May 18, 2010

DonB! Does Corporate Work Too.

Last night, I had the opportunity to put my close-up magic skills to the test.

I was invited, along with good friend, Craig Carlson, to bring 2 hours of interactive magic entertainment to a group of Minnesota ophthalmologists.  (Eye doctors from all over Minnesota)  Craig and I passed juggling pins around some of the big wigs, I pulled signed cards from my pockets, Craig made juggling ball after juggling ball disappear for one astute lady, and we both had fun convincing guest after guest that the 3-shell game is NOT rigged, and that they COULD win.  (cough) liars (cough)  One lady played the game at least 20 times before finally winning!

I miss doing the corporate interactive entertainment, and wish I could perform it even more than I do.  However, it makes it even more fun when the events are spread out.


Don't we look dapper?

Until we get to "magish" again,

DonB!

Don takes a (very) short road trip

Last Wednesday, my friend, Mike Norton, and I, left Mora at 7AM, and drove down to Minneapolis to pick up one more friend, Ben Christensen.  We gassed up the van, and headed toward Chicago.  We were home the next morning by 7:30 AM.

Every year, right before the Magic Collector's Weekend (yes, there is such a thing), there is a magic flea market near Schaumburg, Illinois.  Magicians come from around the country to buy and sell their used magic props, illusions and books.  Mike & I decided it was time to do a little magic house cleaning of our own, and gathered about $800.00 worth of things we were intent on selling.  We did well.

All combined, the three of us sold about $700.00 worth of props and books we no longer use.  That's the good news.
Don, at the booth.

The flip side is that we were also going with our eyes open for items that we could add to our own shows, and we did.  Mike can now make it seem as if a kid can float in his show.  Ben can make it seem as if his head, covered in a small box, can spin 360 degrees in any direction, in a very comical fashion.  I found a great book for $40 (retails for $150), a famous magic prop called Mental Epic for $40 (retails for $250), as well as some smaller items that I can use in my shows and close-up magic gigs.

As soon as the flea market was over, we loaded up our wares and took off back to Minnesota.  We drove through the night in order to get back to Minnesota in time to meet our obligations elsewhere.

It was a lot of driving, and many miles, but all in all, we came home with a little more money than we left with, and each of us found some really neat bargains.

We've decided we're going to do it again next year.  Same bat-time, same bat channel.

DonB!

May 11, 2010

Check out this page! DonB! is going cruising again!

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I have been invited to perform on the K-Love Friends & Family Music Cruise in February 7-11, 2011.  The website that lists the confirmed entertainment (so far) can be found HERE.

It is always an honor to be on the same page with folks like tobyMac, Casting Crowns, Newsboys, Matthew West and Bob & Larry.

Interested in going cruising with me?  Click HERE for more information.  Tell them DonB! sent you.

DonB!

May 10, 2010

Hand Shadows are fun. And scary?

Last Saturday, while performing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, there were two small "smart lights" on the floor of the stage.  So, in the middle of the show, I thought I would take advantage of one of them and performed an abbreviated version of my hand shadow act on the closest wall.

I made a wolf shadow, and had him bark, making people giggle a little.  I then made a bunny rabbit, and people made quiet "aawwww" sounds.  I then transformed one hand into the bunny, and the other into the wolf.  As one little girl made sense of the shadows, it suddenly occurred to her the dilemma that the bunny was now in. (He could get eaten by the wolf).  The girl started crying, sobbing "noooo, nooooo,..."

I explained that it was only a shadow, and to ease her discomfort, made a really nice kitty cat shadow for her.  Again, I think she still was feeling the sadness over the possibility of the bunny getting eaten, so I "disassembled" the kitty cat, showed her my hands were back to normal, and went on with the show as scheduled.

It is amazing how complicated the mind of children can be, in that two shadows were able to be "real" in her mind.

It makes me wonder what it would take to "un-complicate" our adult minds, filled with life's worries and responsibilities, and become as children once again.  Life would be so much simpler.  As long as we don't encounter those hand shadows again. :)

I'll leave you with this fun one:


DonB!

A comment from my Fort Wayne show

I always love to hear from folks that were at my shows, and here is one from my show this weekend:


We really enjoyed your Fort Wayne show Saturday night. We were lucky to be front and center 3rd row. I was the mom with the 2 little ones on my lap and a look of panic on my face when you were on the tall unicycle. =) My 4 1/2 yr old daughter was mesmerized and wanted to know when it was her turn to have the stage with you. She wanted you to pass the bottle through her. She talked about the show the rest of the night and into the next day. Loved the message that was delivered with the show as well. Great family entertainment, so happy we came!

Blessings,
April 

May 9, 2010

Fun Photo from Sens de Vie tour

While performing in Ada, Oklahoma, EverLife went out to sing, but Sarah's microphone fell off the stand.  I went out to fix it, but found that the threads had broken off inside of the boom.  In order for the girls to sing their song, I chose to sit quietly on the floor and hold Sarah's microphone.

Even though one song doesn't seem too long, holding that old-fashioned microphone, along with the boom, made my arm start to shake near the end of the song.

