While Phish was having its bliss jam in Boulder during its initiation concert at Folsom Field on Thursday, jugglers from Boulder and beyond were throwing their own Glow Jam at Junkyard Social across town.

Using glowing props, like balls and clubs, jugglers filled the space (and air) with a luminous evening to kick off Boulder’s 19th Juggling Festival. The annual event has returned to town and will have many different objects tossed around and in the air at this three-day event that brings performers together to practice, share inspiration and celebrate the history of juggling in Boulder.

North of Boulder, off of 28th Street, down a mundane turn on a dirt road, sits a tall gray building. Surrounded by brush, a garden and a stunning view of the Flatirons, the unassuming building’s bright yellow doors keep behind them a rich history of performance. Also behind those doors on Friday was a colorful crowd of performers attending the juggling fest.

“This building was just an empty shed, it stayed on the market for a while,” Cindy Marvell said. “It was an empty shed with a dirt floor, no insulation or anything.”

Marvell is the founder of the Boulder Circus Center, 4747 26th St., Boulder, which serves as a cornerstone of the region’s circus, vaudeville and variety arts community.

She founded the center in 2004 and started the juggling festival soon after that.

Aside from hosting a long-running weekly juggling club, the Boulder Circus Center offers classes for youth and adults in a variety of art forms — like acrobatics, aerial arts, juggling, clowning, German wheel and more. Among the long list of acts under its umbrella, this weekend the center welcomes jugglers of all types — from balls and pins to rings and hats.

Marvell said she got her start juggling in New York City when she was younger. She said she was inspired by her grandmother and father who were both casual jugglers and performers. After performing juggling and stilt-walking in a talent show in 1980, she started performing live at various shows and making a name for herself.

Among Marvell’s juggling accolades are a lifetime of international touring as part of multiple acts and troupes and becoming the first woman ever to win the International Juggling Association’s Championship.

“Juggling offered me an outlet, and people were encouraging me, telling me I could do this professionally,” she said. “I’ve never gotten the same feeling from something like I do with juggling — it makes me feel buoyant inside.”

Marvell said that throughout her practice, Boulder has been among one of the premier locations for juggling, alongside New York and California. With variety arts becoming more popular, and cities around the nation are developing vibrant juggling scenes, Boulder remains a mainspring in the movement. Variety arts is basically a vast mix of live entertainment that isn’t theater or music.

The festival runs through Sunday and includes performances and workshops for seasoned and beginner jugglers alike. Professional volunteer teachers run the workshops that offer vast options and are open to all levels of learners. Workshops include balloon art, a ring juggling crash course, hat manipulation, foot juggling cylinders and balls, hoop manipulation and more.

The colorful crowd at the Circus Center on Friday included a range of performers who were tossing rings, balls, hats and other apparatuses.

Zak McAllister was among the jugglers at the center on Friday and was honing his practice of ring juggling as he was tossing, catching and spinning the flat plastic hoops up in the air.

“I started with ball juggling,” McAllister said. “I typically juggle a lot of things, like clubs, rings, balls and I also build my own props. I think the rings are fun, they’re a prop not a lot of people use. And they’re light, so they’re good for practicing (juggling) a high number of objects.”

McAllister said he began juggling at 10 years old, learning from his father. As he advanced in skill, he found the juggling community a valuable resource for gaining more knowledge.

“My dad just knew the basics, and I was trying to learn more things,” he said. “Being part of this community allows me to learn new things and also talk to other people about what I do.”

Cam Resch said they got their start in juggling from flow arts in the rave scene, including spinning poi — an artform where performers swing tethered weights in patterns, originally hailing from Maori culture. Resch has been practicing club juggling for over nine years. Flow arts is a performance art that also includes staff spinning, hula hooping and fire spinning.

“I think juggling is an amazing way to keep your mind and your body sharp — and I think creativity is an innate part of the human experience,” Resch said. “Something that engaging really helps provide fulfillment, so I really value the joy that it brings me in that it can bring those around me.”

Saturday’s dayside lineup includes workshops and open juggling sessions at Shining Mountain Waldorf School, 999 Violet Ave, Boulder, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Saturday evening, the crew moves back over to the Boulder Circus Center, where there will be a public performance from 7-9 p.m., followed by a Glow Jam and DJ from 9-11 p.m. Tickets to the 7 p.m. performance are $15-$25.

Sunday at the Boulder Circus Center, workshops and open juggling are on the agenda from 10 a.m.-9 p.m.. Juggling games will be sandwiched in there from 2-4 p.m. Sunday. There will also be a raffle drawing at 1:30 p.m. Learn more and buy tickets at sites.google.com/view/boulderfest/festival.