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13 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: WILMA BLOKHUIS Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax 905-337-5567 email blokhuis@haltonsearch.com · WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2006 RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER GUINNESS RECORD: Students from Oakville schools, most of them from Pine Grove, T. A Blakelock, Oakville Christian and Eastview, attempt to break the Guinness World Record for mass juggling at Oakville Place. In the middle is Josh Goossen from T. A. Blakelock High School. Up up and away...to a world record? By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Picture the busyness of Boxing Day at Oakville Place. Now add clowns, music, enthusiasm and thousands of fluorescent objects being simultaneously tossed into the air in cascade patterns. That was the scene Thursday starting at 5:30 a.m. at Oakville Place as upwards of 2,000 people attempted to break the Guinness World Record for mass juggling. "It's absolute pandemonium," said a grinning John-Mark Deneau, the Ecole Pine Grove teacher who co-chaired the world record breaking attempt. "There was a time when this seemed like an utterly impossible dream, but look at what we've done today. To see this is just satisfying beyond words." There's no doubt a new Canadian record was set, but volunteers are still tabulating numbers to determine whether the world record has been broken. It currently stands at 1,508 peo- ple who juggled 4,524 objects at a European juggling convention in 1998. "I'm kind of nervous," Grade 4 Pine Grove student Jared Kuypers said prior to the attempts Thursday. "I've practiced a lot and I really don't want to drop." As for whether they would crack the Guinness World Record, the nine-year-old was all positive. "We've been juggling for a long time," he said. "We'll do it." Students have been learning to juggle at Pine Grove sine Deneau first started teaching it in gym class more than a decade ago. The juggling frenzy and attempt to make history extended far beyond Pine Grove, though. Eastview, T. A. Blakelock, Iroquois Ridge and the Oakville Christian School got involved, and from there, parents, friends and grandparents jumped on the juggling bandwagon. "My son (Michael) came home with some juggling equipment, and we all got into it," Karin Sweeny said of she and her husband, Daniel. "We're very excited. Michael's always wanted to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. He buys them every year." Three attempts to crack that record were made Thursday. Co-chair of the event, Glen Woolfrey, gave instructions through speakers throughout the mall ­ he had his hands full trying to control the enthusiastic crowd ­ and after each 10-second attempt, he sounded off a loud siren. See I think on page 14 Becoming Canadian citizens By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER TAKING THE OATH: Arjo Ahmed Adem of Ethiopia shakes hands with Citizenship Judge Robert Morrow at the Canadian citizenship ceremony at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Sporting a brand new Team Canada hockey jersey with his Canadian citizenship in hand, there was no wiping the smile off Sean Craig's face Wednesday. The South Africa native was one of 30 Oakville and Burlington residents to take his oath of Canadian citizenship and become an official Canadian at a ceremony held at Bronte Creek Provincial Park's Breckon Shelter. "The day I first arrived in Canada was probably the best day of my life, and I think today ranks just behind that," said the 31-year-old who left South Africa six and a half years ago because it wasn't safe. "It's just a magnificent day. I feel very Canadian." Natives of Belarus, Ecuador, England, Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, Korea, Macedonia, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa, Sudan, the Ukraine, Scotland, Wales, the United States and Venezuela took the Canadian oath to solidify their citizenship recently, marking the first time such a proceeding was held in a provincial park. "We celebrate you today, Canada's newest citizens, and what you've done to get here," Citizenship Judge Robert Morrow said to a room of more than 100, many of whom were camera-toting family and friends of the 30 new Canadians. "If it exists in the world, it's part of the Canadian mosaic, and we treasure all of it." New citizens were officially sworn in by repeating an oath after Morrow in both French and English that marked three commitments: a loyalty to Canada and to the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II; a promise to observe the laws of Canada to protect its rights and freedoms and a commitment to fulfill the duties of citizenship. The procession, which was complete with an official Canadian Mountie and plenty of Canadian flags, also included a speech and poem presentation on Canada by two Brookdale Public School students and the singing of the national anthem. See Canada page 15