February 8th, 2010
This from the National Weather Service:
… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TUESDAY TO 5 AM EST WEDNESDAY…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND SLEET… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TUESDAY TO 5 AM EST WEDNESDAY.
* SNOW WILL BEGIN TUESDAY MORNING. SLEET WILL MIX IN WITH THE SNOW TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
* 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW AND SLEET ARE EXPECTED.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW… SLEET… OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
Tags: Lynchburg, magic, snow, spencers, storm, Virginia, winter
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February 7th, 2010
We’ve been pretty much stranded on the top of the mountain since this storm started coming in on Thursday night. I have no idea just how much snow is out there but, guessing, I’d say we have somewhere around 12-14 inches on the hill. I spent part of the day yesterday digging out the jeep and getting it to the top of the driveway.
Cindy let Carter outside so he could play in the snow. He loves it when it’s like powder – not so much when it’s icy. He’s more talented than we thought though. As I started back into the house, I noticed he’d built a snowman!
Okay, so he took a little bite out of the snowman’s head but, other than that, he did a fairly good job….for a dog!
After digging out the jeep, Cindy and I decided to venture off the mountain and explore. We made it easily down the hill where we found the main roads clean and clear. My first stop was Five Guys Burgers & Fries (Cindy chose to go to Subway next door). I love these burgers!
We stopped at a few other places – Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Pier One, and TJ Maxx. After a little fun, it was time to head back home. I still needed to dig out the car and it was at the bottom of the driveway! That only took about 2.5 hours. Have I mentioned how much I dislike the snow?
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February 6th, 2010
It’s Saturday and still snowing in Virginia. It’s been snowing now since late Thursday night. I’m not sure how much we’ve gotten but it’s piling up. Here’s a look out my back door.
We were supposed to be performing at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA tonight. It’s a good thing they decided to reschedule this show – that theatre would have been empty for sure!
I’m sitting in my office looking out my window. It’s snowing HARD – medium size flakes fluttering through the trees and to the ground. So far, we’ve had tiny flakes, medium flakes, and big flakes. Tiny flakes scare me the most. I remember growing up in Indiana and hearing someone say, “If the flakes are small, that means lots of accumulation.” Well, if what we have on the ground is any indication, I think that saying could be true.
I guess I’m going to try and relax this weekend. I’m still so far behind on some of my paperwork, this “forced vacation” might give me the opportunity to actually get my life organized. Yesterday, Cindy and I enjoyed just lounging around the house. It was great to spend some time together at home without the worries of “life on the road.”
Just for your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of other pictures of the snow around our house.
We’ll see you all again when we dig out of this mess. On Thursday, we head to North Carolina and continue on to Alabama and Florida for the rest of February. I can feel the warmer temperatures right around the corner!
Tags: snow storm, Spencers Magic, Virginia
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February 4th, 2010
This from the National Weather Service….it’s gonna be a fun weekend!
… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM FRIDAY TO 10 PM EST SATURDAY…
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM FRIDAY TO 10 PM EST SATURDAY.
* SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE TONIGHT. THE SNOW WILL BRIEFLY CHANGE TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN BY AFTERNOON… BEFORE CHANGING BACK TO SNOW LATE FRIDAY NIGHT. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.
* LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OF 10 TO 18 INCHES IS EXPECTED.
* TRAVEL CONDITIONS WILL DETERIORATE QUICKLY LATE TONIGHT. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND ICE IS EXPECTED TO MAKE TRAVEL DIFFICULT THROUGH SATURDAY.
* TRAVEL WILL BECOME VERY DIFFICULT FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. VISIBILITIES WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED DURING THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL ESPECIALLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
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February 3rd, 2010
Today was a busy day. We had another “winter storm” come in last night so I’m the only one who worked from the office. Everyone else worked from their apartments. I feel like I accomplished a lot though – confirmed some dates for next year (the tour is looking very nice) and answered some of those emails that I’ve been neglecting these last few weeks (unintentionally of course).
This afternoon, I was privileged to talk with Senator Bill Bradley for an upcoming broadcast of AMERICAN VOICES – his radio show on Sirius/XM radio. We talked for about 45 minutes – about the show, the Healing of Magic program, and our newest project, Hocus Focus. It was a fun interview – relaxed and conversational. I’ll keep you posted on the broadcast date!
Tags: ADHD, American Voices, Autism, Bill Bradley, Healing of Magic, Hocus Focus, interview, Kevin Spencer, magic, Sirius radio, special education, tricks, XM radio
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February 2nd, 2010
We arrived home last night, leaving behind the milder temperatures of Florida and the Gulf Coast to return to frigid conditions in Virginia. We were greeted by several inches of fresh snow. The first thing I had to do – before even unloading the suitcases – was to shovel the snow in my driveway. This is not normal for us. We do not get this much snow, not here. Not like this.
