National Yo-Yo Contest (a video)

#TheTravelingViolinist

I haven’t gotten my act together to write a newsletter for today. So I put this video together this evening, to share with my subscribers.

[A white oval sticker from my yoyo box - in black words, it says: “Yo-Yo Times - A world of fun on a string for children of all ages.” This was the name of my dad’s newsletter & the tagline.]

In June, I went to the National Yo-Yo Contest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My dad was inducted into the Yo-Yo Hall of Fame, and my mom, one of my brothers, and I went to receive the awards for it on behalf of my dad.

I had this dream of incorporating fantastic yoyo players behind me while I played violin.

Silly me, I get these big ideas but don’t plan ahead very well. I was enjoying the final yoyo contest entries, and someone in our family group came to me and rushed me to go eat a cheesesteak with the family around the corner from the competition. So, sadly, I missed the whole awards ceremony. The restaurant was bogged down in orders and it took a long time to get our food (and I wasn’t even hungry 😫 do you hear my regret in here?) and by the time I got back, folks were mostly gone from the contest and it was getting cleaned up.

So this is the last moment of the contest, and a few really awesome people (some who knew my dad once upon a time) hung around long enough for me to play two songs out of tune. (Maybe my kind audience won’t notice, but I sure do. I am not releasing the first song I played with them in the background - it’s just too out of tune.)

So, in lieu of a longer newsletter today, here is the yoyo and violin video from the National Yo-Yo Contest that I finally edited to add on to YouTube.

I will also upload it to my Jodi Arts Facebook & Instagram pages at some point.

You can find my violin videos on any social media platform by typing in #TheTravelingViolinist

I try to do wide cut versions on YouTube and tall versions on TikTok. And either on Facebook. I don’t always succeed - it means I need 2 things recording me at the same time, and I only have the 1 microphone. I’m still figuring all of this out, and I don’t have a video team or anything.

(Enough apologizing! Just share the video!)

Ok - without even further adieu:

Also - I was remiss 😫 in getting everyone’s names! I would love to have the names of all the guys who leaped to my rescue to yoyo spontaneously while I played violin. They did an amazing job & every time I watch this video, I feel so happy !!! What a gift they all gave me. And I want to acknowledge all of them with their name & any social media or website or anything they would like me to acknowledge.

Jake Maloney, Dave Schulte and Jim E. Johnson, I can identify. I know my brother, Tim, knows the one in all black doing 2-handed yo-yoing, but his name escapes me, and the guy with the cool pants (he sewed his own pants!) and I chatted, but I don’t remember his name. And then there are others too!

So thank you to ALL of the yoyo guys who did this & if you know their names, please comment below or email me or contact me somehow. Hit “reply.” Thank you!!!!