Lots of stuff and a Wheel Barrel

Buttercup enjoys a pregnant fuzzy mouse.
Wheel barrel balancing.

Published: July 10, 2009 10:05 am
(from the local paper...FRONT PAGE!)
Laurel County Fair 2009
The Kent family clan performs at Laurel County Fair
If you go...WHAT: Laurel County FairWHERE: Fairgrounds, on KY 229 south of LondonWHEN: Continues from 5:30-11 p.m. Friday and noon to 11 p.m. SaturdayHOW MUCH: $8 per person without rides, or $10 per person with unlimited carnival ridesMORE INFO: Visit www.laurelcountyfair.comBy Samantha SwindlerManaging EditorWhile her father is blowing fireballs, the youngest of the Kent family clan, Princess Olivia, hangs around off-stage with a ball python wrapped around her small shoulders. The little girl is 3. The python’s name is Buttercup. And the Kents are simply fascinating.If you go to the Laurel County Fair this year — and I highly recommend you do — make sure you catch the Kent Family Magic Circus.After Wednesday evening’s show — to an unusually subdued crowd — Victor Kent, father of the troop, said he never lets the family complain for more than 10 minutes after a bad show. Nor do they laud themselves for more than 10 minutes after a good one.But Wednesday’s show wasn’t bad. It was great. The performance included fire-swallowing, juggling, whip tricks and a few magician standards — doves and rabbits that appear from nowhere, and a lady sawed in half. I told Victor it’s hard to compete with a beauty pageant, a truck pull, and numerous local churches — Wednesday is a tough night. Victor wasn’t concerned. He’s done all this before.The Kents hail from California, but they spend nearly the entire year on the road, performing more than 350 shows annually while touring in two passenger vans across the country. Victor Kent always had a fascination with magic. And while in college majoring in Japanese, he met Mami, an exchange student from Japan. They hit it off and were married two years later. The couple — and their growing number of children — lived and performed in Japan until moving back to California in 1995. Over the years, their children became a part of Victor’s act and transformed it from a traditional magic show to a circus of the performing arts.Six of the seven Kent children perform with the circus — Indiana Miles, who uses a whip; Cynthia, who gets cut in half; Victor Jr., the escape artist; Jugglin’ Jim, whose talent is obvious; and the two youngest daughters, Amelia and Olivia.Sitting at the edge of the stage after Wednesday evening’s performance, Victor talks about how his wife needed an emergency C-section when Amelia was born because the baby kept twisting positions during delivery. Victor joked she was a born contortionist — but in fact, Amelia, age 6, claims to be able to read minds. After the show, she’s sitting in her father’s lap. My friend Charity — who now accompanies me annually to the fair — asks, “What am I thinking now?”Amelia smiles and says coyly, “nothing.”I don’t know, she might be on to something...The fair runs through Saturday at the Laurel County Fairgrounds off KY 229 near London. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.laurelcountyfair.com/schedule.htm.



Below is from another local paper.

We stopped by a pet store to pick up some supplies and this little fishy was for sale...no we didn't buy it.

Three great audiences…three full audiences…three lively audiences! Awesome! PTL!
While at Lowes James and I saw a wheel barrel and I suggested he add it to his act…balancing it on his hands and chin. So we bought it and after an hour of practice he had a show stopper and a crowd please. The response was amazing.
I noticed one the snakes lunch box occupants was preganant. That means all five that I bought were pregnant…and that meant we would come to have over 20 babies….I called the democrats because their eyes were closed and they relied completely on their mother and lived by sucking the teat of it’s mom (Mom being a metaphor of government.) Then when their eyes open and they start fending for themselves I called them conservatives.
When we arrived at the fair and in our building there was a giant Royal Wlanut moth on the floor. Very beautiful.
Overcast and comfortable though a bit humid today…no complaints from me.
The little girls in our group befriended a couple of teen age girls whose folks are working at the fair. (One of the is Katelyn, the girl who likes Miles.) Both girls were wonderful to Olivia and Amelia and even taught them how to use their cell phone cameras and stuff like that. Ice fights were part of the games too.
It was a great day!