From St Louis to Bowling Green

We started the day with laundry and packing up because we are finished in Missouri for 09. Off to Kentucky. Well, after we have a bite of the world famous Pappy's pulled pork sandwiches. Just down town in St Louis. We got off the freeway in what could only be St Louis' Ghetto. Run down building, windshield washers at stop lights, homeless walking about, hookers, drug dealers (no doubt), run down brick buildings with ivy overgrown - broken windows of what used to be a factory 50 years ago.

Downtown St Louis has a mix of the old and new and Pappy's is in one of the older buildings. Perfect atmosphere for their out of this world Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Sure they have ribs, and brisket, and other stuff, but they are most famous for their pulled pork...a full sized pig is slow cooked over a log fire. Then when done the whole thing is hand picked and mixed together then dipped in it's own juice (properly spiced). To die for! I found out about Pappy's on a TV show called Man Vs Food on the Travel Channel (they better give me kudos for mentioning them).

Afterwards we drove a few blocks to the Arch but couldn't find parking for our big van and trailer...so we looked at it and up at it as we drove back and forth looking for parking.

Off to Kentucky. It was a fairly quick drive...only 4-6 hours (we stopped a lot to stretch, walk about,etc) so I don't know what a straight drive might take.

it has been overcast and cold this whole past week. Even a few sprnkles today.

Bowling Green is a great town. The drive in from Evansville, IN is along a very long hwy with virtually no services and pure green landscape.

Once here we popped into the Waffle house near our hotel and pigged out....now it's bed time good night!

Here is where my day started at the Holiday Inn Express Laundry room...three loads and I am only 1/3 of the way through.

Adam from "Man vs Food" picture on Pappy's Wall.

Us in Pappy's

Pappy's

Pulled Pork, Cole Slaw and Sweet Potatoe Fries......MMMMMM

The Waffle House in Bowling Green.

July F in OFallon MO

It rained last night….apparently it rained a lot. And it was windy. And it was cold. We arrived at the fairgrounds around 11am and we found one of our tents hadn’t been fastened down properly because it was tilted side-ways and everything that was in it was exposed (fortunately it was just a cooler and a couple of chairs). Turns out one of the canopy bars was bent and there were a couple of tears in the sides. While straightening the bar it broke….a new expense is in the cards.
The weather was threatening all day. It rained a few times lightly. But after the last show it let loose. Lightening, rain, and more rain, and more rain, and more rain. We were in the middle of packing things up when it hit. The loud speaker announced it was only going to get worse and so the event was canceled a couple hours early and the fireworks were cancelled. (By the way last night’s fireworks were very nice.)
Sheets of rain came down and we rushed about packing up. There is about 300 lbs more weight (all water) in the trailer tonight.
We will have to get the stuff out as soon as we can to dry it all out once the weather clears to keep it from molding.

The shows had packed seating in spite of the weather. In fact, the last show had about 300 –400 plus many more on the edges, a bit far from the stage but still visible.
Only one really funny story to tell. At the end of the second show I was introducing the kids for their final bows when Olivia stopped half way out and screamed, “a bug”. The audience laughed. But when Amelia stepped over and stomped on it, the audience exploded with laughter. Olivia proceed to come out for her bow.

Our stage was on the warning track of a baseball field. After the rain the filed and surrounding area was soaked so pulling out with our vans (Especially with trailer weighing 5000lbs). So to avoid pulling onto the field and tearing up the turf we found some grounds guys and had plywood laid out on the field. We pulled out with no problems.

Tomorrow we will do a ton of laundry. Then we will drive into St Louis and visit the arch and then get some fresh pulled pork sandwiches.

Day 1 Heritage and Freedom Festival MO

Jim during his own juggling show..He had them eating out of his hand...which is pretty gross if you think about it.

Miles as the Pink Gorilla...very popular.

A passer by.

Our stage setup

Pre setup

The nectar of God!

O'Fallon, Mo is bigger than I thought it would be. On the map it was just a dot. But this town is big. A suburb in every way. They have every chain store in America along Hwy K. Makes it convenient when we drove into the show today and need to stop by Wal-Mart for supplies, The home depot for bricks to break on Miles' belly, UHaul for boxes to put Victor in for the Spear Box trick, gas, and food for lunch and snacks. All on one 8 mile strip.
The three shows were awesome. The first one was a challenge because across the fairgrounds in perfect acoustic range was the headline band stage with there speakers as tall as me. The band was playing all through our first show so it broke the connection I needed with the audience time and again. Still it went OK. The next two shows were perfect. All went really well and the audiences kept growing through out the show time. The last show was just and hour before the big fireworks display so it was beyond packed. That made for a super terrific audience.

Here are some notes I left out in past blogs…..


We passed Whirlpool factory, John Deer factory, and Chrsysler.

July 1 so tired my inner compass is messed up and I head North instead of South on our way to Willard.

Bridge Over Mississippi from Illinois to Indiana was out we had to go around.

Heard a great quote on the radio attributed to CK Chesterson, “Tolerance of everything is a virtue of a man who has no principals.”

One gas station to entice people in had a big sign that said, “We have the best looking cashiers.”

Nebraska has oil pumps….I didn’t know they had oil.

Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, were all green. Usually they are golden brown this time of year…..darn global cooling.

