Passout Pennsylvania 2018

Overview

Passout is a week-long communal retreat for people devoted to passing in all its incarnations (emphasis on clubs). Some of the world's most eager and best passers come to this event to teach and learn new patterns and techniques. The North American passout usually happen in the summer month. In 2018, Passout will be in Pennsylvania in Camp Twin Echo from July 7 to July 15. We expect 30 to 40 jugglers, from all over the world.

As with previous Passouts, we have on-site cabins, 24-hour juggling space and communal meals. All costs for food and sleeping accommodations are included in your event cost. Don't forget to bring your favorite board games and puzzles.

Group Photo at Fallingwater

How to get there

We will meet in the boy scout camp Twin Echo, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

It's a fairly remote and rural area, not unlike the one in... actually all the recent US passouts. Other than Pittsburgh (1h40 drive from PIT airport), it's drivable from airports in DC and Baltimore (<4h), Philadelphia (<5h) New York City (<6h), and Toronto (<7h). The Pittsburgh International Airport is reasonably well connected with flights. From Europe, Pittsburgh has direct flights from Frankfurt (Condor), Paris (Delta), and Reykjavik (Wow). If you come from Florida, Spirit Airlines flies to Latrobe Airport, which is near the camp; Johnstown Airport has local commuter flights and is close as well. Nearby Johnstown is also served once a day with an Amtrak train from New York/Philadelphia.

We will organize transport from and to the PIT airport for those arriving on July 7 and leaving on July 15. We can also shuttle you from/to the Johnstown Amtrak station. We will encourage car sharing and can try to help with transportation from other airports or on other days.

Traveling to IJA 2018 and EJC 2018

Passout is immediately before IJA 2018 in Springfield, MA, about an 8h drive away. Some participants are planning to attend both and you might be able to hitch a ride. We can also give you a lift to nearby Johnstown from where there is a convenient and reasonably priced Amtrak connection to Springfield (change trains in New York). Finally, there are many flights to Hartford, New York and Boston from Pittsburgh. For the full package, you can continue on to EJC with direct flights to the Azores from New York (Delta), and Boston or Toronto (Air Azores) and spend the 5 days in between IJA and EJC in any of those places.

Sightseeing

We will organize an excursion to Fallingwater. If you are into disasters, the Flight 93 National Monument and the Johnstown Flood National Monument are near the camp. If you are into engineering and trains, there is the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, the Horseshoe Curve, and the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, all near each other, within a 1h drive. There are many sightseeing options in and around Pittsburgh (e.g., the best view in town, Andy Warhol museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, Natural History, or Science, Mattress Factory, Bicycle Heaven, Carrie Furnace, various cultural and sports events) which is about a 90 min drive away. Niagara Falls is 5h away and on the way if you are driving to/from Toronto. If you are interested in staying in Pittsburgh before or after Passout, drop me a note.

Registration

Registration for the entire festival (Saturday to Sunday, 8 nights, July 7 to 15) will be at most $380 and will include all meals and accommodation. Since rental cost are fixed independent of the number of jugglers, we can reduce the price as more people attend; so convince your friends to come:

Under 25 jugglers: $380
25-29 jugglers: $340
30-39 jugglers: $300
40-49 jugglers: $260

We strongly encourage all participants to attend for the entire week or for most of the week. If you want to stay for shorter periods, we calculate with $60 per day (24h, including all meals and accomodation for one night), but contact me for specifics.

If you're coming, please fill out our registration form to guarantee a spot and to make our planning go smoother! Send us a deposit of $60 or a flight confirmation with your registration (pay online using Google Pay (no fees) or Paypal to christian.k@stner.de or mail a check to Christian Kaestner, 5570 Centre Ave #405, Pittsburgh PA, 15232). If more than 50 people want to attend, we will start a waitlist.

The Camp

Camp Twin Echo has a large meeting space that we will use as a 24/7 juggling and social space. The main space is 12m by 24m with high ceilings. It is in a stone building that should stay reasonably cool even in the summer.

the gym

The main building has an industrial kitchen, where we will cook for ourselves. Two large cabins are just a few steps away from the juggling space, with plenty of beds, more than we will need. The cabins have bathrooms, social spaces, and a kitchen each, and are in a good shape. The juggling space has also showers and bathrooms. The camp has a lake and a large forest for typical scout activities.

kitchen outside