LA Spring fair Day 1

The day started with my alarm clock beeping an me unable to turn it off. I had set three (the hotel's, my mini one, and my phone). I kept hitting all the buttons on the hotel one only to discover it was my mini one...then the phone one went off. Technology! At least I was awake. And as if to mock the weather men the sun was shining in spite of all the warning of bad weather. Well, that lasted for all of an hour or two. Then the clouds rolled it and it sprinkled a few times. Nothing heavy. But the cloud cover kept the warming rays of our solar star from warming tera-firma. Then the wind whipped up and put an end to trying to run our full 70' banner line. I also reddened our cheeks, chapped our lips and froze out tushes off! Thankfully we got most of our stage and equipment set up before the weather turned on us.
During set up we were called up to the VIP area for a press conference where they introduced us and I went to work as showman introducing each of us where we each did something camera worthy. Olivia and Buttercup garnered the most attention. I think it was her silly smile. Back at our stage KABC news showed up with the camera and filmed us setting up and practicing.
We pretty much spent the whole day at the grounds in spite of the show not starting until five. It turns out not only were we letting another act use our stage. it would turn out we were letting two acts use our stage and our sound. News to us. Then one of the acts was moved to another part of the grounds and the whole scheduling became a mess. But the three (acts) of us worked it all out and it turned out all good in spite of the low audience numbers due to the COLD!
I heard from a childhood friend, Gordon Wong, who lives near here. He and his family will visit us this week. I can't wait.
I will share more details of today and pictures tomorrow. But it has been a long day and a cold one and I grave the bed.
Good night all.

Southern Cal Commute

Through on and off showers passing two big rig accidents and carefully sticking to the 55 MPH speed limit for pulling a trailer in California we've made it to the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Ca (LA area). We were surprised when we arrived how cold and windy it is down here. Is this really Southern Cal? Sun tanned faces at the event were traded in for red wind burned faces. Even the director of the event, who always wears shorts, was seriously thinking about putting on long pants. There was on spectacle on the drive down. We saw a helicopter, with its rotor spinning, sitting on top of a tanker truck. It was one of those sprayer copters and her was refilling his tanks. It was very cool to watch. Belle was under the wether all day. She threw up a couple of times and had diahrea. But by evening she was hodling things down and through it all she had a ton of energy. Since the wind and the threat of thunderstorms loomed we put off setting up until tomorrow so we hit El Pollo Loco for dinner and now well stuffed we will hit the sack early. Shows start at 5pm tomorrow.

Plumas School Fundraiser- Elijah Craig- Etc.

After a few low months mostly spent wheeling and dealing gigs and sponsorships the performance season is kicking into gear.

Since April first we have performed 3 shows at a festival, one small stage show fundraiser for a school, bought an awesome new illusion down in San Jose that was once used in a show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. (wait until I retro fit it for traveling show status). Built two crates, booked the Louisiana gator Festival. Setting up a pre-tour mini tour that will include AZ and two OK gigs. And then there is all the little things that have happened in and around all that.

For example I spent a hour on Skype with a magic -clown friend in NY and chewed the fat. Then My dear friend JC Dunn came over for lunch. We manage (French for eat) at Boss Burger in Oroville (Best Burger in town) and shared some laughs. In the mean time Lukas, a good friend of Jim's, presented me with the coveted Elijah Craig Bourbon, that up until now I couldn't find outside of Kentucky...it is the top of the line! Then in a mad rush we prepped and got over to Plumas Ave School here in Oroville. In fact less than a mile from the house. (I bet the gas bill was still an arm and a leg!)

The show itself turned out pretty nice. Nearly a sell out with only a few open seats!

The kids and animals did a bang up job. Belle the wonder dog is an amazing animal. It's hard to believe she is the same dog from when we got her a year ago. She is so personable now. Her jumping skills are off the chart good.

Amelia did her hula hoop routine and though it needs work the "in front of the audience" experience will encourage her to really work at it. Likewise Victor, Who nailed his diabolo routine on Saturday's shows, was a bit off. But the audience was forgiving, and who can resist his smile. Besides he made it all up in his 100' rope tie stunt. It took the four members of the audience 4.20 minutes to tie him up and he broke his record getting out in 9 seconds. Perfect record so far with over 100 tie-ups so far.

The Chili Pepper stunt to start the fire-eating really gets gasps and was worth the investment. But like all tricks I buy from someone I had to make some adjustments to fit my style . The wows and awes I get when the bottle bursts into flames is really nice.

My friend Bill gave me a great flaming torch to feather boa umbrella trick and we worked it into our new dove appearance trick with princess Olivia...another Gasper!

Jim brought back his MC Hammer routine and it rocked the house.

I wanted to start the show with my Blackstone Birdcage vanish but was having a tough night in practice with it so I shelved it for the show. It's the same type of cage Harry Blackstone used.

In this whole process a client for a large recycle firm has been inquiring about using us as their spokes-show for schools to promote their company and recycling. So in between all of the above emails and phone calls have been flying across the air and Internet working on that. Like all such deals I don't count it as real until the contracts are signed.