Catching up - In MO

Wi-fi problems have kept me from making entries the last couple of days.
To catch you up, we had three very successful shows in Willard, OH. Relatives who live in Ohio even came out to see us. (Relatives are everywhere....beware!) These relatives are great. I even met a relative in-law. Kris and her kids (cousin in-law and second cuz's) were great to see and they made up a great audience. Ohio folks are similar to Minnesota audiences in there relative conservation of emotions. After the first audience we recognized that so we cranked it up for the other two shows and we were able to pull out their inner desire to laugh, clap, and goofah!
I will post pictures from the show tonight.
We tried something that has more and more been showing up around fairs in America...deep fried snickers bar....a snickers bar dipped in batter, deep fried, coated with powdered sugar and then given a dribble of chocolate syrup...prove the end of the world is at hand. It was disgustingly rich...none of the kids or I could have more than a nipple...except Victor Jr who wanted to eat the whole thing (in case his mom is reading this...no he didn't get to eat more than a bit of it.)
We have been getting to bed really late every night. But when considering the time changes maybe it wasn't that late. We started yesterday in the Eastern time zone (in Ohio) but by bed time we gained an hour in Missouri (central time zone). Thank God McDonalds are all 24 hours out here in the mid-west.
We purposely drove through down town St Louis instead of taking a by-pass because everyone wanted to see the Arch. Our timing was perfect; sunset. it was awesome. Princess Olivia said, "Oh my goodness, gracious!"
Traveling with two vans has certainly given all of us more space. The gas mileage challenge hasn't been bad with the van pulling the trailer getting an average of 9 mpg and the other van getting around 20mpg. Princess Cynthia(17) has been doing all the driving for the 2nd van and has clocked over 2500 miles so far.
Buttercup the Python has gone through a shedding but hasn't eaten yet (the traveling affecting him I suppose). We put a mouse in his cage and they have been roommates for the last two days. It's cute but it is destined to end only one way..........
More to follow tonight.....

Day 3 Traveling East Iowa-Indiana-Ohio

Utah Salt beds. (Day 2)
Tire-change day 2 due to tread seperations causings a lumpy tire...after the change fuel mileage imporved. Until I was forced to use ethanol in my gas then it dropped again.

Victor created this flower from gum foil, a straw and chewed gum for glue.

We are in Ohio after another long day of driving. Forget about global warming it has been cold out here. We had to wear jackets for half the day whenever we got out of the vans.

Breakfast in Iowa (at the hotel). Lunch in Indiana (Burger King). And dinner in Ohio (on the Turnpike at a fast food Italian joint....it wasn't half bad).

Wish I had some fun stories from the road. The kids played the Alphabet Game (finding words that begin with a, then b then c...... in order. We did a van vs. van version via walkie talkies.)

The girls found a million more "maracas" (cell towers that look like the instrument.)

Princess Cynthia has done three days of 11 plus hours of driving....doing swimmingly.

Sometimes the road demands things you may never do anywhere else. yesterday James could not hold the build-up of liquid in his body and so unable to reach us in the lead van he went to the back of CC's van and filled a bottle. Sorry for Any images I just gave you.
The mild weather is keeping everything so wonderfully green. It has been a beautiful drive. The ridiculous windmills popping up along Wyoming and Iowa are ugly and from what I understand use a ton of carbon to manufacture, transport and set up, and maintain (it takes 6 very big Big-rigs to haul on in, a craneto set up, and lots of grease. ) Hope the output makes it worthwhile.

Nebraska-Iowa

Conducting business on the road. In an earlier blog I mentioned my "office box" a box filled with all the things needed to be an office away from home...I forgot to mention the two most important items..this computer (which gets frustrating to use when at a hotel with a single router and plenty of guests or a weak signal) and my cell phone. Had many calls while crossing the plains today.
Saw a statue of Lincoln's head, a giant statue of Mary, a sign advertisng Kool-aid Days in Hastings, NE...birthplace of that delightful libation, and much more.
Had several big semi-truck loaded with live pigs pass us today...occasionally the stick there snouts out the side...cute or hilarious?
I have photos and more stories but it was a long drive today so it's bedtime. I will post the pix and share the tales soon.
Best to you all

Leaving the West

We are, by the grace of God, in Wyoming and should make Eastern Iowa by sleep time tomorrow. We are moving at a slower pace than usual because we are using two 15 passenger vans this year. Princess Cynthia (17) is driving the second and she hasn't the experience to do the realllllly long drives yet. Though she has done 1 11 hour drive and 1 12 hour drive so far. The trailer is particularly heavy this year and even the Ford E350 with all it's torque still slows going over really steep hills. The Ford is also very squirrelly with this trailer. So for these reasons we are taking it slow.
The only big thing to report today is our front tire looked a little warped. I noticed it while at a rest stop in Utah this morning. I had seen this before. Two other tires of the same brand (Hancock) had had the same problem and I had to replace them. There are still two Hancock's on the van but since the three other tires (remember there is the spare) were Hancock's and all three had the tread separation problem....we won't be coming home with these tires.
As I type this I just noticed that there are railroad tracks about 50 yards from my window...it's a nioce hotel...kinda upper crust.....I hope there are no 3 am loud whistle blowers going by. I'm closing the window.
Buttercup the Python is doing well. He was held a lot today during the drive. We have to turn off the air-con when he is out....remeber he is from Africa...he prefers heat....moist heat.
Regarding the weather and scenery. I am surprised how green the deserts and high forrests along hwy 80 in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are. Apparently it has been mild and wet. Ussually it is golden brown and hot. Right now it's just right. At night it is down right chilly. While my home town has a 100 degree heat spurt...out here it's very comfortable. .......though, humidity coming after we reach Iowa.
Olivia taught me a song today..."So yummy. So yummy. There's a party in my tummy." Apparently they got it form some kid's tv show...too cute. (They don't watch much tv so I guess what they do see sticks.)

Excitment-----So much going on!

