Social Services Keynote Speaker

I was extremely thrilled to attend a conference for the state of Indiana this month! 

I've done a lot of work with at-risk youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Social Services over the years and it's very rewarding to be able to share my observations as the Keynote Speaker at a conference in Indiana. In attendance were case workers, lawyers, social workers, potential adoptive parents, board members from different groups and various youth organizations. As it turned out, a police officer (RIGHT in photo below) who had previously seen some material of mine suggested to the board to have me come out a the presenter. He made it to the program and we had a fun magic session afterwards. He seemed thrilled and was a blast to entertain and brainstorm with.

After setting up audio/visual equipment the first day, I had an afternoon to explore Indianapolis which was getting in high gear for the racing that weekend! I took a tour of the famous Children'd Museum where I came across a different type of motivation and education. 

Unusual Performances

I love unique performing opportunities that let me add in a touch of life and motivation and this month brought me a handful. Although these are not necessarily related to at-risk youth or motivational keynote programs, a couple highlights were helping to arrange a Magic Series at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and presenting a lecture for musicians at a retreat/music camp. Although most of my appearances are at corporate or private parties, these events were so fun to be part of!

The Caltech Magic Series will be going on all month if you know anyone in that area! See the attached poster and images from some of the groups in the various areas I demonstrated tricks at. It was a little different to entertain or trick engineering geniuses. They tended to treat me as a science project that they couldn't solve. In the end, they typically gave into the "force" and had a really good time and soaked up the messages that were layered in the magic;)  Many faculty and staff brought family and children as well. It was a fulfilling evening to mix it up in a different setting like this. Thank you Caltech for having me help make this possible.

Next was the music camp lecture. The very unusual lecture I was honored to do for the music camp consisted of an hour performance preceded by a lecture on the similarities between music and magic. Most misunderstand and assume magic is "just" tricks and that you just go buy them... while most understand that music must be learned and mastered. The same applies to the magical arts. You have to practice like mad to master the most basic looking things. If you want to fool your friends, you can certainly buy some pretty neat self working "tricks". However, if you want to do the effects legitimately, you better be prepared for a lifetime of struggle and commitment! We also discussed the various forms of magic and the business of entertainment. Here's a photo after the symphony the students put on the next day at the music camp! Thanks to the SLO Symphony for having me come out. If you want your kids to learn from some incredible musical masters, check out the annual summer camp. Kids came from well outside of California to be part of it.