76th Annual IJA Festival
July 17-23, 2023
South Bend, Indiana
Mark your calendar now for a full week of incredible juggling, workshops, shows, competitions and memories in South Bend! Stay tuned to this site for regular updates on performers, registration information, special events and unexpected surprises!
For many jugglers, the IJA Festival is the main event of the year. If you’ve never been to one, join us for this year to find out what keeps bringing our attendees back for their second, third, or thirtieth time. Our shows feature the best of the best in the juggling world, and we are proud to present 4 nights of shows in the Morris Performing Arts Center, and dozens of other workshops, competitions, games, and events throughout the week. The IJA Festival is the premier place for jugglers to gather and share tricks, skills, and other feats with those who can most appreciate them: other jugglers.
Downtown South Bend is also an ideal setting for the IJA festival, with dozens of walkable restaurants, green spaces, and locally owned shops. All Festival venues are conveniently located in the compact and friendly downtown center. South Bend is extremely easy to get to, as well — it’s just one hop away from whole world via South Bend Airport, and offers direct train service to Chicago for anyone looking to fly into that international hub. Everyone you want to know will be there, so come join all the fun in a great city when we celebrate 76 years of The International Jugglers’ Association!
Thanks to Visit South Bend/Mishawaka for their sponsorship of the IJA Festival! Check out Visit South Bend for more information on this great IJA festival host city.
Things To Look Forward To
Festival Site: The Century Center will be our main venue, and has the best layout we’ve seen in recent years for an IJA Festival. It features more than 40,000 square feet of space, includes two theater spaces, and has an island pavilion located on the St. Joseph River. When our festival team toured this convention center we immediately realized that it had everything we’ve ever wanted in a single space. Our gym space in the main exhibit hall will be open 24/7 throughout the duration of the festival.
Official Hotels: The IJA has negotiated some amazing rates for our members at both the DoubleTree by Hilton and the Courtyard by Marriott. Both of these hotels are located directly across the street from the Century Center and are the ideal place to stay for festival attendees traveling from out of town. Visit our Lodging page for more information on these hotels.
Festival Shows: The Morris Performing Arts Center is a stunningly beautiful historic live performance theater, recently restored to its original 1920’s glory. We are thrilled to be able to put four nights of world-class juggling and variety shows and the IJA Juggling Championships on the stage of this magnificent theater. These shows are the unforgettable highlights of every IJA festival.
Keep an eye on this page for all updates being made for the historic 76th Annual IJA Festival. And be sure to join our Facebook Event Page for regular ongoing festival information!
Venues
Century Center (Main Event Space)
120 Doctor M.L.K. Jr Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46601
Google Link
Morris Performing Arts Center (Theater)
211 N Michigan St.
South Bend, IN 46601
Google Link
Leighton Stadium (Joggling)
N St Louis Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46617
Google Link
St. Joe County Public Library
304 S Main St.
South Bend, IN 46601
Google Link
Palais Royale (final night Renegade)
105 W Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46601