(Note: This is continued from Part 1.)

Rings in the DarkAlthough the Dixie Stampede was the main event on our first night in Branson, especially with our unexpected participation on the arena’s dirt floor, the warm-up show was just as spectacular.

Because I never had seen world-class juggling, I might have exaggerated a bit when I called Albert Lucas the “world’s greatest juggler.” After a few minutes of research I found that such a title doesn’t really exist. He does hold at least one Guinness World Record, however, and there is a juggling move named after him.

Flame ThrowerWe found seats above the stage, which gave us a great vantage point for a juggling show. He juggled rings, balls, flaming torches, and even balanced an eight-foot ladder on his chin.

His high-energy show kept the kids and adults focused on him at all times. Up to that point I thought that the Dixie Stampede’s rule was “no video recordings and no flash photography allowed,” so I managed a few shots.

SpinnerLucas said that his father used to spin plates for Ed Sullivan in the ’40’s. He did an homage performance.

References:

Short entry on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Lucas

Light bulb jokes about Albert Lucas (on a juggling site):
http://juggler.com/AlbertLucasLightbulbJokes/index.html

Picture of Albert Lucas:
http://www.juggle.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=12102