Article Photos

MARQUETTE - Three young men from Houghton were entertaining passersby with juggling and unicycling during the Downtown Marquette Pirate Festival Saturday, but they are turning their talents to a more serious purpose next week.

Bob Evans, 26, Ben Bachran, 18, and Jason Cattelino, 16, will be starting out from Houghton on Wednesday for a 100-mile unicycle ride to Marquette, arriving next Sunday. They will be raising funds for two boys who have been diagnosed with leukemia. One is David Gockenbach, 10, of Houghton, and one is Dustin Burkman, 9, of Marquette. The ride is to contribute toward their families' medical treatment expenses.

Burkman was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4, and had surgery, but had a relapse this February. He currently is undergoing chemotherapy in Green Bay.

The three learned of Burkman's condition through a friend of Evans'.

"He told me about Dustin's situation, and that was kind of while we were planning already to do a fundraising unicycle ride," Evans said.

Cattelino then found out about Gockenbach, who is facing the same disease and goes to the same church as Cattelino. Gockenbach was adopted from Ethiopia, and four months later was diagnosed with leukemia. He currently is receiving radiation treatment and awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

The young men decided to turn their skills at juggling and unicycling toward helping both boys.

They met through their common interest in juggling, and then added the unicycles to their three-man act. During the school year, they've appeared at school assemblies and community events.

"We're more into juggling, but for some reason juggling seems to lead to unicycling," Evans said.

"It's kind of a neat and different thing to do," Cattelino added.

The three attracted plenty of attention when they set up a three-way juggling demonstration at the corner of Washington and Front streets in downtown Marquette Saturday afternoon.

"It's something everyone seems to enjoy when they see it," Bachran said.

They said they are hoping to spread the word about Burkman and Gockenbach through their appearances and their upcoming ride. They will give juggling shows at each place they stop for the night during the ride, including in Baraga, L'Anse and Ishpeming.

"The smallest donation from everyone would still help a lot toward the families' costs," Bachran said.

Evans, Bachran and Cattelino have set up a Web site for donations to their efforts, at www.100milesfor2big smiles.com.

Pirate festival events downtown Saturday also included a children's carnival, a treasure hunt, tours of the tall ship Madeline, and a costume contest.

Events coming up today include tours of the Madeline, the Maritime Museum and lighthouse throughout the day, a dog costume contest at 2 p.m. at the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum, a county-wide adult scavenger hunt at 2 p.m. called "The Amazing Race Goes Historical," a fundraiser for the Marquette County History Museum, and a performance of the play "Treasure Island" at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Superior Theatre.

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.marquettecountry.org