We are off in less than 24 hours to our big (and it seems ever growing) summer tour. As I mentioned last blog we have solidly booked the Union Fair in Union, Maine and can be seen there on August 25 and 26. I have learned that we will be sharing the fairgrounds with the Flying Wallenda's, the ultra-famous circus family famous for their 4, 7, and 10 person pyramid on the high wire with no nets or safety equipment. The family faced tragedy in the 70s when they fell and two members perished. But they are true troopers and kept the old saying, "the show must go on" and they continue on today into the 7th generation. I am like a little child waiting for Christmas, waiting to meet them.

Believe it or not we are loaded. Just the final stuff to do. And we have a really exciting gig going on tonight. We will perform on the field at a baseball game including a really awesome fire-eating spectacular with flag, stilt walkers, fire, and more fire during the 7th inning. Marsyville Gold Sox Baseball minor or AAA ,or something like that, team.

Been receiving booking info from various acts for a fall-winter line-up if we end up with the Theater. A newspaper local to the theater interviewed me a bit about it today. It was exciting to share a bit of my vision.

Buttercup has timed his shedding perfectly ...he has begun to go through the process. (He won't miss shows next week.) Even his eyelids shed....he is actually mostly blind for a couple of days during the process. His lunchbox is packed ..... 5 fuzzy juicy snacks. Some people might worry about traveling with a snake....I'm more worried the mice might get out. Ball pythons don't bite, eat wires, and only poo and pee about once a week. Mice have no bladders so it's constant peeing, constant pooping, and they love wires, and they bite......so I'm taping the lid!

We have several new stunts, tricks and routines this year including a brand new routine where Princess Cynthia's costume changes spontaneously several times, A small beautiful wood box that is so heavy only little Victor can lift it...not even the strongest man in the audience, Buttercup's magical appearance, of course, Miles has added lasso stunts, and Princess Amelia has several new mind reading experiments...and we have added a roady/sound man/gofer/and all around nice guy, Nick, to the bunch (first non-family member in years)....it's going to be an awesome tour!

The Summer Tour

We are less than 40 hours from our departure for our Summer tour of OH, MO, KY, NY, CT, ME with a quick trip back home only to head out to NV, IA, TX. Preparations are in full furious gear!
Ten sets of street clothes each, six sets of washable costumes plus the dry clean and other costumes. Snacks. (The show has already been loaded into the trailer but there is always a few things that we have to add in. ) The new pipe for the backdrops arrived this week and will have to be loaded. Not to mention we still have two gigs before taking off....fortunately they are relatively small so it won't disrupt the lading too much.
Then there are the computers, cameras, non-show sound, toys (for the kids), books, (we don't allow DVD players, video games, or any other electronic toys....that's how they all got to be straight A students with above average reading skills.), everyone brings a log as well. There are the coolers, water containers, animal cages, animal toiletries (to coin a phrase), animal food, cleaners, disinfectants, deodorizers, etc. There are the tool boxes, craft boxes, and my office box (a box that carries all the paperwork, marketing material, maps, contracts, etc. ). Then there is the newest two boxes...the one with Buttercup the snake (a tote converted with a wire-mesh door, thermometer, hydrometer, fake rock house, water bowl, substrate, etc) and the snake food box.....a small plastic terrarium for 5 mice. We will carry a live mice trap and if that proves fruitless we will be visiting feed and pet stores across country.
Then there are the hats that Miles and us wear...on stage and off that get there own special packing. ..........
The vehicles have been inspected, tires rotated, oil changed, fluids topped off, engines and transmissions checked, filters checked or changed, and tomorrow they get washed.
So after all that do you want to be in a traveling show?

The Theater

I presented my proposal today to the theater board and most seem to really like it. I should say all in attendance liked it. There was one gent from the world of the upper crust and academia who wasn't present that panned it (I had sent advanced copies to the board) before ever hearing from me. Can't please everyone. It seems he wanted to maintain a course that has been tested and failed time after time for this particular theater in this particular town. The board was looking for new ideas and a commercial approach. I believe I can bring that to the theater. Especially since I have vast experience and vast connections in the real world of commercial entertainment and not from the non-profit sector, or the world of college arts, or similar programs that could not survive in the commercial world but are subsidized by schools, foundations, tax money or the like.
Our approach will be a grass roots outreach to the thousands of people in the area who have never ever ever ever been inside a live theater and bring family friendly (don't be a moron and ask, "what is family friendly"....common sense rules the day here) entertainment. We will also have the artsy stuff that everyone should be exposed to for the sake of seeing things from various perspectives but it will only be house-produced if it shows the potential for being profitable. Otherwise a school, foundation, or some other entity will have to sponsor it ...because the goal is to keep the doors open...and if a show doesn't put butts in the seats or has a sponsor to pay for the use (regardless if there are butts or not in the seats) then it should be done in a park for free. Harsh? The reality is the reality and the bottom line is the bottom line. The employees, the utilities, the bankers, etc are not going to be happy unless they get paid. Our hope is to make sure they do get paid and perhaps help this economy out a bit.

Maine is a Go!

We just booked the Union Fair in Maine for August 26....then it's back to Cali only to head out to NV, IA, and TX in September. Heading off to the meeting regarding the Theater.....will update later.

Yes-NO-Yes-NO-Yes...will I just make up my mind!

OK OK....
A few months ago the opportunity totalk with a group to buy or take over management of a very nice theater comes up.....I'm excited. But the enthusiasm was mellowed with truth regarding a number of things already outlined somewhere on this blog. Needless to say politics and personalities and emotions get involved when you have a city gem, a board, and scores of benevolent folks who put their heart and soul into the gem. So you have to tread lightly, listen, pay attention and do your homework.
Well, cutting to the chase............. tomorrow (Wed) I go before a special meeting of the board to promote my vision and business plan. If I impress them who knows what happens next (read the first paragraph again about the personalities, politics, etc). So I leave it in God's hand and just present my proposal completely, truthfully, and competently....that one will be the hardest.
It would be wonderful to run such a place and bring fun entertainment to a community. Hey, maybe it will become Branson West. Smiles!

