Performer Spotlight - Lucky Bob

This month we are spotlighting a versatile one man show with more energy and audience appeal than any other.

Lucky Bob has been entertaining professional for 10 years, he grew up on scenic Cape Cod in Massachusetts. But state lines and even country borders know no bounds for Lucky Bob who performs throughout the United States, Canada, Singapore and Japan. He is looking forward to one day performing in every corner of the world.

His art form is known as prop comedy, a modern day 10 in 1 if you will. His skills include juggling, magic, comedy, mind reading, rola-bola, balancing, mesmerizing and so much more. Many who have hosted his show will tell you he is like a human magnet, drawing in an audience and holding them from start to finish.

If audience participation is what you seek you are looking in the right direction when you bring Lucky Bob to your event. He is a master at making his audience members look good. A great photo opportunity for proud parents of the lucky little people who are invited to join him for a routine.

He is frequently re-booked year after year and he keeps his show fresh so returning patrons have new bits and cherished classic routines to look forward to.

He has worked successfully at Boston prestigious Fanueil Hall Market Place, the Rehoboth Fair, US Navy Bases, theme parks and private events. He can work on any stage large or small, as a one man show, an opening act, after dinner entertainment, food courts, college events, after prom parties, street fairs, malls, anywhere their is a need for people to enjoy themselves, laugh and have a great time.

Looking for a good time? Get Lucky Bob!

October 2010 in Review

October is the month when the outdoor events begin to wind down.

This month we had Bwana Jim's Wildlife show perform at Mount Wachusett's Apple Fest on October 16 & 17th. The weekend brought chilly New England October weather perhaps a little windy but still nice for getting out and enjoying some foliage in the mountains. Bwana Jim's Wildlife show has a nice assortment of animals such as desert fox, armadillo, alligator snapping turtle, turkey vulture, snakes and more. There is an all day display of animals as well as a hilarious, entertaining and educational presentation by the one and only Bwana Jim.

We spend a lot of time in October looking ahead toward the 2011 season, it seems no matter what month the event may fall in somehow planning begins in October. We spend much of the month gathering updated schedules from performers and getting proposals out to the various fairs and festivals. We also seem to get a lot of new inquiries in October, probably more so than any other month.

For those planning events I though I might take the opportunity to explain some types of entertainment this month that is often underused and overlooked.

Strolling Entertainment - is a versatile entertainer such as table magic, mimes, a stilt-walker, juggler, comedian, original character, etc. They can be used at nearly any type of event but they are especially effect at parades when long breaks between units can become boring for spectators. Street Festivals and downtown events are wonderful places for strolling entertainers since they can move easily and spectators tend to follow they can liven up a section of the street or store front that isn't getting enough traffic flow. Between shows at fairs and festivals when audiences are often waiting for some time for the next show to begin is a great time to show the audience you appreciate their patience by sending in a stroller as a little pre-show warm up. Strollers are also effective at receptions when guests are arriving or between the cocktail hour and dinner to keep the event moving along.

All Day Displays - Attractions such as petting zoos, traveling museums, birds of prey & western attractions. Keep people interested in spending more time at an event and have no down time, actually many all day display offer shows as well such as educational presentations. These are a must have for any fair, but they are also great for a corporate BBQ giving guests an opportunity to visit during activities such as sports and music that may not interest them.

One Man Shows - Shows such as comedy, juggling, magic, etc. with a single person in them can be great for not only smaller events with a smaller budget but also perfect for an opening act for a larger show. One man shows are also perfect for that small stage in a food court area or picnic grove that a band, dance troupe or choir just won't fit on.

Ground Acts - No stage necessary for these acts! But they are great to fill up an open space, lawn or field giving your event a complete feeling. Acts such as large animal acts, circus acts, daredevils, lumberjack shows would all be considered "ground acts".

August in Review

Wow, where did the summer go? August goes by so quickly, this year was no exception.

We began where we left off, Close Encounters (Vince and Pom Pom) finished up for the Volunteer Fire Department in Bushkill. They reported bad weather throughout the run which has been par for the coarse this summer.