I thought it was fun, and thought you may enjoy the photo.

Photo by Zuri Louis

May 8, 2010

DonB! at Central Ministries, Fort Wayne, Indiana

I just returned to the hotel after a nice show at Central Ministries in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The audience was made up primarily of families with kids.  Many kids.  And that's what makes my shows so much fun, even for me.

I presented my "EVAN-tastic" full evening show, and now I'm tired. Of all my shows, this one is the most energetic, since it utilizes the "best of" all of my shows, all rolled into one 90 minute show. Ring juggling. Cups & Balls, Headmover, Ropes, Bowling Ball production, Ball Juggling, Bottle through body, western rope spinning, bowling ball juggling, plate spinning, Message, and finishing up with the full unicycle medley.  90 minutes of almost full-on energy, and I LOVE IT!

Thanks to Phil Miller for allowing me another opportunity to not only entertain, but to share the Gospel with the families that were there. 

I LOVE my job!!!

Don

May 4, 2010

How thin can I stretch myself?

After being teased for many years about how thin I was, I am finally holding a healthier weight.  But now, the thinness comes in the form of involvement.  I ask myself, how thin can I stretch myself?

Just last week I was nominated to my church's board of stewards last week, and our first meeting is next Thursday.  My official title is Worship Ministry Team Representative, overseeing many of the aspects involved with the actual services at church.

I know it will be a challenging year ahead, but with God's grace and His strength, I know that it has the potential of being a great year ahead for all of Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Please pray, that as my church goes into the new fiscal year, that we can all unite together, for growth and ministry.  It can be difficult when there are so many different personalities, but it IS possible to work together for the greater cause of ministry within our community.

I look forward to serving my church, and I hope I can be a part of the future growth of the Christian community within Mora.

I will also be spending 7 weeks in Maryland this summer, performing and speaking at Sandy Cove Ministries in North East, Maryland.  Debbie & Dale will be there with me for the entire 7 weeks, and Deanna will join us for one of those weeks (she will be a nanny in Mora the rest of the time).  I will be performing throughout the weeks, as well as leading the morning family devotions each day.  Debbie will be running the craft building, and Dale will have the high position of "camp gopher", filling in wherever he is needed each day.

While in Maryland, we will have most weekends off, so we intend to take a day trip to Washington D.C., as well as one to New York City if our schedule allows it.

Right after Maryland, I will head down to Georgia for 1 week of performing and teaching at the TNT Clown Conference in Toccoa, Georgia.

I'll get back to Mora, MN, in time to spend 3 weeks cleaning the house, before school starts up again.

As busy as it seems, there is no other life I would choose.  I love it.  My family loves it.

God is good, all the time.

DonB!

"Sens de Vie" Tour is done for this year

Well, another year of touring with the "Sens de Vie" show has come to an end.  We covered a good portion of the country, and finished up fairly close to home. At least for me.

We traveled to Panama City, Florida, where we actually has enough time to throw a Frisbee around on the beach for a couple of hours.  Here is the crew from that day:


Front: David, Amber, Don
Back: Adam, Zuri, Sarah, Bex, Beth, Julia, Katie, Harris

While waiting in Nashville for 4 days, we had some time to go geocaching, and my favorite cache location was this statue of guitar legend, Chet Atkins. The tiny geocache was hidden up, under Chet's bronze jacket.  Wish I could have met the real Chet.


While in Georgia, I had the great opportunity to meet up with a friend, Luke Davis, and his Mom, Laura.  I met Luke at the TNT Clown Conference a few years agao, and have kept in touch via the phone.  I was glad that they made the trip over to see the show, and so that Luke could see how my clowning and slapstick are still developing after all these years.


Our show in Ada, Oklahoma, took place in a newly renovated place, the McSwain Theatre.  The Chickasaw Nation purchased the theatre, and spent untold amounts of time and money to renovate it back to it's historical condition when it was new in the early 1900's.  The woodwork, the stage, the velour; it was all incredibly redone.  I think it was the classiest place I've performed in a long time. And the crew there was amazing. Servants at heart, wanting to make everyone look and sound the best that we could.  And, I was happy to see my name scrolling across the marquee outside.  
As Navin Johnson would say, "Look, I'm somebody!!!"


On the last 4 day leg of the tour, all of the driving was to happen at night.  To avoid the need for any of us to do the driving, we travelled on a really nice tour bus, pulling all of the equipment in the trailer.

In Eldora, Iowa, we parked below a large wind turbine, and I thought it would make a nice picture.

As great as the tour was, it ended on somewhat of a sadder note.  First, I found out that a good friend, who had a very progressive form of cancer, had passed away on that Sunday.  As for the rest of the tour group, they were warned of the massive flooding in the Nashville area, where they live.  Here are two pictures, the first is of us resting in the park about 2 weeks ago.  The second one is that same park, completely under about 4 feet of water.



Please pray for the family of the cancer patient friend of mine, as well as the folks from Nashville that have been hit so hard by the rain and storms.

DonB!