Today is the bitterest of bittersweet days. Today marks my last batch of shows and demos on this tour. There couldn’t be a nicer place to wrap up than at Disney World but, it just stings to know that it has to end for me.

The Heritage Tour has been nothing but, the best times in the best places with the best people. Before we even got out here, I considered Drew Tetz, Hank Freeman, and Takeshi Kamisato among my family. But, I like to think that getting out there and doing shows, demonstrating, blogging and throwing contests has let the rest of the world in on how special the bond within Duncan Crew is. There really is nothing like our crew anywhere and I appreciate it more now than I ever have.

We rocked our shows like we rocked every single stop on this tour. We showed the Disney audiences how much joy and love we have for our craft, them and each other. We went the extra mile to throw some special moments into our last shows. And we put the finishing touches on a tour we will be proud of for a long time to come.

A huge thank you goes out to all of the yo-yo legends, retailers, players and nonplayers that allowed us in your places and hearts, or came out to the demos and made this all very special. You are a part of the legacy we are building and you will be remembered.

Duncan Equals Love. Never forget that.

Duncan Crew in one of our favorite cities in the entire world! Austin, Texas forever!!!

Today was doublemint fun. It is obvious that the worst day on Duncan Crew is better than nearly anyone else’s year. If we had it any better, I couldn’t live with myself.

We had two demos, the first of which was at the Austin Children’s Museum. We were definitely at the time machine yesterday because, this place is the future. So much science and learning going on and so many people loving our shows that we could hardly contain ourselves. We were visited by fellow yo-yo player, Travis Owen. He is a great guy and conveniently here in Austin visiting his family over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to Travis, we had huge crowds for our performances and a lot of people liked us enough to watch us do it up more than once. That kind of dedication is hard to beat. We have to give love to them and the people who keep the museum going. Museums everywhere are a force in their respective communities and they need your support. Back them up and they will back you up for sure.

We were having a great time there but, we had to break out to our next demo. Which was coincidentally also super fun and surprising. The fun is built in. We were at the Learning Express in Bee Cave, TX. It’s a great spot. The spectators were the coolest. The kids learned to yo-yo and throw tops. And, we were visited by a 1952 Duncan All City Champ! Not only that but, he brought out his, now framed, championship sweater and had us sign the frame. It was so dope to be a part of history coming full circle. Heck, he said he hadn’t put a yo-yo on his finger in 20 years but, he did today and took back to it like a duck to water. Proof that the heritage gets in your blood and you never shake it. You are never too old or too young to throw or start throwing. Duncan Crew has your back for sure. We want you playing and we want you playing with us. You don’t have to be All City, you just have to commit to having fun. You can do that…right?

Everything is bigger in Texas! This video is huge on good times. You are going to love it.

Thanks to how great our week had gone, we knew for sure that today’s contest was going to be one of the best. So, we booked a morning demo to warm up for the day along with the contest.

Our morning gig was at the Learning Express in Garland, Texas. It was the perfect warm up demo. We eased into the day with some awesome chances to teach and show off our skills. Everyone there was super into it. We made great friends with a young gal named Kelsy and her grandfather. They both learned a few things and shared cookies with us. We never keep things boring and so, we met a six foot cat with a dress on and taught her to yo-yo and throw tops as well. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and pleasant.

It was a great thing that we had a chance to warm ourselves up. Because, the contest ended up being super high gear. Our contest ended up being a part of the University Park Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. It seemed the entire oh University Park came out, as did tons of people we met in the surrounding area this week. The Learning Express store in University Park helped us put the event on and they did an amazing job. Even with so many people in attendance, they made sure that we had plenty of room and everything we needed. It developed into an amazing event. The contest results came out like so: Lawson Porter got third place. Cade Gober got second. And Alan Presburger was the lucky winner taking home the Schwinn bike this week.

As we are all know, throwing Duncan has its advantages. Being a part of a Heritage Tour contest is one of them. I can not express well enough how great these contests have all been. I really have always wanted to be a part of what the demonstrators of yesterday were building and I can say without a doubt that I have now experienced it. There is nothing like our tours anywhere. We are the original and it is more and more clear daily that we and Duncan are eternal!