Enchanted Garden and more

Ever since I was a kid seeing Blackstone Jr Perform live twice and many times on video or on TV there were several things he did that I loved. The first was the vanishing Birdcage and then redoing it with all the kids from the audience gathering on stage to help hold the cage while it vanishes again... I got a hold of one when I was an early teen and have used it in almost every theater show we do. The next was Blackstone's floating light bulb and dancing hanky routine. Both I have had the opportunity to perform and maybe will make a regular part of the show...someday. Next was the Buzz Saw Illusion where he cut his wife Gay in half with a giant buzz saw...she was put back together only to scream then faint as the curtain was drawn and the stage went black only to have Harry himself step out and solemnly announce it was intermission time. Finally Harry's Enchanted Garden where he made millions of flowers a dove or two and more appear and fill the stage. Over the years he cut back on the size of the presentation. It was the original one in it's full grandeur that I fell in love with. Though the routine wasn't a Blackstone original his style and personality on stage are similar so it was his version I loved. It has been my hope to add the Enchanted Garden to the show. But the props are costly, the set up immense, and the care and time needed unending.
Well, we have started putting the Enchanted Garden Routine together and version 1.0 will be presented this summer with me and the three youngest Kent Kids performing it together. version 2.0 with more flowers and more birds and a couple of surprises is planned for November.

Winnemucca

We have added to our Fall tour the Tri County Fair In Winnemucca, NV Sept 5 and 6. There is still the possibility of a Maine addition to our Summer tour. I will keep you posted.

Enchanted Garden----Quick Change--Strong Man

Every season we introduce new routines, stunts, and/or illusions to the show. With the kids getting older and more talented their ideas and skills expand and begin to flow into the show. Likewise, we have a high rebook rate so we try to bring new things, while keeping the favorites, to our clients...keeping things fresh. Here are some New things for the 2009 season ready to go:
1. Princess Cynthia will add more quick change costume changes. We have had in our show's rotation two quick changes over since our Japan shows in the early 90s. In fact, we have back in the rotation one of those at the beginning of the show since earlier this season. However, we wanted more so we have developed a full routine dedicated to the costume change with several changes happening in the blink of an eye.
2. Strong Man. Last year I developed on version that had mixed success so I went back to the drawing board and now have two versions. Victor Kent Jr is our strong man...stronger than any man in the audience.
3. Enchanted Garden. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been greatly influenced by Harry Blackstone Jr and indirectly by his dad. As a kid I saw him life twice. One memory I had was the enchanted garden. he would fill the stage with flowers. It was beautiful. I have contracted with a builder who makes the flowers and we have started the slow development of the our own Enchanted Garden. It won't be until next season that the full routine will be in place but a sample of it will be in our three show rotation this summer.
4. Appearing Boy. We will do this once per venue and it will blow you away.

This weekend has been a heavy rehearsal weekend and I have been plaqued with a cold. In spite of that we have made a few hundred wands for the give-aways and sales. We have completed the building of the abovemention props and started practice. Two weeks or so until take off on the 2 month tour.

"Best Show Ever" 20 years!

This time of year we do a lot of end of the year gigs for schools; be it high school grad nights, proms, grade school or kindergartens. It's fun to do because once June is gone we go into hyper mode criss-crossing the country doing amusement parks, fairs, and festivals. Yesterday it was a school in Sacramento and that was a ton of fun. We did it outside. Today, however, had to be the best school ever. The school was in Santa Clara and the kids were extremely well behaved. I learned it was a "Basics Plus" school....no social crap clogging the system, not Title 1, no free lunches, not bells or whistles.....just basic fundamental education...and the students were awesome! I was told they score incredibly high on standardized tests, and they rank very high nationally. get this...it's not in a rich neighborhood.
Jim, Princess O and I performed and boy was it a pleasure. The principal said it was the best show they ever had! She's a little older than me and has been principalling ans teaching many years so I took that as a major compliment.
The Sacramento school folks, and today's school folks all invited us back next year and promised to spread the word about the show. Cool!

Today Mami and I have been married for 20 years! 7 kids. One marriage. On Friday we take a one day honeymoon...20 years late....but definitely needed! Best wife ever!

Sacramento -Oroville - Santa Clara -Yuba City

Back and forth to and fro we wander with 19 days left before the big tour we are doing the mandatory end of the school year school shows. No themes, no special messages...just fun shows for the kiddies. Today we performed outside at a small school in Sacramento, CA. Just Jim Princess Olivia and me. Global Warming, that mythological demi-god that so many worship, took the day off with a very cool 70 degree school yard swept by gentle gusts of wind. Love the outside shows because that means we have liberty in out juggling, and in some of our stunts...like fire-eating.

On the good news front a nationwide syndicated radio show out of St. Louis wants to interview us for a show we are doing in July in Missouri. More on that after it happens.

The new two-step prop is nearly complete. The bed of nails was given an upgrade, paint job, sharpening, and trim. New tables for the show...really colorful1 ( Made them myself.) The snake shed again and is hyperactive these days....I think he's ready to travel. made a travel cage for him out of a plastic tote box....riveted the top to the bottom, put a door in the top (cage mesh and wood) Magnet latches plus regular latches and a bungee should assure a secure environment. And finally Victor Kent Crystal Metallic Magic Wands are in full production. Costumes are be updated, repaired, replaced, redone, reduced, refitted, and re...uh, re....uh remember I will always love you....