I have to confess I have gotten a bit fat and have found my show pants tighter than the end of last season. I also tire and ache faster. Age, Laziness, out of shape...all of the above?????

I need to brag about Mami here. Since the show was close to home she delivered to us wonderful backed chicken and onigiri (Japanese rice balls, the kids' favorite) a few minutes before the show. Wow. It was fantastic. If you didn't read the blog about her being the world's greatest mom....do it.

Colusa Family Festival Cynthia update

So the season kicks off with our first festival of the year. Sure we've down some schools, corporate, and private gigs but those just get us through the cold winter. Today we had an hour drive to Colusa, CA for our 10th (maybe more) appearance at the Colusa Family Festival at the Colusa Fairgrounds. We have become an event tradition at the event.

On our way out we had to filler-up. So we stopped by the most convenient gas station on the road in the direction we were heading. Sadly it is also the most expensive. $4.05 per gallon! Over $1.25 over the same time last year.

Yikes...can you believe that....I just have to say....drill baby drill. I have nearly 20K miles to drive this year and this is going to kill us. It says I can get a lotto ticket there too...maybe that's how I will be able to afford gas...Lotto! Yeah, that's the ticket! (I'm too cheap to buy a ticket.)

Victor Jr is pictured here walking and kneeling on the tight wire. If you think it's easy try standing on you living room floor heal to toe, then kneel down keeping your feet aligned and keeping balance...then stand up again.

Notice the new Anti-Monkey Butt Banner on the wire and in the Background. I need the powder too, my neck was chaffing today from my tight collars.

They say it is dangerous to try out a whole lot of new material in a show. You should slowly add new stuff in and then let it develop into the act. Throwing caution to the wind we added a bunch of new stuff today....Victor's Tight wire routine, Jim Juggling on the wire, Miles bull whipping things from my hand from the wire, a new dove illusion, a new assistant (Midori from Japan) doing two tricks she had never done before (Impaled and Zig-zag), A new production illusion making Belle, Olivia, a ladder and a ton of other stuff ala Mary Poppins, Amelia's Hula Hoop Routine, my new Hot Chili Peppers gag to lead into fire-eating, and probably a couple that I am forgetting. Oh, yes, Belle doing her high jumps and her jumping over three audience members and the hoops they are holding. But it worked out OK. Most everything new went without a hitch and the small errors here or there were forgivable.

News from Cynthia...she did her first track meet and came in first place for the 400 hurdle. 9th in the long jump, scratched in the triple jump by hurting her ankle, sat out the 4X400 relay due to the injury, and had a bad hand-off in the 4X100 so she came in third in her heat. She also had a bad run in the 100 hurdles but mostly due to adjusting to second leg. Her usual spot is 3rds leg and the hand-off occurs in the opposite hand. Also the third leg is a curve run and she does those better than the straight runs.

I will be heading down to the Bay Area this week to pick up an new illusion...the twister one I wrote about a blog or two ago. Pictures to follow.

I wanted to add the that our fundraiser show for the Japan EQ will be APril 29 at PV high School in Chico, CA at 6:30PM. Sadly like all publicly owned venues they are charging the group putting this together. Everyone else including us are donating everything to the cause. In behooves me how public places that were built by our tax dollars and maintained by our tax dollars are often more expensive then private venues. CSU Chico's BMU was offered to us but they changed it to a discount rate of $1600. Thank you Ms. Parenati of the BMU. So we turned to other places. Churches offered us free use of their halls but many were too small or outside. Since the weather is weird this year outside could be a gamble. So we are going with the very beautiful PV theater at the high school They want nearly $500 but we can't do much about that. I guess the Japan victims will just get $500 less because of it. I know some people might think I am harsh sharing this. But if I keep my mouth shut no record will been left and maybe, just maybe, this will lead to more records of such things and things will change.

Have a blessed time until next we meet.

Victor

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-from-Kent-Family-Illusion-Show.html?soid=1104935934669&aid=NR27IRrPovE

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-from-Kent-Family-Illusion-Show.html?soid=1104935934669&aid=NR27IRrPovE

Aerial hoop or Lyra

(click here to see the actual page)  

Princess Olivia's Pictured used on Trapeze maker's website.

See Below!!!!!

 

Aerial Hoop - Free Shipping!

Carol Knopf hanging on the Single-point Lyra.

Quick Specs

• Made of 1" solid aluminum
• Available in three sizes: 34", 36", or 38" vertical inner-diameter
• Three shapes: single-point, double-point, double-point with flat-top (see below)

The Single-point Lyra

A completely round hoop with one attachment point. An all-purpose lyra that is easier to twist. It is typically hung from above by a wire or two ropes.

(Shown wrapped with white sports-tape.)

The Double-point Lyra

A completely round hoop with two attachment points, for added stability. When used with the optional ropes and hardware, it provides additional space between the ropes to perform in.

(Lyra shown has optional ropes and hardware attached.)

