Flying Fool's hijinks take flight in Naperville
You can call him Ken Schultz.
You can call him The Flying Fool.
Just don't call him boring.
Schultz opened Naperville Park District's summer Children's Lunch-Hour Entertainment series Tuesday with his usual assortment of shenanigans that ranged from juggling to riding a unicycle to swallowing fire -- all to the delight of hundreds of kids and their parents along the Riverwalk.
One minute he was making an orange ball disappear and then reappear. The next he was balancing a ladder on his nose and then a shoe.
"This is a lot of fun," Schultz said after his madcap performance. "It's like the Woodstock of preschoolers."
Schultz says he loves performing so he can make people laugh and smile and see how different crowds react.
His favorite part of his own act, he says, is when he climbs aboard his 6-foot-tall unicycle and juggles. He says it took him about six months to perfect it.
The kids in his audience tend to like his sillier stuff -- the corny jokes and the balloons. The adults like him best atop the unicycle.
Either way, The Flying Fool tries to provide something for everybody. He aims some jokes for kids, he aims some jokes for parents and he aims some jokes for, well, who knows?
"People like to laugh," Schultz said, and he's determined to help them along.
He said he enjoys performing along the downtown Riverwalk, especially now that the stage is set among the shade of some tall trees, and Naperville is a frequent stop on his itinerary.
"I find him to be extremely hilarious," said Michelle La Scola, park district program manager. "He's always well-received. Ken does a fabulous job of entertaining both kids and parents."
The Children's Lunch-Hour series is free, with events scheduled on most Tuesdays and Thursdays through July 17 (with a break in late June and early July).
Most of the acts are aimed at kids 7 and younger and their parents. The shows start at noon and run about 45 minutes near the Warming House and Grand Pavilion west of Centennial Beach.
"It's an opportunity for families with children to get on the Riverwalk and see something different," La Scola said.
Amy Lowe, an award-winning singer and songwriter, is scheduled to perform Thursday.
If you go
What: Children's Lunch-Hour Entertainment series
Who: Sponsored by Naperville Park District
When: Noon most Tuesdays and Thursdays through July 17
Where: Naperville's Riverwalk near the Grand Pavilion west of Centennial Beach
Cost: Free
Info: www.napervilleparks.org