We had an incredible time in Jasper, AB exhibiting at the Alberta Library Conference at the Jasper Park Lodge. We were welcomed by immense kindness from library staff from across the province. The weather was beautiful and the views were spectacular!
As a magician, it’s always fun to interact with a large audience of people in a short period of time. You start to notice things about the people you are performing for. At our booth, we demonstrated some easy to do magic tricks and had a lot of people fooled. People would audibly shout when something appeared in their hands. Others would swat and my hand with a smile. My favourite reaction of the weekend was a lady who simply said “WOW” in a genuine but muffled tone. “This is just wonderful” she said.
As the conference went on, I noticed other exhibitors gathering to see the tricks performed, again and again. “Are you a magician?” I would ask someone as they approached my table. Most everyone I asked said “no” with a shrug. However, I begged them to differ. I demonstrated how to do the ACROBATIC PAPERCLIPS. A simple trick where two paperclips magically jump and link together in midair! It’s rewarding to see the facial expressions when someone witnesses something seemingly impossible happen right in front of them. Especially, when the magic happens in their own hands.
I believe that magic brings out the kid in all of us. It takes us back to a time where we didn’t know how something worked because we didn’t want to ruin it. “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” A quote from Roald Dahl is so true. It’s much more fun to be fooled than to know how it’s done. I’ve always said that magic is the feeling you get when you see something impossible to understand happen right in front of your eyes. Who doesn’t want to believe in that? Ignorance is bliss, certainly in magic.
Occasionally, I get a volunteer that doesn’t like magic and is trying to purposely go out of their way to try and ruin the trick. Performing now for just over 20 years, I’ve learned to handle these situations quite well. In most cases, they don’t succeed and the trick still works. Not surprisingly, everyone who attended the conference absolutely loved magic!
I was excited to see a few kids come through the exhibitors room. Kids reactions to magic are the genuine article. They’ve likely never seen magic happen in their hands before. It’s a really great thing to bear witness to in my daily life. Being a magician is a really fun job. It’s rewarding in so many ways. One of the kids that came through showed me a magic trick with cards. She performed, what I thought was a simple 3 card trick. After she left, I kept thinking about what she did and how she did it. It was a really good trick. I had never seen it before, I was fooled.
In magic, being fooled is just as much fun as the one doing the fooling. The reactions and lasting impression it makes on people is truly magical. A few of the attendees said that I was the absolute highlight of their weekend. It warms my heart to bring joy to other people through magic. I made a lot of good contacts at the conference and a lot of good friends. I will see you all again soon enough! #alcjpl
Stay Magical,
Kyle Key The Magician
FB/TW/IG @MagiKey
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