The "Dance Lyra" (Double-point with Flat Top)

A lyra specially designed for more aggressive "aerial dance" routines. Like the double-point, but has a flat top, making it easier to grab and manuever around.

(Lyra shown has optional ropes and hardware attached.)

5 year old Princess Olivia of the Kent Family Magic Circus demonstrates a few poses.

Lights Out-----Custom Lyra---World's Greatest Mom

Light's Out! Mid morning, around 11AM the lights went out at our home, which happens to be my office too. The predicted windy rain storm came. With gusts up to 60 MPH it was inevitable that we would loose power. Thankfully I had a full battery on my laptop and a little gadget from Verizon to access the Internet. I checked PG&E and discovered there were hundred and hundreds of power outages across California. Well, all this gave me a reason to get a new generator for the show (that we can use for home emergencies too). It's not gigantic, only 3650 watts. But it will keep the electrical part of the furnace running and allow us access to TV for Titus and for us to get news. The ironic thing, but somewhat predictable is that literally five minutes after getting it all set up and running the power came back on!

Princess Olivia is five years old and is tiny. So our 34" dance lyra (standard is 36") was too big for her. Her tiny little arms could barely reach across. So I contacted the man who builds these things for us and he made her a custom 27" lyra.....in spite of the cold and rain we set it up between showers and Olivia gave it a test run.













World's greatest Mom: Some of you might be moms. Well, I would like to introduce to you “Super Mom”. Her name is Mami Kent, born in Osaka, Japan 45 years ago I doubted her parents knew the significance of naming her Mami (pronounced mommy.) She and fell in love with the English language as a child so her parents sent her to schools where she could learn to speak English. From preschool to university she studied the language. She won a scholarship from her university to go to America to study for a year. It was during that year that we met at SF State University. I knew by our second date that we would be married. Two years later we were and on our honeymoon we conceived our first child. Over the next 17 years we would have a total seven kids. James (21), Cynthia (19), Miles (16), Titus (13, and disabled), Victor (9), Amelia (7),and Olivia (5). (It would had been nie kids but her last two pregnancies ended in miscarriages.) Mami is 45 and we live in California part of the time and Kentucky or the road the rest of the time. We’ve been married 22 years!

If the shear number of kids alone isn’t enough to qualify her for the title of greatest Mom then read on.

Our family performs a small magic-circus-vaudeville show that travels all over the US and sometimes ventures outside the borders. We most often perform at fairs and festivals but sometimes do theaters, churches, and the like. At home she is already a superstar homeschooling two of the kids and taking care of our disabled son Titus who cannot walk nor talk (he has no fine motor control and is still in diapers)while running the household and taking care of the rest of us. Though the older kids help her so much with Titus and the household chores, it is our super mom that holds the family unit together and makes our house a home. On tour she has to pack a smaller version of the house into our RV and manage to teach the kids, take care of Titus, and cook the meals. Since I have to take care of the long drives, show setup and performances, not to mention the business end of it all so she manages the family and the domestic duties on the road. I shouldn’t forget to mention that she even performs in the show.

To give you an idea of a typical day on the road I will elucidate. We may pull into a town, find the venue, and start the show set up at what could be any time of the day. Regardless, Mami takes charge of the family matters and gets Titus’s diaper changed, and the little ones out of the way of the unloading. She may be cooking a meal, finding a DVD for Titus to watch and doing a lesson plans for the kids all at once. If someone gets a bump or bruise she is called in as a nurse at the same time. If we are in a tight pinch for time she may even throw in with the older kids and I and help with the unloading and setup. Then she makes sure everyone is fed and ready to go out on stage. In the midst of all this she will get Titus into his costume ( we have even developed some fun routines for him) and herself into her costume. Then she keeps Titus happy backstage (being disabled he sometimes doesn’t have patience to just wait.) The she meets her cue or Titus’ cue, they do their routines and before you know it she is back into her smock either getting the next meal ready, lesson plan prepared, or taking Titus for a walk (she pushes him around the venue in his wheelchair) to keep him happy. I mentioned the costumes. You know she made many of the costumes and her and I both share the duties of seamstress when costumes tear or get damaged. Mami also has an integral part of the show design and routine ideas. After the shows and bedtime approaches she gets the little ones ready for bed. That is no simple task with Titus. He is nearly the same height has her and is very strong. We all help her the best we can. Converting the RV from daytime to nighttime use is always a task. Then, when all have been bedded down she finally takes time for herself. She is often first to wake and last to bed. Super-woman; super mom!

