Family Camp

Memorial Day Weekend finds us again trekking to Lost Lake in Shelton Washington. Also known as Camp Bishop.
Our church has been attending family camp at Camp Bishop for 35 years. Wow!
My immediate family has been going for about 17 years on and off...
Family camp, what does that mean?
This is a getaway weekend from Friday to Monday, some attend one day, some all four and some like mine just two, Saturday and Sunday.
Family camp, a time for families to get away and let their hair down, to make amends, to unite to even argue if needed. I saw all these things happening this weekend! A time for healing, growing, and bonding. The family of God gets together and we swim, relax in the sun, (this year!) roast hot dogs, and marsh mellows, play volley ball, Ultimate Frisbee, Wake board, Bicycling, and so much more. Laughter and tears (mostly the tears are from children that don't get their way)...
Great food prepared by every member of the family.
A new rock climbing wall was added to Camp Bishop this year.
Every year brings something new!
Young and old come to family camp, a different flavor every year as some can make it different years while others invite members of their family who might just happen to be in town.
This year was especially nice for many reasons, the sun was out every day! This is a rarity for family camp. Also, our church building has been sold, so much of the stress and tension from the last several months has been lifted!
I think we had well over 60 people this year!
I attempted to wake board but was unable to get up on the board via the rope. I had success several years ago, so figured I could do it. The people who own the boat had a nice bar sticking out from the side of their boat to help people learn the mechanics. The water was exceptionally cold, and I had a cold as well. It wasn't the best idea for me to even be in the water, but you know, sometimes we never grow up....
Sunday was a beautiful day as well. We held service in the outdoor chapel after breakfast.
I had agreed to perform a magic act at 8 pm Sunday night. I was beginning to wonder if this was a wise idea as I was sick, and hadn't slept the night before. Being a third shift worker has some disadvantages...
I took a nap around 3pm, got up at 4pm and ran thru the set I was planning. 5:30 rolled around and it was time for dinner, Camp Bishop's and our church's famous Tri Tip steak meal! Awesome!
At 7pm I began to set up my props. Jay Brunner offered to help and he was invaluable to me as we set up the room to seat about 60 people. At 7:30 I retired to brush my teeth and spruce myself up.
Butterflies took over, and it was tough getting them to fly in formation. What I am trying to say is... I almost puked as I was brushing my teeth.
I stepped outside on the deck area and prayed for help! Really, I asked god to sustain me thru the show and to allow His love and light to shine thru me!
8 O'clock and people arrived, the room filled up fast, and I started on time with a faux pas right off the bat! I had planned to blow up a balloon and toss it into the audience and have them bat it around. The third person to bat it was to choose a number. Well, before I could even tie the balloon and toss it out into the audience, I popped it! I had one balloon left and it was back in my room! I was planning on using the balloon later in the show for an effect known as "Needle Thru Balloon."
I had a friend go get my last balloon but went ahead with the first effect which was a new one for me, a warm up if you will. It is a math effect and it went very well!
Stunned them you might say! By this time the balloon had arrived and I didn't need it til later, but on we go...
I performed a nice card effect with some newspaper cut outs to predict their (3) selected cards. It went very well and created the needed momentum and laughter for the rest of the show, I was on a roll.
Next I performed a stunning silk vanish mystery with a nice silk color change with a kicker ending where the first silk appears directly out of the second silk.
Time for some kid magic with my rabbit puppet in the hat and some sponge carrot work. I had originally decided to eliminate this effect because the show was very long, and I was tired, but it's funny how things work sometimes... Just before the show I ran into a woman and she mentioned if I was going to pull a rabbit out of my hat?
I am asked this question often, in fact this is the reason I bought the puppet.
So, I figured it must be an omen and back in the show it went.
It is an endearing piece of magic and I let the young children pet my rabbit Harriet.
This gets a lot of the adults melting as their children are engaged!
So, now it was time for the needle thru balloon. I really like this mystery. It is quick and visual. People cover their ears and I build it up. If you have never seen it, it is pretty cool. I leave a red ribbon on my needle, and slowly pull it thru the balloon just before tossing it in the air and popping it with the point of the needle!
Funny but this little piece of magic gets some nice ooh's and ahh's.
I continued with some kid magic with a nice prediction effect with some jumbo cards and a child, A tomato magically appears and I throw it against a window, splatting it there for a startling ending!
Acrobatic knot was next. I have performed several times for many of these people. It is getting comical to me because I am getting requests for certain pieces. This is one of them. I think maybe they think that they will have an opportunity to figure the trick out if they see it again, maybe not?
After this I performed a wonderful effect I call change tubes. I have a child come up and help. We had an eight year old girl whose birthday it happened to be, so naturally, I had her assist! Four silks change into one and then into a long rainbow streamer, which then turns into a roll of Lifesavers which then changes back into the rainbow silk, she did all the magic! Wonder where that roll of Lifesavers went?
I then broke stride and ventured out into the audience to perform card on ceiling.
The ceiling in the room we were in is vaulted. There are a couple of beams that are 6X 12 I think. This gave me a surface area about 5 1/2 inches to hit. Not only that but it was probably 15 to 20 feet up above me.
I had practiced hitting the beam earlier in the day with a deck of cards in it's box. I hit it three times in a row.
Well, it was now or never, I had a card signed, lost in the deck and rubber banded the deck together. I mentioned that if I blow this, we will be playing fifty two card pick up! Up went the deck... down came the deck... and... low and behold... is that your signed card stuck up there?!
The reaction was tremendous. It started out from the center of the audience where I was and emanated in both directions. The applause was tremendous. My daughter and some of her friends who didn't attend the magic show were outside near the beach and she told me they could hear the laughter and applause way out there!!!
I really didn't know how to react, I suppose I could have done the Tiger Woods fist pump when he makes a spectacular putt! Cuz that is what this was akin too! Although I don't want to get to cocky, as you can see from the pictures, I got a little bit lucky as the card is sticking out from the beam a little! Rather be lucky than good!
I then went into another requested effect, the Legend of the Five Mystic Rings, with poetic patter of Edgar Allen Poe.
I had originally decided to cut this out of the show too, but I had just purchased a wonderful set of linking rings on eBay and this would be their first performance. I'm glad I did too, because I aced it!
Several people came up after the show and commented on it. One woman in particular said she really loved it, especially the poem that goes with it(Thanks Tom!)
I mentioned that she has seen it before, she responded that she must not have heard it.
Anyway, it was fantastic!
A little comedy was due next so I performed Vanishing Bandanna, Another requested piece that always cracks everyone up. This time I cracked up too, as I looked over the audience during this piece, I noticed so many people laughing, that I was was filled with extreme pleasure. I looked over at my friend Carrie, she has seen this at least four times and she was laughing so hard that I broke character and laughed out loud too!
Followed that up with my grandfathers bag trick, (the egg bag) and got lucky with a wonderful participant. A shy little girl that had everyone in stitches.
I normally end with the cups and balls and that is what was next.
There were many new people in the audience, friends and relatives of church members.
They were enthralled and this effect brought the house down!
I had one more piece of magic using a "Dove Pan."
I had the birthday girl return and we made some candy together. We mixed Karo Syrup, sugar, sprinkles and a mashed up candy cane into the pan. We used some lighter fluid to cook the candy, and using a break away fan we cooled the whole concoction down. When we lifted the lid off... the pan was full of individually wrapped Lifesavers!
I had her hand them out to anyone that wanted some!