I live at the top of a very steep hill, surrounded by trees – peaceful and quiet. I have to admit, on one hand it was really beautiful…until I got out of the jeep!
Right now, it’s snowing again. We are under a “winter storm advisory” through the rest of the night. Temperatures should warm up again on Wednesday and Thursday but – wait for it – another winter storm is moving in on Friday and Saturday. Our performance this weekend at the Ferguson Center in Newport News, VA has been rescheduled for May 21. I think that’s a great idea!
So, we’re going to stay in the house for a few days. I’m going to work in my office, catch up on all those phone calls, emails, interviews, etc. that I’ve been neglecting. I think I’ll have a few days of productivity ahead of me…or so I hope.
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January 31st, 2010
Our final show for the month of January was in the quaint town of Ocean Springs, MS. We performed at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center in the downtown area. The Cultural Center is in a newly-renovated school building built in the 1920’s. Today, this building houses galleries, classrooms, and a beautiful theatre.
Eric Zala is the Executive Director and he’s doing a fantastic job. He met us as we pulled into the loading area, gave me a quick tour of the stage and backstage area, and introduced me to the technical director, Derrick. Cindy and the guys scoped the stage to figure out where it was all going to go and load in commenced!
It’s a good thing we had lots and lots of guys to help – load in was a little more interesting than usual. BUT there guys got it all in…and won’t have to visit the local gym for a few weeks (lots of lifting involved). Once we were in, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful – scenery, lighting, focus, tech, and show time!
The great news of the day was the show was completely sold out – they even set up a few additional chairs to accommodate the “extras.” The show had generated lots of media attention – 3 prominent features in area newspaper – and the excitement in the audience was palpable. This was an amazing crowd – enthusiastic, responsive, and great volunteers.
One of my high school friends – John Duke – his wife (Leanne) and their daughter (Zoe) drove in from Pensacola to see the show. Afterwards, we hit the local Denny’s and had the chance to visit. Ocean Springs, MS was a great way to wrap up January 2010!
Tags: illusion, magic, Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center, Ocean Springs, spencers, Theatre of Illusion
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January 29th, 2010
We spent the last two days in Enterprise, AL working with the area arts alliance. We’ve been talking with this organization for 10 years about bringing our show to Enterprise. If you remember, about 4 years ago a major tornado hit this town and destroyed many of the buildings including their performing arts center. Since that time, they’ve been doing their performances in a nearby city, Elba, at the high school auditorium.
The theatre seats about 750 people and they sold about 950 tickets. Needless to say, it was a great audience! When the doors opened 45 minutes before the show, almost half the audience was there to get their seats. The excitement kept building – you could feel it – as it got closer to show time. When we hit the stage with our first illusion, we got a great response. And the responses were awesome right up to the finale – the underwater escape. When Cindy and I took our final bows, the audience was instantly on their feet – standing ovation. A big THANKS to Suzanne, David, Cheri, and the entire Board!
This morning, we (me, Ethan, and Alan) were picked up by Carole at 8am and drove over to Hillcrest Elementary School. We spent the morning working with some very special students there. We had a great time – you can just beat starting the day with big smiles, laughs, and hearing kids say “I did it!”
Tags: Enterprise, magic, special education, Spencers Magic, tricks
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January 27th, 2010
This was our first time to perform at the Levy PAC. We arrived right on time and started almost immediately getting the equipment off the truck. We would have a more limited crew for set up here so we wanted to get going as quickly as possible. Keith managed to get our light board configured, work through their dimmer situation, and get us all patched in a short amount of time.
Things moved along very quickly. Ethan and Alan took time away from setting up the illusions to help me with the backdrops and lighting. Alan also helped Cindy get many of her details started so her day would go a bit smoother. In the end, it all came together very well. I was especially pleased with the way the stage looked as we moved into tech rehearsal. The colors were beautiful and we all accomplished the goal of our show – to create an experience for our audience that is not typical of a “magic show.” We always strive to provide our audience with a theatrical presentation of grand illusion – not simply a magic show.
As the audience made their way into the theatre, it was a great mix of older and younger people. There were families, teenagers, 20-somethings, and senior citizens. And their responses were fantastic to each and every illusion we performed on the stage. Afterwards, in the lobby, I had the chance to get pictures taken, sign autographs, and listen to patrons share their favorite moments in the show. It was very rewarding!
We’ve just arrived in Enterprise, AL for a show here on Thursday night.
Tags: illusion, Lake City, Levy Performing Arts Center, magic, spencers
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January 25th, 2010
After the show at the Flagler Auditorium, I saw a posting on one of our YouTube videos from “loveorskate69.” He was at the show and is a pretty amazing sketch artist. He has several videos online that you can check out. I asked him to make a drawing of me…and he did. So, check it out!
Tags: drawing, Flagler Auditorium, Kevin Spencer, loveorskate69, sketch, YouTube
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