I should mention her cooking here. I know in today’s modern world some women don’t like to be defined by domestic deeds. But Mami is one of the most creative fantastic cooks alive. Being performers we sometimes have cold months, sometimes referred to as “famine” months. During these lean times over the years she has learned to take $100 and turn it into a month of great meals. It amazes me. And her baking is out of this world. I mentioned that by our second date I knew I was going to marry her. On that date she gifted me a tin with nutcracker artwork on it ( it was near Christmas) filled with five different kinds of cookies, fancy cookies. It must have taken her hours to make. On top of that she backed me an apple pie from scratch. The pie had a weaved crust with my name and a heart in raised crust. She had cut out the letters and heart in crust doe and put them on the weaved curst! The way to my hear was definitely through my stomach. ( A blessing and a curse. ) On each of the kids’ birthdays she bakes each of them a special something. For example, she makes my eldest daughter a jewelry box made completely out of homemade sugar cookies (like a gingerbread house) and inside the box with it’s working lid she places rings, bracelets, and necklaces made out of cookies but looks like toy jewelry. Another example is the cakes she makes for my second youngest. Amelia is into piggies. So every year Mami makes a different unique Pig cake or giant pig cookie. She somehow even manages to make these special confections while we are traveling using the tiny RV oven. On top of the special deserts for their birthdays she also cooks them their favorite dishes for their birthdays. Remember, seven kids, seven times a year (eight counting me) she bakes a special desert that often takes painstaking time and a special meal EVEN while on the road.

Traveling with a show is daunting on it’s own. Doing it with small kids and a disabled son on top of it all is down right crazy. But out of this insanity Mami brings it altogether and makes it work. She is a super mom and super wife.

March Newsletter Update

Greetings and Happy Spring!
I don’t know if the weather where you are is showing any hint of spring but I write this with my smart phone's weather-ap warning me of flood warnings in our area. The dam here in town has had to release water several times over the past few days and the forecast calls for more cold rain for at least another week. Makes it hard to practice the trapeze and tightrope when they are out in the elements. But I’m not complaining. Things could be worse....

In the above picture you can see the three race cars Olivia, Amelia, and Victor entered into the Awana grand prix. Awana is a Christian kids group like Boy scouts or girl scouts, etc. None won a race but The pickle car, by Olivia, did win for design. By the way, Grandpa cut the wood but the kids sanded, painted and decorated their cars.

Also on the home front I spent four plus hours on taxes today....but I think I got it right. The last two years I screwed up and got letters from teh IRS. The screw ups were in my favor but still two years? I can't spell and I can't do math.......thanks public schools...which is where my tax money goes right? Hehehe!

Japan-
I don’t know how many of you know that my wife, Mami, is from Japan and two of our seven kids (Princess Cynthia and Indiana Miles) were born there. We are fortunate that her family is located in southern Japan and are doing well. In fact, they tell us they feel guilty because life in Osaka is “normal” as though nothing in the world has happened when just a couple hundred miles north there is pure hellish devastation. We were living in Japan at the time of the Kobe Quake back in the 90s. We are not rescue workers, doctors, or experts in affairs that could help with rescue or rebuilding but we were and are performers so we produced a fundraiser show to raise money for the victims. That gave us the idea to do the same thing here for the Miyagi-ken (that’s the prefecture in Northern Japan that you have been seeing on the news) . On April 2nd at 6:30 PM the Kent Family Magic Circus with special guest performers from Japan will perform a benefit show at the CSU Chico BMU Theater. Here is the link http://www.chicojapan.org/Calendar.html .
By the way, I learned while watching NHK News today (love the Internet) that Japan lost quite a bit of coastline with some parts as many as 2 kilometers in are now 70cm under water (over 6feet never to be recovered as the area is now below sea level. The Pacific Plate actually rose several meters and pushed Japan a little closer the America by as much as 8 meters (1 meter is 39"). Over 22,000 dead! One American Confirmed dead, a school teacher of three years in that town.


Jugglin’ Jim turns 21-
You may have met him at one of the conventions this year. He was the guy wearing the red scarf balancing things on his face....anything and everything on his face. Well, he can drink legally now. But having relatives who have died or suffered greatly due to alcohol he is choosing not to. One relative has less than 10% of her liver use left due to her inability to moderate. But thankfully family has intervened and saved her life. Still, March 3rd was a great day for Jim, but a scary one for me. Victor Kent has two grown kids and one is 21. You know how hard that is to say, let alone believe. And what did he get for his birthday. What else? A very rare Egyptian scimitar for his juggling act.

Offers to perform in Korea and Hong Kong. Bitter sweet news here. We had two offers to perform in Asia this year. Sadly we would have had to cancel all of our spring and summer gigs and upset all of our clients to do it. The Kent Family does not do that. In our history we have only had to cancel two shows. Once, because the car broke down and the tow truck driver took 5 hours to find us. And second, due to a non-show related major injury the day before. In both cases we honored the contracts later for free. We have an ethical code we just can’t break. Beyond that we have had inquiries from England, Canada, Switzerland, and others. We will see how those pan out. We will have a Canada tour in 2012.


The BMT has arrived and the kids attack it like nobody’s business. The BMT is the “Big Metal Thing”, a freestanding static trapeze needing now guy lines. Not many venues can afford or does not have the space for the large flying trapeze. So we had a custom made BMT made that allows the kids to present their “non-flying” routines on the trapeze. It also allows us to add the dance lyra (a big metal hoop that artsy and daring stunts are performed). The weather has hampered their practice a bit but anytime a sliver of sunshine breaks through the are all over it. For second generation circus they are more eager than I have seen multi-generational circus people go at it. Our clients this year will be getting a real treat. Two young college girls from Japan who will be performing with us for the Japan Fundraiser also have taken to the Lyra. With a dance background and strong muscles they are naturals.







