Topsham Woodside One Wheelers head to Philly, D.C. for 250th events

More than 30 Topsham-area students are set to carry a longtime Woodside School tradition onto one of the biggest stages of the nation’s semiquincentennial, performing in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., this July as the Woodside One Wheelers bring juggling, unicycling and stilt-walking to America’s 250th celebrations.

The touring group includes about 30 performers drawn from a program of roughly 100 members, with students ranging from grades 4 through 12. Their route will take them to Elbow Lane Day Camp in Philadelphia on July 2, to the Salute to Independence 250th USA Celebration Parade in Philadelphia on July 3, and then to the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C., on July 4. The Philadelphia parade route stretches 2.4 miles and passes directly in front of Independence Hall, putting the Topsham group in the middle of one of the country’s most recognizable Independence Day settings.

For Sagadahoc County, the trip is bigger than a school performance schedule. The Woodside One Wheelers have spent years building a public identity that reaches well beyond Topsham Elementary School, and Woodside Elementary School describes the group as a nationally recognized juggling and unicycling performing arts program. The students’ July itinerary gives a local school ensemble a place in the national spotlight at a moment when cities from Philadelphia to Washington are gearing up for America’s 250th anniversary.

Eric Pulsifer founded the Woodside One Wheelers in 2006 after learning to juggle from Woodside principal Rick Dedek, who had earlier been one of the first children to join the Scarborough Gym Dandies. That origin links the Topsham troupe to a Maine circus-arts lineage that started in Scarborough and grew into a program that has now lasted two decades. The school says the goal has always been to help students take risks, challenge themselves, build unique skills and boost self-confidence.

The scale of the program also underscores how deeply rooted it has become in local life. More than 60 members practice weekly, many attend week-long camps, and nearly 200 students have participated over the last eight years. The group says its May 25 appearance in the Brunswick/Topsham Memorial Day Parade will be its 225th performance, a milestone that shows how familiar the One Wheelers have become to families across the region even as they prepare to represent Topsham in Philadelphia and Washington.