Since the late 1980s, a large juggling

Juggling

Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...

 culture has developed, revolving around local clubs and organizations, special events, shows, magazines, video sharing websites, Internet forums, competitions

Juggling competitions

Juggling competitions range from friendly and silly games to competitive sports. Most juggling conventions include friendly games such as endurance and gladiators. Since 1969, the International Jugglers' Association has held annual stage championships, judged both on technique and presentation...

 and juggling convention

Juggling convention

Many countries, cities or juggling clubs hold their own annual juggling convention. These are the backbone of the juggling scene, the events that regularly bring jugglers from a wide area together to socialize...

s. Populating the scene are many juggling celebrities who are notable for being good or creative jugglers, entertaining performers, convention organizers, experts in their field, having a strong presence online or just for having an interesting personality, character or style.

It has developed into a fully formed subculture

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

, with tens of thousands of followers.

Clubs and organizations

Most cities and large towns have juggling clubs, where anyone is welcome to learn and share skills. Many universities and colleges have juggling or circus skills societies. There are also many community circus groups that usually aim to teach young people and put on shows. The Internet Juggling Database maintains a searchable database of most juggling clubs.

The first organization to promote juggling and help jugglers was the International Jugglers' Association (IJA), based almost entirely in North America. The World Juggling Federation

World Juggling Federation

The World Juggling Federation is the world's only organization devoted to the promotion and advancement of the sport of juggling.-History:...

 (WJF) promotes more technical juggling, in contrast to the "performing" emphasis of the IJA. The European Juggling Association facilitates the annual European Juggling Convention

European Juggling Convention

The European Juggling Convention , is the largest juggling convention in the world, regularly attracting several thousand participants. It is held every year in a different European city. It is organized by changing local organization committees which are supported by the European Juggling...

 and promotes juggling in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Various countries have national associations, including Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. There is also the Christian Jugglers Association.

Magazines

Kaskade is a European juggling magazine, published in both English and German. Juggle is the official publication of the IJA and focuses on the North American scene. Juggling Magazine is published in Italy and Newton Las Pelotas is published in Argentina and Spain for the Latin American readership.

Events

World Juggling Day is the second or third Saturday in June. There are events organized worldwide to teach people how to juggle, to promote juggling, or for jugglers to get together and celebrate.

Many countries, cities, or juggling clubs hold an annual juggling convention. These are the backbone of the juggling scene, because the events regularly bring jugglers from a wide area together. The attendance of a convention can be anything from a few dozen to a few thousand people. The principal focus of most juggling conventions is the main hall, where anybody can juggle, share tricks or try out multi-person passing patterns. There will often be more formal workshops, in which experts work with small groups on skills and techniques. Most juggling conventions also include a big show (open to the general public), competitions, and juggling games. Many juggling conventions host some kind of renegade show

Renegade show

A renegade show at a juggling convention is "an open stage where anyone can, at short notice, get up and perform just about anything". At their best, they allow amateur jugglers to perform a couple of unique tricks for fellow jugglers without having to prepare a whole programme...

, an open stage where anyone can perform at short notice. The Internet Juggling Database maintains a searchable database of past and upcoming conventions.

Objects

Modern juggling has moved away from the more dangerous objects, including the chainsaw

Chainsaw

A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...

 and machete

Machete

The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...

. However, juggling with flaming torches remains a crowd favourite and is regularly used by jugglers in the modern day. While beginners mainly use balls, both balls and clubs remain staples of juggling.