New original Illusion. If you like illusions you will love this new one. It was custom built for shows in South America. The first part is going to sound familiar but then it gets way out of control cool! It starts off with the “Twister Illusion” ; that’s where a person’s head is twisted round and round and their body ends up wrung out. Very visual. The twist is here. The magician removes the box containing the head and places it on a separate table...you can see under and around the table. You see the girl or guy’s head ...heck it can even talk to you. To prove it is really severed the box is moved around the table. It’s placed back on the box containing the body and then the untwisting begins. But wait, in an instant the person has vanished an is now standing amongst the audience. The props are designed as though they are made of bamboo. It’s a beautiful prop and a great trick and is part of the 2011 season.




Tour now up to 13 states with several others in the pipe line.
WI, MI, OH, TN, KY, IA, CA, OK, VA, NY, MA, CT, TX are the states we have booked at this time. Not a record but if we can book a few more maybe we can break that record this year. Though we have been doing shows over the colder months everyone in family agrees it’s the long road tours that are the best. It is amazing how much I don’t miss being a home owner when I am on the road. And how much I hate it when I came back and realize the care takers didn’t do as good a job taking care as I would’ve preferred.
April 2 (morning show and second venue evening show), 5, 8-16
May 6-8
May 27-30
June 2-5
June 14-19
June 27-30
July 1-2
July 5-25
July 28-31
August 1-5
August 11-21
September 2-5

There was a chance to add NH in there but they really wanted a tent show so too bad for us. Still a possiblity of Lousiana, and North Carolina....we shall see.

The Move. We announced we were moving to KY in January. But the weather across the country has stopped the gargantuan trek in it’s track several times. Every date we set for the move ended up having major storms along our route. So we have had to come up with a new strategy. We will be keeping the California house and buying a smaller home in Kentucky. The property we are looking for will have a large workshop and storage room. We will keep unit one there and unit two in California. We can flee weather and earthquakes whenever we see fit. It also keeps our friends and family on both sides of the country happy.

Support our Sponsor: Anti Monkey Butt Powder!
www.antimonkeybutt.com

Contact us if you would like to place an ad on the KFMC Vehicles, Website, emails, banner line, etc. 530-532-7933 kent@victorkent.com


Kent Family Magic Circus: Vaudepalooza
www.kentfamilymagiccircus.com
1-888-867-7077

Some Practice on the BMT

Nick, Jim and kids working out on the Static trapeze.

This is how you rig up the trapeze.

The BMT is here! (Big Metal Thing)

We've talked about it for a while. The BMT (Big Metal Thing) is here! Basically, as I wrote in this blog before, the BMT is a free standing trapeze rig. It allows us to set this up anywhere since we don't need to drive stakes for guy wires.

In the picture you can see the BMT in pieces. The low wire is in the background (it is set really low...at shows it is set 5' high).

It took Jim and I only about 30 minutes to set it up. And that was the first time. Now since we know how it will go up even quicker at venues. I think it will take more time to unload it than to set it up.

We set it up in the backyard behind my office. Our home has three back yards, the office yard, the play-dog yard and the back 40.

The Office yard is just big enough to fit the 26X23 footprint of the BMT. But the trees around it doesn't permit us to practice flying trapeze swinging and positioning.

But it is great for static trapeze and dance lyra tricks.

Here it is with only two sections of the legs on. There are 4 all together.

The Lyra (that hoop) is already connected as is the cable ladder.

Jim gives it a test.

It is so Big that I can't get the whle thing in the picture. The trees keep me from getting a shot from the sides. We will get better pictures and post them later.

A little better day....another booking.

So you like sagas. And you can't go on unless you know how yesterday's cliff hanger turns out. So you don't loose any sleep here it is. In a feeble excuse to just put mileage on the van so it can go in for the smog check due to the dead battery that cleared the computer, we drove one town over to Chico, CA, to the mall to get Mami a makeover so she can decide on her make-up for this year's shows. Turned out the Mall didn't have a single place that did that kind of thing. That' what we get for living int he boondocks. So we left and drove home. The drive brought us exactly 1/10th of a mile from where the mechanic could do the test. So I dropped everyone at home and drove the long way, just to make sure, to the garage. I was three miles more than I needed.

All was going well except my gas cap didn't pass the test. Can you believe it? Someone actually came up with a gas cap test. $15 for a new cap fixed that. Now before you think the shop was conning me they tested the locking gas cap I had on the van (which did have a bad seal) and the OME cap I saved (it was old). It passed.

I took the paperwork to DMV and for $157.00 my car is now legal in California. Add that to my list of reasons to 86 this state.

So far the day was going OK. Being Scotch decent I don't like spending money but the motherland required it of me...so what can a guy do. With a shrug I continue my day.