Tomorrow a school in Santa Clara and Thursday the Yuba City Water Park public show at 7pm
Cheers.

CNR News Story about KFMC

Sideshow swell
Oroville’s Kent Family Magic Circus tours the world

Copyright Chico news and review June 4, 2009
By Christine G.K. LaPado

Victor Kent separates Princess Cynthia in half.

Princess Olivia’s ball python, Buttercup, wasn’t going to be at the 5 p.m. Saturday performance of the Kent Family Circus, one in a string of shows on the Garden Court Stage over the six days of the 2009 Silver Dollar Fair. Ringleader Victor Kent informed the audience of this fact and then proceeded to hammer a 20-penny nail deep into his nostril and then move it in and out like a slide whistle without sound (eww!).
Especially in contrast to my experience of nearly getting hit by gobs of spit dropped down about 35 feet from the mouth of some teenager on a carnival thrill ride called 1001 Nachts, the show presented by Oroville’s Kent family during last week’s Silver Dollar Fair was pure pleasure. The 45-minute act put on by The Seven Wonders of the World—as father Victor Kent and his six circus-performer offspring are also billed—made me and my 8-year-old daughter very happy.
Bullwhip tricks, Houdini-like escapes, fire-eating, dove and rabbit magic tricks, mind-reading, and the swallowing of a roughly 3-foot-long, skinny, inflated, pink balloon (that never reappeared!) were some of the many impressive offerings in the Kents’ “illusion-based variety show,” as it’s called on their Web site (kentfamilymagiccircus.com). This year was the Kents’ seventh performing at the Silver Dollar Fair.
Victor Kent and his six kids, ranging in age from 3-year-old Princess Olivia to 19-year-old Jugglin’ Jim (a seventh Kent child, who is disabled, remains at home with mother Mami), take their highly professional show on the road year-round—to fairs, corporate functions, churches (where, according to their Web site, the evangelical family offers the option of a Christian-themed version of the act), all over the United States and Canada, and Japan, where Mami Kent is from.
At one point during the Garden Court performance, the 5-year-old mentalist Princess Amelia came on stage in a long, fancy, red princess dress and proceeded to concentrate intently on a sandwich bag containing a light bulb until the bulb exploded without her ever touching the bag. An illusion that looked utterly real—I have no idea how she did that.
Kent with princesses Olivia, Amelia and Cynthia
PHOTO BY MATT SIRACUSA
Ditto for 17-year-old Princess Cynthia’s “Modern Art meets Circus meets Samurai” act, which looked convincingly like her body was separated into two halves after she was put into a Cubist-style box, and then put back together again—all with a smile on her face.
After the show, the Kent family relaxed on the Garden Court lawn, in the shade of the 15-passenger Ford van and large metal box trailer the family travels with.
“This is how we pay the mortgage,” offered Victor, surrounded by his kids, including cute 7-year-old Victor Jr., the escape artist, and “Indiana Miles,” his 14-year-old expert bullwhip-cracking son.
Kent, a bright-eyed 42-year-old with huge, silver, mutton-chop sideburns, has been practicing circus magic since he was 7, and professionally since he was 16. After getting “burned out” on performing at age 19, he got a degree in Japanese at San Francisco State, where he met his wife, who was an exchange student from Japan.
Kent got back into the circus profession, joined now by his wife, who had become his on-stage assistant. By the time James (Jugglin’ Jim) and Cynthia were 5 and 3, respectively, they joined their parents on stage.
“They would stand and hold stuff at first,” explained Kent.
By age 10 (which seems to be the magic age), each Kent kid has evolved from “holding stuff” to deciding what character he or she wants to be in the family circus. After traveling the country and beyond year after year, seeing numerous other performers, the children have had lots of ideas to choose from.
Kent spits fire.
PHOTO BY MATT SIRACUSA
From famous circus artist Jean-Paul Valjean, for instance, whom he met while working at the Tehama District Fair when he was 10, the young juggler James learned the Diabolo, or Chinese yo-yo, and how to juggle balls. He has taken his Jugglin’ Jim character many steps further, perfecting such things as balancing a huge metal aluminum ladder on his chin, stilt-walking and juggling fire sticks while riding a unicycle.
Miles, the bullwhip artist, also walks on broken glass, eats fire and lies down on a bed of nails. He joined the family circus at age 2 (and a half).
Victor Jr. became an escape artist after his parents realized he was allergic to the doves and rabbits he had been handling during the show. In his “100-foot Rope Challenge,” Victor Jr. escapes from his constraints “in less time than it takes the audience to tie him up,” said his dad.
“I’m crazy! I’m really crazy!” blurted an animated Victor Jr., as his older brothers mimed that an empty box they were lifting into the back of the trailer was very heavy.
“That’s how new tricks are born,” said Kent, smiling.

BALANCING ACT While they miss about 30 days a year of school due to performing, all the Kent kids are in the Oroville school district (except the junior high kids, who are home-schooled), with GPAs ranging from 3.83 to 4.0-plus.

New Old Bunny - Birthday - News

A couple of weeks back our Flemish Giant bunny died. he is the one we use in our Boy to Bunny Illusion. These big bunnies only have a life of about 4-5 years and all we ever owned exceeded longevity by as much as a year and a half. Our first lasted 6.5 years. Our breeder only had older ones left over the past few years so we had each of the last three for a 18 months or less. But the price was right. (Free). This dame of bunnydom is 3 years old and likewise has only a year or two left. (A little hint on their impending demise is their back legs stop working well. At that point we put them to pasture where they live out their last three months (or less) in comfort. We will call this one Bertha Bunny!


