MONROE — Families and children are invited to the Monroe Arts Center for a free entertainment program from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 6 at MAC, 1315 11th Street. 

Britton Pankratz “The Yo-Yo Guy” shares a “modern twist” on an old-fashioned toy. Hailing from Minnesota, Pankratz is a remarkable and award-winning yo-yo artist and showman. He demonstrates an assortment of maneuvers from his tool belt of tricks, using a variety of yo-yos and music to create a show. 

This performance is the final of three programs in Monroe Arts Center’s 2018-19 Family and Kids Series. 

Pankratz became tangled in the sport of modern “yo-yoing” at the age of 13 when his mother was cleaning out the basement and presented him a VHS tape of Tommy Smothers, also known as the “YoYo Man.” Pankratz immediately became bound and determined to one day be as good. He practiced as much as eight hours a day, inventing his own tricks and incorporating concepts from others, and forming them into his own tool belt of yo-yo tricks. 

He has won numerous Minnesota competitions at both the local and state levels.