I avoid my office like the plague today. I just don't want to work so I take a gander at Facebook and notice a left wing rant my a FB friend. So I join in. One of his FB friends also joins in and calls me loose with the truth. Blood boils and I let loose a rant of my own and eventually get bored with having a battle of wits with people who are either half armed or unarmed. My biggest pet peeve with arguing with ideologies is they resort to name calling and then use unrelated equivocation to justify their rudeness.

Blood back to normal and boredom setting in I went on a honey-do run to the store for the wifey and find myself walking up and down every aisle looking at everything and nothing. Then back home.

Not wanting to be idle I decided to cut down some table legs of a prop that is 3" too high. I did a fair job of it until I noticed I cut one leg twice and one leg not at all. Now two legs are the right size, one is too short and one is too long. UGH I came in and sat at the settee in my office amazed at my incredible mistake.

Tempting fate I went out to the RV to Bondo up a small hole in the repair job I did from last summer's mishap at a gas station. That I can report went well....I think. That RV looked inviting so I took my cell phone in and laid out on the bed away from my squawking cockatoo and my whining son. I called our Iowa rep for the show and talked over this and that and some strategy....battery begins to die. So back inside I venture tomy office just in time for the phone to ring. It is an old client wanitng us back in May. Bingo we are booked May 17th at Country Oaks Baptist Church in Elk Grove, California.



In my wanderings today I went to the local Tractor Supply store and saw my sononsor's product Antin Monkey Butt Powder on the shelf near the register. Men's and Women!

Updates (March7) What a day! (added show, stuck in the mud)

As was reported on this blog a few weeks ago we have partnered with a company whose product we really use and enjoy, Anti Monkey Butt Powder. Part of the partnership is having their ads on our tour vehicles. Here are some shots of the decals on the two trailers and the RV.

There are two ways t apply the decals, wet or dry. I tried dry first. Really tough with suck a large decal. Though hard to see there were a few crinkles in the application. So I went with wet application. It was so much easier and went on so well. Even over rivets. Only problem is if it rained. Fortunately those ominous clouds held their water and the application was a success!










I bet these are going to get a lot of attention on the road.

Riding easy with Anti Monkey Butt Powder. Talc and calamine powder that fights and repairs monkey butt...aka chaffing.

Also today I took a couple pictures of Olivia practicing on the trapeze. She is only 5 but is working out a routine that we hope the audience will enjoy. She is remarkably strong.

I am happy to report we booked the Clarksville-Montgomery County Fair in Tennessee in June.

In spite of all the highs today. There was a challenging part of the day too. I noticed on my desk this morning the renewal for the registration of our oldest van, the one we have the lift in for Titus. Being in Cali it required a smog certificate. So I made an appointment with my mechanic and jumped int he van. I started it and noticed the "Service Engine" light on. Convenient I thought at first since I have to go to the garage. Well, they told me that means it's an automatic fail for the smog test because the light means there is an emissions failure read by one of the sensors. From past experience I know that most of the time if there is no power loss or engine noise it is most likely just an anomaly. The mechanic did a quick read and then reset the computer. But to be sure I should take it home after driving it a bit and try again tomorrow. They said I could go ahead and register the car since the computers at DMV wouldn't know for 30 days.

They were wrong. It's immediate.

So I drove the van to a drive in smog test place and they plugged in and asked me if the battery had died recently. In fact it had and was recharged a week ago. Well, they computer was reset because of that and I need to drive the van for at least 60 more miles before there was enough data to test. So I drive it around for a while but not enough for a test. In driving I past a friends house so I decided to drop in on him. Just as I pull into his driveway my phone rings. It's my wife with the order to go pick up my son from track practice. Since I was in my friends driveway I thought I should at least say howdy. So I do then leave. In backing up I back onto some soft ground and my back wills sink up to the hubcaps in the ground. Amazingly this same soil is as hard as a rock in the summer....almost impossible to dig through. A call to AAA and I was winched out. I planned on doing some more driving...but my luck was spiralling down so I decided to go home. I had already arranged for my son to pick up my other son. So I went straight home, hosed off the van, tires, and wheel well, then I went inside to hibernate until tomorrow and reset the day.....which will start with a 60 mile drive. Then registering the van.

In spite of all that. Praise God for life and that the day is almost over.

THe BMT is on it's way!

BMT "Big Metal Thing" is on the way. It is a free-standing trapeze rig for doing the dance Lyra, static trapeze arts and various flying trapeze practice. It will be utilized in most of our fair and festival shows this year. The larger flying trapeze rig will be used only at the venues that specifically hire that act.

It was built by a trapeze artist and master circus equipment builder in Florida.

In the mean time the kids have been training like wild to be ready to present their acts on the BMT! They have also been working with great vigor on the tightrope. So far Jim, Miles and Victor Jr. have become very good at walking forward and backward and are now working on novelty acts on the wire including bull whipping on the wire, juggling on the wire, lying on the wire, unicycling across the wire, and more. I am surprised by their skill each time I go out and watch them work.