Princess Amelia and I share a birthday. This past Wednesday she and I spent the day with an IHOP pancake lunch, Toys R US, Dress Shopping, a Nature Museum, An Icee snack, and miniature golf. We had a wonderful time. She also gets her first bday party this Saturday.

Home baked apple pie was the treat on Wed. Saturday at the party it's cake and ice-cream. (the picture isn't backwards...the "?" is!

We have a new DVD promoting the show. Jim did the editing so if you want a copy call us 888-867-7077 and ask for one.

Our big summer tour starts in less than a month....OH, MO, KY, NY, CT, IA, TX are on the schedule with a couple of other possibilities still int he work.

In spite of my efforts to get out of it. The possibility of the Theater purchase is still dangling around. With the government's plans to heavily control energy use and put into place cap and trade I am reluctant to continue. Why it won't go away is beyond me. But there it is. Will have more definitive news in two weeks.

Unicycle Mishaps

When you perform 350 shows a year and you use a unicycle in most of those shows you are bound to wear out a part, experience strange happenings, or screw up.
Jugglin' Jim, the 19 year old juggling prodigy of our show, my eldest, has been using unicycles for nearly 6 years now and has used his 5 footer for nearly as long. As you learn the unicycle or uni as we call it, you are bound to have screw-ups on stage. The first couple of months this isn't uncommon. Jim was lucky however to run into Chaz Marquez(I think I have the name right) at a fair we were performing at. Chaz is either the holder of or former holder of a couple of unicycle records including world's tallest unicycle. He took Jim to the side and blessed him with a ton of information that turned his uni-riding into artful bliss. But all that practice and insight can't prepare you for the broken chain, the stripped seat tightener, the broken chain tensioner and the spontaneous popped tire.
At last week's fair on the 2nd to last day. The part one would least expect to break, the chain tensioner (a simple eye bolt like thing with a cross bar on it to hold the tension on the chain sprocket), just broke. It isn't a moving part but I guess it moved in vibration or torque enough to snap at the eye hole. And of course it happened as he mounted the uni. Fortunately the less impressive but function 24" uni was nearby.
It seems that if it is going to go wrong it happens only during performance. The strangest mishap happened with no one even near the thing. It was laying to the side of the outdoor stage on the hot cement in Hemet, California...high desert. By showtime it was 100+ degrees. The slime in the inert congealed in two spots and the relentless sun reflecting off the white cement and beating directly on it as well forced the air in the tube to expand greatly between the congealed points and BAM! It exploded. Sounding like a gun shot.
Then ther was the time that the warn slick ground (made slick from my fire-eating fuel not evaborating quick enough) caused the uni to shoot out from under him and fly off behind him like a rocket flying into the skirt of the stage.
So much fun...so many things that can happen...I guess it's the spice of life.

Boysenberry Pie and Awards

What a great day...got a million things checked off my list (OK maybe 10) including an MRI for my neck and construction of a new cage for the Sultan (our tortoise...took two large tote boxes, cut them long-wise and riveted/taped them together, added sand and rocks and vegetation) and to cap the day I went to the Student of the Semester Awards where Princess Cynthia got the award in two subjects. Now from my computer I go to the dining room to fetch a hot piece of fresh Boysenberry pie made 1/2 with berries from the farmers market and 1/2 from our own garden. Life is good.

Thoughtful

You sometimes this blog will be filled with the happenings of the day...sometimes with sill stuff...sometimes with inner thoughts and philosophy.

Today, I have been thinking about fame. As a performer you naturally want it. With fame comes more bookings....I love preforming. With it comes more money...who couldn't use that. I want that kind of fame.... so that we can get more booking so I can make the living I love and provide for my family. BUT, I don't want it at all if it means the type of exploitation I see in People magazine, TMZ, etc. or if it threatens my relationships or turns me into one of those celebrities on People, etc. If I ever arrogantly stick a 1" thick cigar in my mouth and swirl a brandy at a popular celebrity club and I am not doing it as a joke but am actually taking myself seriously in that roll then put a fork in me...I'm done.
There are trade-offs for fame I suppose. And few can handle it without those trade offs, I suppose.
People postpone having kids for fame. Fools. People put their fame ahead of their marriage. Fools. And I have noticed that fame brings you many many friends who are really fools because when the fame is gone...so are they. Fools.

Now if I were to tell you my heroes who have fame, or a sort of it (people who have handled it well and humbly) , then I have to name Jimmy Stewart, Alex Trebek, and JC Dunn. All three men were or are terribly humble. They love what they do and they don't get their kicks flaunting their notoriety. If people know of them...great. If not...fine...at least they get to do what they love. OK, the first two you know...who is this JC Dunn fellow? Let me tell you. If you meet him you will remember him always. He is a generous, kind, sometimes silly, always entertaining magician friend of mine (who is reading this right now...Hi JC). When we are together for a lunch or just hanging out at a store, a park, a nature center and we end up, or sometimes just he ends up performing for the workers, patrons, kids, whoever, he is generous in telling everyone who I am so that if they ever want to book some entertainment they will remember my name. Big hearted man! (Truthfully it drives me crazy because he deserves the fame and name recognition because he is the one usually leading the impromptu performance and has such a powerful personality. He deserves any bookings that come from these little mini-shows.) But fame means little to him. He just loves what he does and loves to make others happy. Sometimes I loose sight of that and that's why I am writing this. JC is a blessing.
My family has had chances at fame; we have turned down a couple of exploitative TV offers and fate kept us from one that we were interested in but turned out to be a bad choice. In fact, if we can control the content we would take a good TV deal. But anything that could wiggle into the delicate fabric that binds my family and relationships and God then begin to eat away at that fabric in exchange for fame, or money, or momentary pleasure. Well you can keep it.

