June ‘25: Walmart Wonka
Some gigs—most gigs—have a few surprises. And some of them come out of nowhere—the gig itself is the surprise. When my friend Camille from Arkansas Circus Arts called me up to ask “can you be in Fayetteville in a few days to juggle lollipops for 10,000 people in chocolate factory garb?” I didn’t realize just how many surprises would be in store for me. In fact, I didn’t know it until the day of, as they were practically walking onto the stage, that this surprise gig would later become known as “the time I performed in the same show as Jimmy Fallon and Post Malone.”
Once a year, Walmart brings employees from around the world to the corporation’s home in the Northwest corner of Arkansas, for their annual Associate’s Week. The humongous event—think Walmart*con—culminates in a full stadium show, and the secret lineup is always kind of insane: past performers include names like Elton John, Usher, Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Snoop Dog, and John Legend. Circus performers aren’t typically on the bill, but in an effort to add some flair to his Pure Imagination-themed speech, the CEO of Sam’s Club had the last-second idea for a juggling Willy Wonka to appear in the stadium as the classic song played. In search for local talent to fit the bill, they called Arkansas Circus Arts; ACA called Blayk; and Blayk loaded up candy juggling balls and giant homemade lollipops, then drove to Fayetteville on a Wednesday night for what I knew at the time as “umm I don’t know, some big event for Walmart.”
When I arrived for rehearsal a day before the show, I met some talented folks—local actors—who would also be dressing as Wonka and appearing one-by-one throughout the stadium doing all kinds of crazy things: visual magic effects, carrying a colossal balloon bouquet, handing out oversized candy, and doing Gene Wilder-style pratfalls. After I was fitted for my costume, I walked into the stadium with one of the organizers, who gave me the rundown of the show, including my juggling bit, which I learned would only last about 14 seconds total. Confident I could meet the juggling requirements assigned to me, I had the rest of the day to enjoy some Fayetteville classics: a trip to the Dickson Street Bookshop, lunch at Hammontree’s, and an evening drink at Maxine’s Tap Room (I later learned Post Malone, in town for the same event, also stopped into Maxine’s that night, just after I’d left).
The final day of events started early, and there would be a lot of people showing up, so in the midst of a morning tornado watch (another surprise), I made it to the stadium before the sun was up. Throughout the morning, we started getting hints about the secret performers. The Killers left a piece of their labeled road gear out in the hallway, I spotted Camila Cabello and her posse back stage, and the host’s identity was out of the bag when Jimmy Fallon walked past our dressing room. As Chris Nicholas approached the end of his speech, my “handler” fought the crowd and got me into place, just in time for the spotlight to zoom across the stadium right on cue. 10,000 heads turned my way, and all I had to do was not drop for 14 seconds. Before I knew it, I was being rushed back through the crowd and led back to the dressing room—gig complete!
I changed back into my street clothes, and made sure my purple “talent” lanyard was visible as I casually walked myself onto the stadium floor to watch Post Malone close out Walmart’s wild week of activities. I enjoyed his performance, and still couldn’t quite believe this was the surprise show I had signed up for just a few days earlier, completely oblivious to the spectacle that would be waiting at Walmart’s Associate’s Week. I’m always grateful to Arkansas Circus Arts when they ask this juggler to represent them at another awesome gig full of surprises—if I know those folks, they’ll have this one topped in no time!
