Magician Greg Joyce shares his story of magic with guests at the Park District

 

[April 04, 2023] 

At the Lincoln Park District Spring Open House, Peoria Magician Greg Joyce performed a number of magic tricks. These tricks were interspersed with stories of what made him decide to become a magician and why he does magic.

Joyce’s first trick involved pulling many colorful scarves out of what appeared to be an empty tube covered by a box.



For the second trick, Joyce took five separate rings. He linked these together one by one in a chain and then pulled the chain back apart into separate rings.

After Joyce filled a cake fan with confetti and covered the pan, a stuffed rabbit appeared.

Joyce invited two young assistants to help him with the next trick, making magic vegetarian stew. These assistants waved silk scarves, hung them over their arm and said “ta da!” Once Joyce placed the “ingredients” in a bag and snapped his fingers, the scarves combined to become one big colorful scarf.

Next, Joyce took red, yellow and green balls and put them in a tube in the order they are found on a stoplight. When he removed the tube, the yellow ball was on top and the red ball on the bottom. He put the red ball in a box, and it turned into a silk scarf. Finally, the red ball appeared in the tube again and was back on top.

An Alice in Wonderland trick was done using two playing cards. One represented Alice and the other the looking glass. As Joyce did the trick, the cards would turn into different tricks and appear to be inside out.

A new trick Joyce recently learned after hours of practice used magical dice and a magical house. He placed the dice on the left side of the house, then in his magic hat and finally back in the box. Joyce waved his hands and showed everyone the dice was gone. The kids said they could see the dice on the other side of the house, but what they were seeing was simply a piece of wood with dots on it. The dice was back in the hat.

Joyce became interested in magic as a child and wanted a fun magic coloring book. When he opened the magic coloring book, the pages were blank. With a wave of his hand, pictures appeared in the book. After Joyce snapped his fingers, the pictures had color. Eventually, the pages in the book were blank again.

Taking a small record and explaining what it was to the kids, Joyce had the audience clap their hands. As music played, he pulled scarves of various colors through the hole in the record. The record would then become the color of the scarf Joyce had pulled through it.

One of the final tricks was connected to an old story from India of a boy who climbed into a basket. A magician would put a rope in the basket and the boy would disappear.



For this trick, Joyce used a deck of cards and had an audience member pull a card out of the deck and memorize what was on it. He took the card and put it back in the middle of the deck and asked everyone to imagine the spirit of the card. Joyce took the rope and pulled out the ten of spades with it, which was the same card the audience member had pulled from the deck.

In his final trick, Joyce used a silver ball on a stand, which represented a silver nugget he found in a saloon in a ghost town he once visited. Joyce covered the ball with a scarf and it bounced around and up and down under the scarf. The ball seemed to disappear then reappear on top of the scarf.

The children ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ as Joyce performed the tricks.

From 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on June 5 through June 9, Joyce will be teaching a magic class for children from ages nine through thirteen at the Lincoln Park District. Participants will learn a variety of magic tricks using common items, playing cards, mind-reading and special magic props they will make in class. The cost of the class covers all supplies and a class handbook with instructions.

Those wishing to participate my register on the Park District website or in person from May 1 through June 2.

The day of activities at the spring open house provided fun for the whole family, with a chance to sign up to win door prizes and get a preview of summer offerings at the Lincoln Park District.

[Angela Reiners]