Penguins---Appearing Kids and Glasses

The Penguin suit we ordered a long time ago from Peru came today. It's a member of our strolling acts. We call him Pal and he is awfully cute. But Princess Amelia in helping her big bro Miles out decided to pull the suit open like velcro jamming and breaking the zipper....Mama has some sewing. Still It's cut....here is a picture>>>

We also have bought rights to a new illsuion that is fast and very cool. An instant appearance of anyone of the kids. It's so cool we will only do it once per venue this summer. Video coming soon.

Victor Kent is getting old. Most folks get far sited as they age....you know they need reading glasses. I went the other way. I have gone a tad near sited....so I now have glasses....mostly for driving at night and after long show days. Here is a pix:

Schoolarly...huh?

Chances are the only time you will see them is if you see me driving at night or on after a loooong day.

After a deep, long winded blog yesturday I am keeping it short and sweet today.

Blessings on you.

Last day at the Silver Dollar Fair---Confrontations and resolutions

Memorial Day, the day to say thank you to those who have died to keep us safe and to those who were injured to keep us free and those who have sacrificed time and much more to give us liberty...to those men and women I say a heart filled thank you. I come from many generations of military and in fact I am the first in many generations not to go into the service....I am the black sheep. But to my brother in law serving in Afghanistan I sincerely send my gratitude and prayers for his safe return.

We celebrated Memorial Day with three shows. With the first show being the blow-out best of the day and the second being the worst of the 4 days....not that it was bad...it was the hottest time on the hottest day of the fair and the numbers and enthusiasm wanes in the heat. The last show was great...almost as good as show one.


My good friends JC Dunn visited bearing gifts; he brought us a bunch of tiny bananas and fresh fruit and vegies. I guess he saw the juckfood we were eating the other day and wanted to help keep us healthy. My best bud Bill Jackson (also a Magician) aslo came out to visit It is always a pleasure to see him. The little ones, Bill and I all went for a nice post gig stroll. It was quaint. Always good to hang out with Bill and JC.

I suppose there was a bit of adrenalin in Show one that helped. A little background will help. In the ten or so year past we have performed seven times at the Silver Dollar Fair. The very first year we met the fair-supplied sound guys. it would be a rocky relationship to the end.

(These guys aren't pro sound folks and their equipment by pro standard was rock bottom with feed back all the time and phantom power spikes often as well as a number of other problems including variable sound shifts during the performance. But at first they also provided the fair with a western band {local garage type} so I am assuming the sound system was tossed in of maybe visa-versa. I should mention that the entire crew is two men, both amateurs, both brooding in character...I assumed the mean one was the leader but the quiet one told me they were partners...but the mean one certainly treated the quiet one like a subordinate. Over the years their equipment hasn't really improved and they have both enlarged and actually do very little work in regards to sound...though I noticed the fair doesn't hire their band anymore.)

I don't want to sound negative...though I am sure a I do. This story is just to illustrate that even the glamour life of performing allows one to cross paths with the not-so-nice. I have found this more often true in our California travels compared to our out-of -state trips. Go figure!

We were told, that first year, to share the closet on the stage with the sound guys to store our stuff. The sound guys didn't like it (but management made them concur)and when we had gone home for the night they moved our stuff chipping a fresh paint job on a new prop. I confronted them the next day and was called a liar but they did admit to moving it. But they wouldn't look me in the eye the rest of the fair. (A simple, "I'm sorry, it was a mistake." would've ended it.) So we brought in a trailer to store our stuff and not have to deal with that situation.

(This year duirng their set up and tear down of the music acts that shared our stage the sound guys' speaker where stressed many times as they struggled with phantom power problems and other situations of thier own creating.)

The next year we had our wireless mic plugged into their system. As I mentioned their system was quirky and whould often spike due to their phanton-power problems and due to the low-end stuff they use. Any pro would put a limiter inbetween the mixer/amp and the speakers to protect blowing out the speakers. Well, during one of their spikes I pulled our $600 mic reciever plug out of their mixer to prevent damage to our stuff. He siad I blew his speakers. He became a stalker of sorts because after the fair was over for weeks he would call and eventually he came to my house hasseling us. To shut him I paid him the money he wanted and thought that would end it. BUT>>>>>

A few years later we are back at the fair. By this time we only use our own systems and NEVER get anywhere near their stuff. They considered that an insult. But then again we had invested in really nice equipment being guided by seasoned pros we had met across the country including the main sound guy for Merle Hagard. ( Who by the way concurred the scenario of me blowing that guys speakers was ludicrous. ) They took that as an insult and the valley between us widened. So much so that I caught the quiet one actually slamming one of our cords on the ground bending the sleeve of the jack. He didn't see me standing nearby and once he noticed me he did a quick double take then pretended not to see me. I confronted him and he denied it. I was vexed...in fact I was nearly out of my head angry. With no recourse I gave the family standing orders to always be present when our equipment was out. The valley was now a giant gorge.

I want to mention that I don't think these men are inherently evil. They have friends and they must being doing something right to keep getting their sound rebooked....even if it's the only fair or event they do...might be their price. I think we had a bad start and stupid things made the initial wound worse and worse until .....now. I also want that to avoid confrontation I have not confronted them or had any interaction with them beyond the unavoidable (and general civil) and the times I mentioned above.

