Juggling juggernaut

With dizzying precision, Mickey Howard keeps an assortment of objects aloft as onlookers’ eyes spin like the balls he manipulates.

From fire-spitting torches, to toilet plungers and even menacing machetes, Howard’s impressive knack for juggling has earned him lots of local recognition and even a brief spot on national TV a few years back while promoting a juggling festival in Portland, Ore.

“I’ve always loved to perform,” says the 18-year-old Lake City High School grad. “Juggling is something that’s amazing and mind-boggling to a lot of people, which is part of the fun.”

For years, his act “Junk Drawer Troubadour” has entertained crowds at regional fairs, festivals, school assemblies, parties, senior living facilities and any other venue interested in his eye-catching performance.

Howard said his business name reflects his passion for street performing. The slender teen with fiery red hair plays his own backup on the harmonica and uses a huge variety of props including a five-foot-tall “giraffe” unicycle.

“I like to consider myself the master of multitasking,” he said.

While Howard usually performs for a fee, he has also donated his time for charity events benefiting local causes such as Children’s Village and the Lake City Playhouse.

Howard’s quest to become an elite juggler began in kindergarten, working first with balls before progressing to clubs in the third grade. In the fifth grade at Sorensen Magnet School of Arts and Humanities, the aspiring entertainer joined the Coeur d’Alene Juggling Club.

Formed by Sorensen teacher David Groth in the mid-1990s, the club was a big hit and kept countless students on the ball for years.

“We started doing free 90-minute classes for the community on Monday nights, open to anybody interested in juggling,” Groth said. “In its heyday, we would have 100 people show up—those were great times.”

Groth retired about four years ago and, lacking his inspiring leadership, the juggling club eventually disbanded.

But Howard stuck with it, joining three of his best friends to form Fuze. The group performed for a period of time, but eventually his buddies moved on. Still, Howard kept juggling.

Performing two to three times per month, the entertainer dubs his endeavor “A variety show entertainment business. I am employed to juggle a huge variety of props often while balancing on a large ball or unicycle.”

He’s performed at the North Idaho Fair four years in a row and recently took his act to a fair in Moscow. On August 4, he’s slated to perform at the Festival at Sandpoint.

Howard has also participated with other local jugglers at high-profile events such as halftime shows at Gonzaga and Washington State University basketball games, and a filmed TedX performance a couple of years ago at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene.

Groth has high praise for his former fifth-grade student and his commitment to the art of juggling.

“He’s an amazing kid. I’m so happy with what he’s done,” Groth said. “His parents (Sharalee and Jaime) have done just a phenomenal job to engage him and guide him along the way to make his juggling performances successful.”

Howard is headed to the University of Idaho later this summer to study geology leaving his juggling act up in the air.

“I haven’t fully decided what I’m going to with Junk Drawer Troubadour,” he says. “I might try to bring my juggling stuff down to college and get some shows during the school year. I’m just not sure yet.”

Visit JDTjuggler.com or call (208) 292-8211 to book Howard for an event.