On the hard work front I should mention that Amelia is almost able to make it across the wire and is also working on her hula-hoop dance routine. The core of her routine is down and she chose music for it today. Being tiny means the hula hoop is 2/3 her size. So some tricks are still impossible for her size. But that doesn't stop her. She studies videos of other performers and then tries her best to develop those skills. I suppose I should mention she has chosen her costumes for the routine as well.

We are a month away from the kick off of the season. We do have a few small shows between now and then but the official tour starts at the LA Spring Fair in Irwindale, CA at the Toyota Speedway.

On a note about our sponsor. I received the decals for the fleet that proudly exclaims, "Riding Easy with Anti Monkey Butt Powder" today. The printers did a fabulous job. I was able to get one of the decals up...haven't done that in a while. But had to stop because of a meeting. And now impending bad weather may hold up the rest getting on until Monday. I will post pictures here when they are up. Isn't it a great idea. I mean we do a lot of traveling. We did over 23,000 miles last year and we are on par to do the same thing this year. We are a moving billboard. Pretty cool, huh? I mention this because if you have a product or service you want promoted we can do the same for you. Grant it, we prefer products and services we actually use and can stand behind. And yes I have turned money down for a product I did not like and we do not use. Morality first! But if we love you, we want the world to love you just like.....

Don't forget to support our sponsors. www.antimonkeybutt.com

And for the record we use this stuff!

Tour Schedule (still developing

(Private and other non-public events not listed)

April 2 Family Fair (Colusa, CA)
April 5 Plumas Ave School Fundraiser 6pm (Oroville, CA)
April 8-17 Los Angelas Spring Fair (LA, CA)
May 27-30 Burlington Chocolate Festival (WI)...
June 2-5 Swartz Creek Homecoming Days (MI)
June 10 Westgate Chapel (Toledo, OH)
June 27-July 2 Laurenceburg Fair and Horse Show (KY)
July 5-9 Laurel Co Fair (KY)
July 11-25 Beech Bend Amusement Park (Bowling Green, KY)
July 28-31 Plymouth County Fair (IA)
August 1-5 Clark Co fair (KY)
August 11-13 Franklin-Southampton Fair (VA)
August 15-21 Delaware County Fair (NY)
September 2-5 Three County Fair (MA)
September 28-Oct 1 Titus County Fair (Mt Pleasant, TX)
October 21-23, 28-30 Calico Ghost Town (Yermo, CA)
October 31 Elk Grove 1st Baptist (CA)November 12 Hemet Mall (CA)See More

Updates March 1, 2011

This past week has been filled with so many things.

A few days ago it snowed up in Paradise, CA, a town just up the road from us . Fortunately, our good friend, JC Dunn and his wife invited us up to his home in Paradise for the kids to play in the snow. It was the kids first snow man. It was also their first snowball fight and little Victor mastered the art of war real fast. He was hiding behind a small bush at one point and I launched a pretty good one from about 25 feet way and nailed him in the chest. He fained he was hurt and came bent over to the deck I was standing on. He then walked past me and then turned and nailed me point blank. To the Victor goes the spoils....see if I trust him again.







Today was Jim's 21st Birthday. Instead of taking him out for his first drink we went out for Chinese food. I did advise him against drinking since both sides of his family has a bad history with booz!

Here he is making a wish.

Ice Cream Cake!

We bought a god old fashioned sawing the lady in half trick. Since it was used it had a couple f things to tighten or shore-up. I also changed the felt covering on the table for a nice Naugahyde. And re-painted the stocks and blade handles to basic black. It's a pretty little thing isn't it.


After months of homeschooling all three of the little ones Mami finally said three is a crowd and we sent Olivia to Kindergarten. Monday was her first day. Here she is acting shy.

Her teacher said she did well for coming in in the middle of the year and not knowing where things are or how things work. But she did keep asking about food. Apparently Amelia had told Olivia that they eat cakes and ice cream at school. So Olivia was waiting for the goodies all day. I explained that she probably meant they had it on special days...not everyday.

On the note of school stuff. Earlier tonight her school had a fundraiser at the local pizza joint. So Olivia and I went there and had a pizza together. The school got 20% of each purchase and they were selling baked goods. Mami's cupcakes (elegantly decorated) went like hotcakes.

While there we were gifted with a balloon flower by Giggles the Clown. He wore a jester hat and colorful clothes but no make-up. Still he was charming. AS he made the balloon I asked him if he knew the Kent Family Magic Circus. He said he did. In fact he got quite animated and told me he had the honor (his words) to see "their" show a couple of years ago and actually got to shake "his" hand. He then said, "Just out of curiosity, why did I ask?" I said, "I'm Victor Kent."

He just about jumped out of his shoes. He grabbed my hand and shook it hardily. He then told me he wanted to make something better than a flower for Olivia (I stopped him...she was happy with the flower). Wow. I didn't know I was famous to anybody. It was great fun and a bit humbling. So humbling that I just had to tell you! Hehe!

Some people have asked about Hong Kong. I had mentioned we had received and offer from them last month. Well, the deal fell through. C'est la vie! I would like to perform there someday. We've done Japan and Korea and Hong Kong and Mainland China would be fun.

We will be launching our new look for the website in a month or so. I have been working n for a while. The new picture Gallery alone is going to be a hoot. I spent three hours on it tonight only to accidental erase the whole file when I was done. AAAAAGH! Again, c'est la vie.

Well that is it for now. God Bless and remember.............uh, I forgot, never mind.

Belle's First Official Show - Routine

[1080HD] Magic show - "Wishing for you to get lots of fish year after ye...

Narrated slide show of the Kent Family Magic Circus

Welcome our first national Sponsor:Anti-Monkey Butt Powder

Last Summer while performing at Beech Bend Amusement Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky I mentioned to one of the employees that I was suffering chaffing around my neck from the humidity and my collar and bow tie. He told me about something called Anti-Monkey Butt Powder. I thought he was joking. So I went to the store that evening and looked for it. And Found it.

I tried it. It worked. It was awesome and the name "Anti-Monkey Butt Powder"! What a name. I started making mock commercials with the audience holding up the bottle and pretending to be their spokesman. You can see some of those videos on our videoblog from this past summer.

This past fall while putting together the show for 2011 we realized that some of our new expansion was going to require us to get a sponsor. There was no hesitation who we would approach. We were already promoting Anti-Monkey Butt Powder in the show so it was a natural. After a few couple months of negotiation we have signed contracts and the Kent Family Magic Circus has become the official Ambassadors of good will for Anti-Monkey Butt Powder and official endorsers. And they have become our first national sponsor. We will be promoting them on stage and off. Their logo will be on our show trailers and trucks and their banner will be at our show. And the commercials will go on, on stage.

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder really does stop chaffing, and because of the unique formula it stays on for a long time so you aren't reapplying it all day. It has anti-itch properties too and we use it to treat bug bites...that's not their official line... But it does work for us.

The Zig Zag Illusion Blast from the past

Kent family Magic Circus 2010 Connecticut Style

Victor Kent tribute to Blackstone: Birdcage Trick videoblog2-5

Princess Cynthia Interview do over....

Something is coming...

Telemarketer Fun Aka: "Fred"

Today has been telemarker call me day. I have been hit with about four in a row. (Three in the last hour. ) So I decided to have some fun with them.


One was looking for a handout for a local charity. I can understand that one.

One was looking for me to advertise on a local golf course. Still in the understandable area.

But two were looking to talk with the owner or manager of the company to discuss my listing in google, etc. Time for fun!

Ring ring!

Me: Hello, this is Victor Kent.

Him: (in heavy accent): Can I speak to the owner or manager please>

Me: Oh, god! Is this about one of or employees? Is it Fred? Did Fred do something again. I mean that fred is always getting us into trouble...

Him: Sorry. (Hung up)

OK so a couple of hours go by and another gent with a heavy accent calls and asks the same thing...(same script). But he wasn't as easy to discourage....but he was more fun.

Ring ring!

Me: Hello, this is Victor Kent.

Him: (in heavy accent): Can I speak to the owner or manager please>

Me: Oh, god! Is this about one of or employees? Is it Fred? Did Fred do something again. I mean that Fred is always getting us into trouble.

Him: No, it's...

Me: (giving no room) Did Fred touch someone inappropriately. He did that once and I haven't had a minute rest since then.

Him: Who is Fred?

Me: Oh we got in so much trouble...

Him: Can we get to business? Who is Fred?

Me: You're not calling about Fred?

Him: no! Can we get to business?

ME:Sure, what's this about. You sure it's not about Fred?

Him: I don't know Fred. I am calling about your listing?

Me: So why did you bring up Fred?

Him: I didn't I don't know a Fred. (His tone was telling me he knew I was messing with him and he was getting angry) I"m calling about your Internet listing.

Me: What listing?

Him: You Internet listing. You know, with Google and search engines.

Me: Hey wait a minute. I handle those listings.

Him: Yes sir, are you the manager or owner?

Me: I am the manager and owner. And I handle the listings. Why are you calling me? I am the man who goes on line and manages those listings!

Him: Yes, but....

Me: Unless you are me you can't be the one managing those listings.....You aren't me are you?

Him: Sir....

Me: You can't be me because I am sitting right here and I....

Him: Well (audibly angry) you're not me either.

Me: I didn't say I was...You called here claiming to manage my listings when I manage my own listings so you were claiming to be me and I know you're not me....

Him:tried to talk over me during this and all I caught was him saying) ...blah blah blah, havagooday! hang up.........

Scene, print!

Notice I didn't pick on the Charity telemarketer nor the advertising local guy. They had legitimate reasons to contact me. The other guys were vultures. They phish about looking for someone who will buy their lines then waste their money. They can't improve my listing on Google. Try Googling me or my company and we are the first every time and we are within the top five in comparative or relative searches. All without the help of one of these telemarketers.

By the way, if you start a phone conversation by asking for the manager or owner or say, "Hi, how are you today" and I don't know you....you might get razzed....just for my on fun!