Awesome Day 2 at the Fair

Compared to last year the weather is fantastic. Low humidity, no rain, low 90s....awwww!
Nice sized crowds for the first two days. The seats were full at every show.   The vendors have been appreciating our promoting them and as a result we have been appreciating the lemonade slushies, deep fried dill pickles and deep fried cheese.

The Zibit, or side show "strange thing" has been going well. The reactions have been great with people having all kinds of guesses as to what the "thing" is. Mermaid, fetus, alien, crab-human, demon, etc.  One young man came in and slowly walked around the exhibit to look and he stood far away and stared for a few seconds then he ran out creaming (he was in his 20s) and he called his friends over to check it out.  They reacted the same way. They thought is was proof of aliens.

Mami and Titus came out today but did not perform. They will tomorrow. Mami's new routine is going to kill.
Lots of pictures below and an article that ran Friday....I did the interview from home last week.

From the local paper June 15 (http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012306120052&nclick_check=1)

CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — With everything from monster trucks to a petting zoo to the Kent Family Magic Circus, the County Fair at the Clarksville Speedway Speedway and Fairgrounds is a mix of modern and old- fashioned fun. Best of all? Both parking and admission are free. Yes, the seductive smell of fried foods will mingle with the scent of hay for five days, Tuesday, June 19 through Saturday, June 23 at 1600 Needmore Road. The extravaganza kicks off at 6 p.m. June 19 with Dollar Day, when all of the 30-plus rides will be $1 — delighting fans of bumping, screeching and shaking. A two-day monster truck show begins at 6 p.m. June 19 and 20; it is $20 for adults and children ages 11 and older; $5 for kids ages 4-10 and free for kids 3 and younger. Active military is $18 with I.D. Also beginning June 19 is the Kent Family Magic Circus, which will perform three free shows a night for the duration of the event. Hailing from California, a cast of nine family members juggle and eat fire, perform magic tricks, read minds, crack bull whips and fly on the trapeze. Victor Kent is the patriarch of Kent Family Magic Circus, Mami Kent the matriarch. They both perform in this traveling act and are parents to seven children with a variety of vaudeville-style talents. The youngest Kent child is 6-year-old Olivia, whose claims to fame are mind- reading and snake charming. She will arrive at Clarksville Speedway with her pet python in tow. The oldest is 22-year-old Jim; he juggles and balances strange items on his face, such as ladders, wheelbarrows and people. “He’s multi-talented,” said his father, Victor Kent. Then there is 10-year-old Victor Jr., whose newest trick is escaping, while in policeman handcuffs, from a 50-gallon drum filled with water. “I can see child protective services coming to see me now,” Victor Kent said. The young boy also performs a trapeze act in which he escapes from a “real, honest to goodness medical straightjacket,” said Kent. He also does the 100-foot rope-tie challenge during which people from the audience tie him up; if he can’t escape, they get a prize. The County Fair also features pony rides for $5. Free admission to Molly’s Ark petting zoo lets people visit a menagerie of animals including a miniature pig who does tricks. These features will be at the fair 6 p.m.-9 p.m. June 19-22 and 1 p.m.-6 p. m. June 23. Saturday night will bring skill, strategy and a bit of chaos. During the demolition derby, cars will go wild with the goal of crunching and ramming each other. Gates open at 5: 30 p.m. June 23. Tickets for Demolition Derby are $13 general admission and $5 for kids ages 6-10; children ages 5 and younger get in free. Go-cart racing will keep hearts thumping at the same time as the demolition derby. Tickets for these races follow the same price structure as the derby. At 6 p.m. June 23, those seeking a different set of wheels can witness roller derby, with tickets $10 for adults and kids younger than 10 getting in free. During intermission of the demolition derby, hot dog and watermelon eaters will vie for the dubious distinction of winning eating contests for those foodstuffs. The fair is produced by William Scogin, who co-owns the racetrack with John McConnell and his wife Debbie. Scogin keeps organizing the fair — despite the time and money required to produce it — for a simple reason: “Our city doesn’t have enough to do now.” Scogin said the key to a successful fair is getting people out to view entertainment that is out of the norm. “Monster trucks, demolition derby, the rides, the atmosphere, that’s not something you see all the time,” he said. “We don’t have that a lot around here, so that’s what makes it unique.” And one certainly doesn’t see a family of vaudeville performers every day. “The magic show was full every time I turned around last year,” Scogin said. “They had a standing crowd ... the petting zoo is the same way.”

Clarksville Fair 2012 Day 1

Today was set up day.  The carnival peeved a few people off by setting up too close to the front eating up our performing space and other vendors' spaces.  But we managed and set up in a strange diagonal angle  and we drew nice sized crowds for an opening day. Especially a Tuesday.  All three shows went swimmingly in spite of the fact we spent the whole day setting up.
Miles suffered a sour stomach for most of the day and the rest of us were just plain pooped all day. The low voltage and occasional popping of the circuit breaker for the RV is a bit vexing but what can you do?
In spite of the tired bodies and minds the kinds nailed their acts. Even the animals did well.  Tater tot and Belle are hits. 


The rude set up of the carnival left us to work out one problem...a slant. So when I went out on the town picking up the supplies for the show (Mami and CC did food shopping earlier) I traced down where I could get some gunny sacks, burlap bags. It was at the local county farm Co-op. I explained my situation to this gent and he gave us 6 bags.  Didn't take a dime for them. What a nice guy! The kids filled the bags with gravel then used them to prop up and weigh down the BMT (Big Metal Thng) A.K.A. the trapeze. (Pictures below.)  As usual Mami and Titus stayed home this first day. It gives us the chance to check out performing and set up conditions and gives Mami and Titus a break. Tomorrow the plan is for them to join us. 


Here are a series of Pix...some form me, some from the kids. 


Victor ran the sideshow "strange thing" zibit for a little while today. Gave him a chance to be a "talker" (not barker like many people think they are called.


Also I found a green label version of Jack Daniels. It's only sold in TN and TX. Non "T" states need apply I suppose.


I sleep at the RV with the show and the family stays at the hotels. After the kids left tonight the deep fried pickle and deep fried cheese guy gave me some for a late dinner. We finished and secured by 11pm. Its 12:40 right now.

 Victor the Talker.

 Filling the bags.

We Made It!

We made it! we are finally at the first venue of our non-Cali tour.  As you all know we started late this year with all kinds of personal stuff making it so. But at around 3:15pm Central time we arrived in Clarksville, TN.  We left Kansas City this morning at either 5:30 or 6Am .....I forget. Anywho...it was early. We had to get here early because after dropping the RV and trailers at the fairgrounds/speedway we had to drop everyone off at the hotel so Miles and I could drive 90 minutes to Bowling Green to pick up Cynthia.
Her coach drove her the 2 hours from school to BG.  Since she arrived before us she hung out with our good friends who own the Amusement park, Beech Bend, for a while. It has been six months since we saw her last. Belle acted unsure at first but then realized who it was and went crazy with licks and love.

The drive was (PTL) pretty much eventless. One man at a gas station wanted to know what Anti Monkey but powder was and at the hotel a worker from "up north" has been searching around for it down here and can't find it. So we gave him samples and told him the retailers.

The kids have a bunch of photos to send me to post here and once I get them since we are settling in for a week I will post them for you.

When we arrived tonight we had only one frustration. The carnival people had all kinds of rides, trucks, and trailers in our performance area. They also took 60 feet more then they were supposed to but had most the rides set up so moving them back would be impossible. Waiting for them to move everything so we could drop the RV and trailer off took way more time than I wanted since I still had the hotel and the picking up Cynthia thing to do...also I had been up a very long time after a very long drive.  Still, I kept my cool, and watched my mouth...so mom, if you are reading this you can be proud.  (Mom is getting better form her surgery and is back home now. )

Gas is much cheaper here than in Cali....in Kentucky the average is 3.19...across from our hotel it's 3.15.  I took a picture earlier today thinking 3.33 was impressive. Still it costs us at least $500 a day to move the show. Longer if we pull a longer drive.  Head and side winds have been killing our MPG and gas must be weaker now because we are pulling less weight than last year but are doing worse with the MPG.

Below is a quick snap shot of the St Louis Arch that Mami snapped as we zoomed by it.
We also saw the Cardinals Ball Park.
yesterday we saw the Royals Ball park and right across the hwy was a large "Christian Athlete Association" building. Cool.

Tomorrow I hope to catch up on other photos and stories left out so stay tuned....I'm pooped.

Oh, yeah, we booked a headline act, a grandstand show in Michigan for August 7th! More to come.

victorkent.blogspot.com

I should mention that while on that MO country road fixing the rv trim a farmer stopped and asked us about anti monkey butt powder. We gave him a couple of samples and told him about it. He was tickled.

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Murphy Has his Law Day

Happy Father's Day!
We woke-up in Wyoming and with a tail wind we started our trek east and south. At our first gas stop I noticed the spare tire we had placed on the trailer from yesterday's tire blow out had a bubble or bulge on the side. I pushed on it and there was no doubt the tread was separating from the tire; a blow out waiting to happen.  We were blessed, however, because the Flying J we were at had a tire shop and they had plenty of tires that fit.  So for father's Day I bought myself two trailer tires.  (Later in the day we would notice that the sister tire on the other side of the trailer had a balding spot .....many possible causes. So at the RV park tonight the boys changed the bad with the good and all is now better. )

The plains were hit with strong winds today and the boys in the van noticed my awning on the RV was trying to open when the 30 mph gusts blew. We learned a couple of years ago to tie the upper part of the awning down (why they don't come with some kind of top fastener I don't know). So again we pulled off the road and the two big boys tied the awning top bars down.  About 10 minutes later there was an RV trailer parked on the hwy off ramp with it's awning ripped off and the upright bars hanging from the side.  A tip for any of you who plan to RV.

My mother will get home from the hospital tomorrow from the infection. Now she can get back to healing from the heart surgery. I called my dad to wish him a Happy Dad Day and he was in good spirits since his honey-pie will be coming home free of infection tomorrow.

OK, so in Wyoming we fixed the tires. In Nebraska we tied down the awning. Think it would be over? Nope, on the hwy in Missouri Mami and the kids notices some kind of rope like thing flapping and banging around on the windows.  The boys radioed up to me and told me the screw cover weather stripping had blown out of their groove and was flapping in one section.  We pulled off onto a lonely Missouri country road and I climbed up and started tucking it back into it's slot. Jim did it from the bottom. Fortunately, when I changed it two years ago I used silicon at the top to seal it and that saved us from loosing it all together.

CC called from KY and it has been a headache figuring how we are going to get her from Bowling Green to Clarksville, TN. It's only 90 minutes away but it could be a million miles without a way. Our first idea was for her to get a room in BG and I pick her up the morning of the shows (the shows are at night.) But BG hotels don't rent to anyone under 21. So we have a friend working on that end. But I haven't heard back so we have plan "B" ready.  We will leave where we are now (about 8.2 hours from Clarksville) really early and get to the fairgrounds, drop off the equipment, get the fam to the hotel then I drive the 90 minutes to BG and pick her up.  Her coach from track is driving her the 2 hours from Berea to BG. Nice guy! Saved me a longer drive, right?!

Last year we had a problem where the "brake" and "ABS" lights would come on. We paid two mechanics in two states to look at the problem and after changing sensors and poking around the light still periodically comes on.  I have explored possibilities....two choices...one the power steering pump, which powers the brakes has an issue ( i do feel a tiny change in the steering wheel when the diodes light up OR the squeaking driver's side wheel (which squeaks most the time but not all the time even thought the brake pads are fine might have something to do with it.  Maybe brake dust clogs the sensor?????????????????

The helper at the RV park surprised me in that his profile looks like my dad. He is bigger than my dad but has a strong resemblance. Ironically he used to live just 30 minutes from our winter home in California.  (Our summer home is an RV.)

In the RV Mami did a church service with the kids and I listened to a a great preacher on the radio who was addressing not giving up. Using Elija as an example when he laid under the broom tree and asked just to die. But he was feed by angels and regained his strength.  The preacher pointed out a couple of things.  Never write and important letter when you are tired (worn out). Never quit a job when you are tired. Never judge your spiritual condition when you are tired and never judge others when you are tired. I'm dong a terrible job explaining his point.  Needless to say he pointed out how conditions in our life can weary us and instead of whining and giving up "keep on"...don't give up. For we were made for better things and that is for God.

I have left things out from the past few days but will elaborate when I have more time. I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow meaning one half hour earlier than to day and add an extra hour lost from going into the central time zone.
Cheers...KEEP ON!

Nevada-Wyoming Yee Haw

It was tough getting up today....for all of us.  First night out on tour and it was all driving all day so I suppose that is my excuse. Still when we saw it was 103 degrees back home and we saw nothing above 85 today I'm not complaining.

Only our second day out and we had our first blown tire. One of the larger trailer's tires blew, and in a construction zone of all places.  The boys had it changed in no time and we only lost 13 minutes as a result.   Since they are behind me I got the call to turn around and Wyoming roads don't have a lot of turn around spots.  But as luck would have it I found one fairly quickly and then another one just 1.5 mils when it was time to turn back.

Keep your prayers for my mom. She got an unrelated to her heart infection and had to spend the last couple of nights in the hospital and is doing much better now.   Also keep a prayer for my dad as he is under a lot with all of this.

Below you will see a man we met at the RV park who saw our Anti Monkey Butt Ads on the trailer and RV and showed us he is a fan.  We also were asked about it twice today with one man at a gas station asking if we had samples since this morning he had to use baby powder.

Victor (10) has a new job. He is keeping the receipt book. He inputs all the expenses for the show.  He also learned how to do the hook ups for the RV today.

Cynthia called me and told me a magician we work along side of at a venue year after year has done it again.  Each year he adds new things to his show.  And each year it is something we had performed the year before.  Now they (his group) added fire-eating. I can't wait to see what else he has copied. It is flattery ...right?

We are only half way to our goal.  We have actually been taking the drive slow (10 hours today)...tomorrow we turn up the travel and go for 12-13 hours. Keep us in your prayers.

 UTAH!

 The salt flat in Utah....this one had water covering it and was a pretty shade of torquois.

 WYOMING

 Lincoln Bust outside of Laramie.

 Along the hwy are these fence like things in Wyoming an Nebraska .....we've seen them in other states too. What are they? Snow drift related? Wind related?

 At the RV Park.

On the Road....finally

After a great set of shows for a corporate event on Thursday we went home and did the final packing for the long summer-fall tour. Mami din't sleep all night. She worked. What a gal!

The drive was mostly uneventful from home to eastern Nevada. We will try to make NE tomorrow.
Our RV park is nice but has one drawback. There are "goat head" stickers everywhere. I don't think that is their real name but that's what they look like and they stick to everything and they hurt when you touch them. Taking puffy poodles out to doodle is quite a challenge. We carry them to a safe spot and carry them back. Such service!

Mami caught up on some ZZZZZZ in the RV but not until later into the trip.  We drove around 10-11 hours with lots of stops.

Gas is 3.45-3.77 out here. But we are getting 8-10 miles a gallon so wow!
The first few pix are from the corp event. Notice the salt stains on the black shirt on me in the last pix. It was warm.  The girls enjoying perks of the trade and Jim being Jim.

On the road.  Welcome to NV!

Victor Jr goofing around in the RV.

Wacky Wednesday

Here we go. Howdy all!
Today has been weird and busy. I've heard from a friend that it seems to be the order of the day.
Mom had to go to the hospital last night due to fluid build up complications but she is back home and doing better. Open heart surgery is serious baby! PTL...she is doing well today. Dad and big biological brother Matt both seem tired from the long night.  Keep them all in your prayers.
My dear friend JC is also sounding very tired as his heart condition is giving him some struggles. But I know all of my friends and fans have a way of making great things happen when you pray. So please keep it up for my dear brother JC.

As for us it was rush around and try and get ready by tonight for departure on Friday.  Sometimes I wish we were tap dancers...Then all we would pack is a costume and some tap shoes.   But a mini-circus is a bit like a big one with less people but what seems like the same amount of stuff. OK, I exaggerated a bit. Still it was a day where everyone had things to do...all of our dance cards are full.  Belle even had stuff to do today. She went to the groomers. Miles, Vic Jr and I hit the barber and we have had at least 4 or 5 trips to the store today for supplies or parts or something.

Yesterday I had to build a special seat for the RV for Titus. He got a new wheel chair today so I took the seat pad and back pad and put it in a wood box like seat that will be much steadier than a car seat and with the racer harness I think we have something good. here.  It was tough going building a seat while my right hand is recovering from tendinitis. I aggravated it by using power tools.

Miles and Jim have been loading, cleaning, organizing, etc.  It has been nuts

I think God wanted us to slow down a bit and he sent some friends over to visit.  It was a nice visit. The kids met these friends in Gymnastics and their Mom, Hlee, helped at our State Theater Show. I wish we had more time to spend with them but we had to get back to loading. In fact, that is what I should be doing now so I bid you adieu.
Tomorrow we have an all day corporate gig and will return late.  My next entry might be a day or two.
Love to you all. Blessings!

23 Years Of Bliss

Today Mami and I celebrated our 23rd  anniversary. She has only gotten more beautiful and more wonderful . She got the better end of the deal as far as I am concerned.  The funny thing is everyone, including us, totally forgot about it until at around 2pm Mami and I remembered.
At that  moment I was holding Tator-tot (poodle), who has been considered my dog, and I handed him to her and said Happy Anniversary. So Tator is now hers. Which he has slowly become anyways. We Went to Tong Fong Lows for Hot and sour soup, noodles and veggies.  Thankful for Miles and James who took care of the Titus and the kids.
We also watched a great movie about an aging magician going senile and a boy starring Michael Cane called Is Anyone there?  I twas nice.
Well, we leave for Tennessee on Friday, but still have a full day of shows on Thursday. The graduation and mom's surgery has made things a bit rushed. But by God;s will we will make it.
Victor