls, sometimes from a unicycle.
He even recited, while tossing and catching a set of boxes, the 47-line Shel Silverstein poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out.”
“A book taught me [juggling],” Thomas proclaimed with glee. Since then it “has enabled me to travel to 18 countries — and feed my family.”
Applause bathed the juggler as he took his final bow outside his last performance at the Port Angeles Library on Tuesday afternoon.
His show was part of the “Dig into Reading” summer reading program for young people, which wraps up at the end of this week at Clallam County’s public libraries.
To finish off the program, the Port Angeles and Sequim libaries will present another act Tuesday.
Recess Monkey, a Seattle-based band of three guys, does comedy like Thomas, but instead of juggling, the Monkey men offer music.
Their free shows will start at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., and at 2 p.m. at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
In case of rain, the Port Angeles show will move inside the library; in Sequim it will move to Sequim Middle School, 301 W. Hendrickson Road.
Recess Monkey, a trio of schoolteachers who are off for the summer, has been heard on National Public Radio and given concerts around the country.
Their live set, according to the libraries’ news release, is all about “sing-along, dance-along, laugh-along” songs from their nine albums.
The Recess Monkey shows and Thomas’ performances, like other activities offered earlier this summer, are funded by the Friends of the Library.
Kids can sign up for the Dig into Reading program through this Saturday at the Sequim, Forks, Clallam Bay and Port Angeles libraries and, upon completion, will be eligible for rewards such as free books and the grand prize, a KoboArc eReader tablet.
For information, visit a library, see www.NOLS.org, phone 360-417-8500 or email kids@nols.org.
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
