By Kyle Petersen

Group photo courtesy of Luke Burrage

By all accounts, the first-ever New York City Unicycle Festival was a smashing success. Hundreds of mono-wheelers converged on the Big Apple this Labor Day weekend, making the festival the largest meeting of unicyclists that New York has ever seen.

The festival kicked off at 3pm on Friday, when Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz proclaimed September 3rd, 2010 to be Brooklyn Unicycle Day. The cyclists, who had assembled at City Hall in Manhattan, then rode their unicycles over the Brooklyn Bridge. From there, the riders went onward through Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park and down Ocean Parkway, finally arriving at Surf Avenue in Coney Island, where Nathan’s hot dogs were enjoyed by all.

Saturday’s festivities were held on Governors Island, a former military base south of Manhattan. From noon to 5pm, riders enjoyed demonstrations, games, raffles, races and of course, DJ Sky King spinning beats on the 1s and 2s. Sunday’s events at Grant’s Tomb in Manhattan included open unicycle riding at the burial place of the nation’s 18th president.

“I was amazed by the broad spectrum of different types of unicycles we had participating in the festival”, said Keith Nelson, co-founder of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and festival organizer. “On Saturday, we had 305 registered participants, making it one of the largest unicycle festivals in the nation. Next year, we expect the numbers to double.” Added Nelson, “it’s time to start preparing for next year.”

Dubé Juggling is a proud sponsor of the New York City Unicycle Festival. We would like to congratulate Keith Nelson, Stephanie Monseu and all of the volunteers who made the 2010 festival a success. Watch some highlights from Governors Island below: