Magician Darren Charles, thinking that shelves at Valley food banks could well be running low after the Christmas rush, is offering a unique way to help them out.
He’s holding magic shows in Duncan (Jan. 16), Ladysmith (Jan 23) and Lake Cowichan (Jan. 30).
“They’ll be seeing big illusions. I’ll be floating a woman in the air, stabbing a woman with swords and making her disappear from the stage, cutting a woman in half and more.
“I’ll also be doing the metamorphosis, a classic illusion first performed by Harry Houdini.”
The show is all kid-friendly.
“This is fun for the whole family, it’s all-age appropriate,” he said.
He scheduled four shows; the first one was held Jan. 9 at Cobble Hill Hall but the other three are still coming up.
Click on the image below for a photo gallery
The first of these is at the Eagles Hall in Duncan on Saturday, Jan. 16. That will be followed by another performance on Saturday, Jan. 23 in Ladysmith at the Eagles Hall.
Finally, he is taking his show westward to Lake Cowichan Centennial Hall on Saturday, Jan. 30.
For each one, the doors open at 5 p.m. and the show itself starts at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $15 each, but if you bring a non-perishable food item, there’s a $5 discount and you can get in for $10 each.
Asked what made him think of it, Charles said he is between careers right now and thought it might be a great time to get back into an old love: magic.
“I did magic years and years ago and I thought I would come out of retirement and get back into doing shows again. So, I’m trying to pay off my Visa and help out the community at the same time,” he said, chuckling.
“And as you know, just after Christmas, the food banks are essentially cleared out with Christmas hampers and all. This is a way to help them get a jump on things, to get them reloaded. I just thought it was a good idea.”
And so do we. The show in Cobble Hill on Jan. 9 was a crowd pleaser, with Charles and his lovely assistant, Meggie Stylez, presenting magic tricks and illusions that produced oohs and ahhs from the audience.
