The heat is on at the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival and not just because it’s Summertime!
Joey Tomko a performer with the Lawrence County Flow Collective is returning with her flow … and her fire and is ready to share her love of movement with Ellwood City.
Tomko will provide strolling shows throughout the festival as well as two solo shows featuring fire on both Saturday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
“Throughout the whole weekend, festival goers can come expect to have fun by my booth with free hula hoop lessons. Two of the three nights, I will be performing strolling shows throughout the park with LED flow props and entertaining at different locations so that everyone can enjoy the show. And then the fire shows on Saturday and Sunday evening will feature10 different fire props including fire eating.”
According to Tomko, some of the tricks are done with fire and some with light up props. And many of the props are high tech featuring micro controllers in them that create pictures in midair including hearts, stars, skulls, and even personalized messages with names. Some of them are so high tech that they are programmed on a computer. Another neat prop is the poi—the Japanese word for ball on string. You hold ends of the string and spin the ball around. Some Pois light up. Tomko said she even has a set of LED wings.
She will also have a booth where she will have already made as well as customizable hula hoops available for purchase.
“I bring all my tape with me. I dubbed my booth as the home of the make your own Hula Hoop. I have big rolls of tubing that I use to make all homemade hoops. Kids can pick their own tape. I will even help them make their own Hula Hoop. Or festival goers can place custom orders and can stay and watch the hula hoop being made or pick it later at my booth. I have found that kids like to personalize things and make it custom to them.”
In addition, the booth will have customized clothing and handmade jewelry made from upcycled bullet casings.
Tomko is the leader of a group of 12 at the Lawrence County Flow Collective. She said it’s called flow because it’s continuous movement without stopping and anything can be considered a prop if you can manipulate it into one (even a coat hanger).
“This is such a good outlet for stress and is also an excellent form of exercise. You burn about 7 calories per minute while hula hooping.”
And according to Tomko flow is an activity for all ages. Hula hoops can even be made for toddlers with beads in them to give them a little bit of weight and allow for specialized movement.
“I enjoy teaching hula hooping to kids. It helps develop hand eye coordination and muscle memory as well. Anything we can do to get the kids off the couch and away from screen time is a good thing.”
Just when you think you are too old to hula hoop, Tomko says guess again!
“A lot of adults think they can’t do it, but that’s because they aren’t using the proper size hula hoop. The bigger the hula hoop the easier it is to use. It’s heavier and has more surface area so you don’t have to move as fast to keep it up.”
Once you master the bigger hoop, Tomko said the progression continues to smaller hoops which allow for more easier tricks.
Tomko said absolutely no one is excluded from the fun.
“I love when elderly people come over to the booth. We get them hula hooping too because they haven’t done it since childhood, and they think they can’t do it but they can.”
Tomko’s love for movement began in third grade.
“We had a program at Shenango that our gym teacher did called Flip Flops. It was an afterschool program where we did jump roping, juggling, unicycle riding, and more. I learned how to ride a unicycle in third grade. I did that for about five years, and then high school kinda took over and I developed different interests.”
But the love of flow and movement was always within Tomko and 12 years ago during a music festival in Slippery Rock, she ran into and old friend. She asked Tomko to come try the hula hoop.
“She showed me a trick, and I got it super fast. I ended up having so much fun that weekend.”
That weekend turned into the next week while Tomko was on a beach vacation, she found herself researching hula hooping on YouTube.
“I got myself a hula hoop immediately upon returning from vacation.”
Tomko said she caught on quickly and it only took from July to October of 2011 for her to be ready to add fire into the mix.
“The girl that encouraged and taught me to hula hoop said ‘I think you are ready to light that on fire.’ So, in October I went to her house, and she lit me on fire. I was hooked. The sound when the fire is in the air and the smell of the fuel is comforting to me.”
Then making hula hoops became of interest to Tomko who decided to make her own hula hoops from cut pipe bought at the hardware store. Then a friend Sam Perry of Random Acts of Artists convinced Tomko to set up a booth to sell her hoops and other items at an event called Artis Gras at Quaker Steak and Lube.
And the rest is history. Since then, Tomko has barely put her hoop down … except to work her day job for Farmer’s Insurance.
“I just kept making more hoops and vending at places to encourage people to hula hoop as well as sell my hula hoops, clothing, and jewelry.”
And every part of it is a creative process for Tomko who even makes the costumes for the group. Tomko said the group is like an artistic family made up of friends.
“She changed my life.”
And Tomko hopes to change the life of others with the encouragement of flow. She said a great way to start is to join the group for the local Light Up Night parades for Wampum and New Castle.
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