Happy Birthday, Will!

Well, it’s not often that you get to do magic for a 90-year old’s birthday party, but that’s what I did yesterday. Straight from the airport (returning from Las Vegas), I headed over to the Governor’s Mansion for Will’s 90th Birthday party.

For the past month Denverites have seen billboards and other advertisements causing them to ask, “Who is Will?”

Well, at yesterday’s party, Mayor Hickenlooper officially revealed that Will is — in fact — Good Will Industries of Denver. And that for the last 90 years Good Will has been helping at-risk youth, and disabled and disadvantaged adults in the Denver community to achieve self-sufficiency through work.

The event featured local celebrities, donors, and people who have benefited from the work done by Good Will.

What made the magic work so well for this event was that, Alison (the event planner who booked me) took the time to give me the background on the event and on her organization so that I could prepare magic specifically tailored for the occasion. I love working with event planners who take the time to ensure that all aspects of their event work together and complement each other. In this case, I was able to create a card trick in which a playing card magically transformed into a birthday card (for Will), and I was able to create another piece of magic that allowed me to talk about the great things that Good Will has done for Denver over the last 90 years.

Event planners who just hire a magician to do generic magic are missing a great opportunity. If you have a theme or message, make sure it’s reinforced and supported by everyone who contributes to your event.