Sometimes we serve it up right..one time, two times, THREE TIMES!!! Today was exactly that. The ultra powerful have no need for rest. There is entirely too much rocking to do.

We started the whole shabang out with a great stop at the Learning Express in Southlake, Texas. It was great. Their store is super high traffic so, we ended up having so many people to teach that we broke up into three squads just to get time with them all. That is nothing but, the coolest. The best part is that everyone was super committed to the event and we ended up with some people learning a whole lot in a very short time. Speaking of commitment, we even had a few guys come all the way down from southern Arkansas with their father. It was more than a five hour drive and they wanted to be at tour stops that bad! That is so very humbling. It definitely made us feel extra special to know that they put in that much effort and love Duncan Crew that much. They have our love and support for sure!

Of course, they didn’t make the drive just to kick it with us at one demo. We met up with them again at our next stop at the Puzzle Zoo in Dallas. This was another super busy stop and everyone took to throwing Duncan like fish to water. It is getting obvious that people are getting to their holiday shopping and it is equally obvious that the gift of always is a Duncan yo-yo. What could be cooler? Nothing! People were so into what we were doing that we saw people picking up yo-yos across almost the entire range. Some people got Freehands. Some people got Butterflies. Some people even got Metal Zeros. Everyone got something timeless. I love touring this time of year.

Unfortunately, our friends from Arkansas had to make the long drive home so, they couldn’t meet us at the next show but, that did not stop us from putting it on in style. Froggie’s 5&10 in Highland Park has proven to be great to us time and time again. The folks there dig our work so much that they have even been learning tricks off of their video store display while we’re not around. They know all the songs on it and they can recite the instructions to super hard tricks like double trapeze as if they are the alphabet. That sort of thing makes you know that you’ve been doing something right. The customers at Froggie’s are also top notch. We had quite a few people stop by and dig on what we do. Some of the people dug our work so much that they stopped by multiple times and even brought friends when they came back. If I could hang out there and jam daily, I would. Highland Park is just a cool area to be in and the people definitely make it that much cooler.

What a day. I just know that tomorrow’s contest is going to be amazing.

Today was right on with the good times. We spent a good chunk of the day chatting with our dear friend, Dale Oliver, and discussing the days of Duncan yo-yos past and the events that have gotten us to Duncan yo-yos present. Dale and his wife, Valerie Oliver, are some of the coolest people I know and they have some of the best perspective on the modern history of yo-yo. They have both been players for decades and they have witnessed the transformation from basic ten tricks with a wood axle to five styles and off plain tricks with unresponsive ball bearing yo-yos. Needless to say, the times have change and they have embraced evolution and adapted to be a part of it. I thank them both massively for allowing us in their home and spending the time to talk to us. It was enlightening, to say the least.

As much as we could have gabbed along with Dale and Valerie all night, we also love doing demos so, we wrapped up and headed out. Our demo was at the Learning Express store in Frisco, Texas this evening. What a great time it was. We had some friends old and new show up and throw down with us. The best part is that some of them even brought along even newer friends to learn to play and get involved with throwing. You have to dig it when people you meet bring their friends along simply because they are so very excited about what you do. Word of mouth is the greatest medium for growth and the Dallas area is already showing that it is a great place to grow and with stores like Learning Express, Dallas will have plenty of help.

Today was right on point! Drew and I started the day off with a demo on television, bright and early. The folks at KDFW 4 here in Dallas were really good to us. We got a few separate spots throughout their morning show and got a chance to share some screen time with Jason Castro from American Idol. No matter how you feel about the show, it’s pretty cool to hang out with that caliber of fame and realize that you harness the same energy. We are the power from which the universe was created for sure!

After we wrapped up the news spots, we regrouped with Takeshi at the hotel. We ran some errands and had a fantastic lunch to power ourselves up for our evening demo. It turned out to be a great one. We had a gig at the Learning Express in Plano, Texas. They did it up right. We had a really cool mix of older and younger people interested in learning some yo-yo tricks. Most of the crowd was beginning players and we love that. Sometimes, it’s easy to light a fire in their hearts, simply by making a little spark in their minds. Everyone was as stoked as could be to see us play and learn to do it themselves. Our lives are just way too fantastic for words.

If you aren’t living a similar one, perhaps it’s time to pick up a Duncan yo-yo and get to it.