Today, the mean guy was going into and then coming out of the closet I mentioned earlier. In doing so he hit the door against our metamorphosis box just outside the door. Quietly I said, "try not to ding the box." he looked at me a smiled....You know one of "those" smiles. Then without a word he walked off. I was incredulous. I was also near the end of meekness and letting this go any further. As I told our sound-guy-roady in training what had happened mean guy walks up on stage with a Sharpie and tells me I can use it to fill in his ding and "all the others" . (The box has a ton of dings....it's supposed to appear old...Houdini's Box....the point wasn't the ding...it was the courtesy, the "Oops, I'm sorry". ) With pen in hand he disappeared behind the stage. No longer meek I knew I had to confront him, no violence, no anger just straight-forward "what's your problem?" and get this taken care of. So I followed him....he went into the men's room and into a stall. I followed....but not into the stall. I confronted him...granted there was a stall door between us. He came out and came nose to nose with me. The chocolate he had eaten earlier rank on his breath....(I think he thought this might intimidate me) I didn't move. I told him that this years of junk had to stop. he had dinged my equipment and not apologized. He burnt out his speakers and blamed me...i detailed my research and proof that I couldn't have destroyed the speakers, he called me a liar, he called me an ass and a "crap-christian" He compared me to Dick Cheney (which told me his politics and them I knew reason had no chance) but he did say it was good my kids didn't inherit my crapiness. I kept on target...I wasn't going to be drawn into his name-calling, his ad-homonym attacks. I felt his anger and part of me was hoping he would take a swing. But I moved forward in this nose to nose and it was he who backed up and retreated into his stall yelling, "Crap christian" "Ass". I honked back, "Just the truth"...just telling the truth". I walked out to the echo of his "you're and ass. Crap-christian". (I should mention he considers himself a Christian. His term "crap-Christian" was meant to call me a bad Christian. ). My goal was to hammer it out or go nose to nose and let him know that I wasn't playing his game. I called him no foul names nor spoke any lies nor did I give into the desire to go after him in a personal way. I wanted to stay on the facts.
Some of you may wonder why I never took it to the manager. For goodness sake man, I am a man not a child. I don't run to the nearest teacher or mommy to complain. I try to work it out with the individual first. (Case in point coming up.) But I will be filing a grievance against this man with the fair board (in fact most of this blog will be included) since their is no rational way to deal with me mean -guy and his quiet friend.

Now here is another situation that had other results. At fairs their are folks with all kids of personalities. So you are bound to have personality conflicts. The owner of a small circus at the fair and I were chatting when he turned the conversation to politics. I told him it's better we not argue that. (He and I are on opposite spectrums). But he kept bating me and I bit. With the bite he pointed out that I hypocritically was arguing politics with him. The end of the conversation ended with me leaving in a huff and him going to his backstage in a huff. Well I knew I was in the wrong to take his baiting, regardless. I also knew our paths would cross many times. So I manned it up and marched myself to his tent and apologized for allowing myself to be drawn in. Then I suggested he and I never talk politics and for good measure religion. He concurred, then started trying to make his point from the day before....his grown son at that point said, "Dad. You agreed not to talk politics." And he quieted down. We then spent the next 20 minutes talking about the fair business and show business.

Both men had a rage inside them And I felt it. I have discovered that my son James and I have the ability to empathize with others....not psychologically but physically...we actually feel the feelings of others as if they were our own feelings. It's odd. But we have experienced it so often it has become undeniable. The problem is if someone near us is angry we feel angry. if sad, we feel sad. It's not that we can easily rationalize out that it's someone else's feelings...we just feel it. In both the men I mention their was a deep ferocious anger. But today I remained master of the beast and in one case was able to tame it...for now. For the other, there was nothing I could do. I knew, because I had no anger in me today, not even for the mean guy, that the feelings I felt were his. I saw them in his eyes and smelt it on his breath. And while I still felt his anger I felt sorry for him too. It's as though I glimpsed his pain. The circus man, I felt his anger as I came near him but I felt something else as I apologized (specifically for my being baited and being drawn into the fight). I felt a smugness come across him. I smiled. He was feeling like he had one a tiny battle in a life that has been unfair. I felt it with him. Odd, I also felt myself feel sorry for him that such a thing would bring such a pride.

God gives all of us so many wonderful gifts. The sound man is a good singer, well fair, better than me. The circus man a good old fashioned performer. I enjoy his show. They both have friends and are probably good citizens. There are just things that happen when the chemistry of personality and the sin of pride rules our lives. And it is often not very pleasant. I will include myself in there too.

Silver Dollar Fair- Swine Flu? Retirement! Old Friends!

Day 3 for us at the Fair....
It was a breezy and cool day and with it came me waking with a cold, or is it swine flu? Which ever I took a massive Vit.C Dosage and some other vitamins and went to the fair. Grant it when I got there I slept until showtime (below).


We had a ligher schedule because the plaza where our stage is located was used for the fair manager's retirment party. He and I are pictured below. A vendor from the islands gae him a cap that matches the vendor's own hair....proof we are in Chico, CA.

Buttercup finished up his shedding and so was able to join us today. The gasps from the audience was awesome. They even became popular at the retiement party. Below Princess Olivia shares her snake with a party goer and tells them all about it.

The young lady in the picture below (Cat) is sporting a necklae I "magically" made for her over 10 years ago when I performed at her birthday party when she was 9. She hasn't seen us in all that time but heard we were at the fair and came to see us....she wore the necklace to show me.

Once again packed crowds at our shows. We filled the house everytime. And they were enthusiastic. The hard part of the day is the long wait between shows (one at 1pm and one at 8pm) Jim had two juggling shows int here too. But the party mentioned above took performing time out. Just like any kind of work slow time is LOOOOONG time.

We passed the time by hanging at the party and eating cake, Playing board or card games, strolling, chatting up other performers, or resting. Jim's girlfriend came to the fair and we spent time with her as well.

The new roady, Nick, is working out really well. He is interning now but will join on for the summer tour as a paid employee.