A Magical Night in Chi-Town

Last week I drove to Minneapolis and met up with DonB! and Mike Norton. From there we loaded up and headed to Chicago, with a very important stop at Steak and Shake in Rockford.

After arriving in Chicago we set up our table in the dealers room and started looking at what everyone else brought. Before doors even opened I had already bought a head turner and had it stored under our table.

It was a great time. 40 tables full of magic tricks, some big name magicians walking around (Brett Daniels among others), and more magicians than I could count. After it was done, we packed up and made the 8 hour track back home. A long day to be sure.

Ronald McDonald

So after the WCA convention I flew to Denver where I was able to teach at a One Way Street Puppet Festival. Following the festival I was at Discovery Church of Parker before meeting up with Ronald McDonald. I have toured with him for one week and have one to go. We have been up to Alliance, Nebraska and down to Colorado Springs, CO. I'm doing some puppets and crowd warm-up at school shows and "on-lot" programs. It's been fun!

World Clown Association Convention

I just spent a week in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was my first time visiting the neighboring nation and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone was friendly and accommodating.

My father and I traveled to the WCA convention with Janet and Larry Tucker (my faux-grandparents). I was able to make a lot of new friends like Eric Zander (former Ringling clown), Uncle Fishy (Edward from Malaysia), Greg (MN) and Martin (India). I was also able to hang out with some old friends as well.

A couple of people I was looking forward to seeing were Arthur Pedlar and Alan Whitely. Sadly they were not able to make it from the UK because of the volcanic activity and ash in the air over Iceland. Because they did not come I volunteered to pick up a couple of their classes and I was able to teach at the first convention I attended!

The guest entertainer and lecturer was Avner "the Eccentric" Eisenberg. Not enough can be said about this man. He is a thinker, a teacher and an incredible performer. Don't believe me? Check him out at www.avnertheeccentric.com

Thank you to all those who made me feel at home. I loved every minute of it and I hope to see you again soon.

Ministry Promo Video

Here is a new video. Shane Christensen shot it at the Melrose, MN High School. Special thanks to Tri-City Christian Center and Pastor Bob Bernard.

L.O.L. Tour Fundraiser

Don Bursell, Randy Christensen and myself are hitting the road again this August. Last summer we performed the L.O.L. Tour in Wisconsin and Illinois. We had standing ovations and everyone was able to Laugh Out Loud. Look for it this year in Minnesota and North Dakota (possibly more locations)!

New Book!

Hey everyone. My first book was just released! Well, second if you count the basic clown book that I wrote in 2nd grade.

It is entitled "Juggling Ministry Routines" and contains 11 Bible based routines complete with references and additional thoughts. I would like to say a special thanks to Del Wilson for an idea accompanying a routine I wrote around the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Another thanks goes out to my parents for encouragement and letting me run countless ideas past them.

If you are interested in a copy you can get it off the online store. www.BenComedy.com/product

Cloquet Road Trip

I hit the road last Wednesday to start a long journey to Cloquet, MN. It is only about 4 hours from where I live, however there were a lot of stops along the way.

Wednesday night I was able to hang out with DonB! and Mike Norton. They both are local entertainers who travel and perform all over the place.

Thursday I made my way up to Two Harbors, MN to hang out with my old roommate, Addison Houle. Incidentally Two Harbors is an hour past Cloquet, but it was a good excuse to visit. Friday night we went rock climbing. It was a blast, but since I'm not used to it my forearms and hands were really sore the next day. Furthermore that happened to be the day of my first program.

I shortened my practice session before the program and made sure to get in some extra stretching. I was still a little worried that I would not be too sharp in the juggling area. Once I walked on stage the adrenaline kicked in and the show went great... so did the juggling.

Thanks to everyone in Cloquet! It was a blast!