After the show, we had the chance to visit with many of the attendees who were very enthusiastic about the show. Our favorite comment came from one of the firm's IT specialists who was especially intrigued by the "Spare Parts" illusion. "I think I have that one figured out," he said. "A three-part, magnetic, detachable woman!" Michelangelo was forced to admit, with a smile, that the gentleman was onto something there.

"This is a great venue," Michelangelo said while loading props back into the truck. "The portable stage was tall and sturdy, the room was set up perfectly so that everyone could see without issues with angles, and the staff were highly-knowledgable and very friendly. Plus, we had great access via the loading dock so our set and strike went as smoothly as I ever remember."

If your company is planning an event of any size, the Davis Conference Center is an ideal location, with overnight accommodations available in the attached Hilton Gardens Inn.

Many thanks to Amber and Sheri for providing us with such a great audience! And thanks as well to Carolyn and Emily who were indispensible at the conference center.

Michelangelo said, "We have never done a fair before. We've had inquiries on several occasions from fair producers, including the Utah State Fair and county fairs in California and Oregon. But the timing was never right. This fair came to us at the right time and it was a really fun experience. I was surprised how many people stayed after the show for autographs and pictures. It was getting close to midnight by then but we were excited to hang around for as long as they wanted us to. One of our assistants, Brielle, is heading off to law school, so this was a great send-off for her."

While this show was a first for Michelangelo and company, it was also the first time that the fair's entertainment coordinators had included an illusion program alongside their usual slate of bands and singers. After the show earned a standing ovation, however, they are already talking about scheduling a return engagement."

The private event brought hundreds of people to the theater and they began arriving two hours before the screening to wait in line for the best seats. The magicians entertained those in the queue before the doors were opened and then took turns on a larger scale by performing more tricks to the seated audience on the theater floor. Michelangelo showed proficiency at mind-reading using his own version of the "Legilimens" spell and demonstrated his mastery of levitation with "Wingardium Leviosa."

"I also carried my 'Sword of Gryffindor' with me, which is an authentic hand-and-a-half sword that I use in one segment," Michelangelo said. "It's definitely an attention-getter. On any other day, if you took a sword into a movie theater, you'd probably get arrested. Being a magician does have its advantages -- just check with the security office before you commit a felony!"

There was a particularly memorable moment, involving a teenage girl who was shyly watching from the crowd. Michelangelo described what happened. "She didn't say anything but she was very intense. She had these luminous eyes and was very focused. I concluded the trick and, of course, I was interested to see what sort of effect the magic had on her and she was still staring rather intently. I was preparing to move on down the queue and just said something kind of lame to her, like, 'That's one of my favorite tricks too.' She said something I didn't really catch and then she took me by the hand and started pulling me down to the other end of the line. She found a group of people there waiting for the movie and she handed the sword to one of the women and I immediately understood she wanted me to do the trick for them too.

Michelangelo describes the concept behind his one-of-a-kind illusion, "The central effect originated nearly 80 years ago, although as far as I know, it hasn't been performed for decades. We've updated the presentation substantially. It starts out as if we are going to do a familiar illusion but then it goes in a different direction. We wanted to catch the spectators by surprise.