We also had Pam Rosaire Zoppe's Chimpfabulous at the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle. We were up to visit on the 4th, its always a wonderful ride up north, very little traffic, lovely scenery. The chimps were very well received as are all animal acts at the fair, its a long trip from Presque Isle to the closest zoo, and chimps in general are all too rare anywhere. On the way home on Wednesday we had a nice breakfast with Paul Cleary from the Houlton Fair. Meeting Paul up in Houlton is a lot like meeting Norm at Cheers, everyone knows his name!

Later on that week we had the Rehoboth Fair open, Lance Gifford returned to the fair with his amazing newly renovated stage and Lucky Bob who can really draw and audience! Our son Justin fell in love with a couple of baby rabbits at the fair and being that I grew up with pet rabbits I agreed to bring the pair home. That is what fairs are all about, family fun with agriculture. The bunnies are growing nicely, "Buffy" named for my mothers cat, Justin's favorite feline, is a tri colored mini lop bunny. The other is a cute little tan mini lop bunny with some charcoal colored shading named "Smoke" for Tony Stewart, one of Justin's favorite NASCAR drivers.

On Friday the 9th it was great to catch up with our friends at the Whaling City Festival who had a volunteers dinner hosted by Joe Eugenio (the unofficial mayor of New Bedford). Its always great when our clients include us in their celebrations. We brought a cake from Amazing Cakes, a local bakery who does an amazing job of supply us cakes with logos and special requests for our clients and family, and they taste great to boot.

Our next event was the Tri-State Fair in Vermont for Dreamland Amusements, we had the Flying Pages perform their trapeze and pony act as well as the Nerger Tigers who brought with them 3 one year old white tigers who they hand raised after the mother rejected them (quite common with the first litter) as well as an adorable 3 month old standard color cub. Of course the 12 show tigers and one male lion.

On the 21st Kieran Ridge Band performed on the main stage of City Hall Plaza in Boston for GreenFest. It was a hot, hot, hot and humid day.

Later that evening we met with a Blues artist who was opening for BB King at the Cape Cod Melody tent. George Gritzbach was recommended to us by our good long time friend Laurie Webster. George and his band had a fantastic sound and could not have been received better by the audience who gave them a standing ovation.

Our late August fairs come fast and furious, Dreamland Amusements worked with us and the Caledonia County Fair to bring the Flying Pages to Lyndonville for the first time. The Pages really enjoyed their time there and it was another fabulous drive up on Thursday the 27th to visit them. Anthony Pages had a bad fall a few weeks back and it was nice to see he was beginning to recover (the doctors want him out maybe 6 to 8 weeks). He had multiple broken bones as well as a head injury. He'll have a follow up with the doctors in the coming weeks and he is really hoping he is cleared to begin practice again. The Pages have been working very hard to keep him relaxed and healing while getting temporary replacements to fill Anthony's spot, which I know is tough for him to see.

We found time on Sunday to head up to Spencer for their annual volunteer barbeque, yes, yet another Amazing Cake!

The Flying Wallendas performed up in Union Maine for our friend and talent buyer Diana Ammon of Atlantic Music Productions, unfortunately Saturday rained too much for the fair to handle and they closed for the day at 11 am.

We stayed up in Vermont after Caledonia for set up day and opening day of the Champlain Valley Fair where we had the Nerger Tigers as well as the Anastasini Family's Big Top Circus. Saturday rained on the opening but it was nice to see Struppi Hanneford visit her daughter Nellie and grand daughter Kathy who performed on the Spanish Web for the show.

Also that same weekend Lucky Bob performed for the Cummington Fair in Massachusetts.

Busy, busy August, but busy is good!

July 2009 Recap

July started out with a bang as it usually does with all the fantastic July 4th events! Best yet the July 4th weekend was the first weekend of the summer season that was without rain! Subfest at the Groton Naval Submarine base was well attended and as always the animal acts were a huge hit. This year the Rosaire's Bears were the hit of the event and crowds were pleased to see that the Bwana Jim Wildlife Show returned for the third year in a row. Bwana Jim and his wife Linda always do a great job making sure they have something new each year for the many events that have them as an annual part of their event. This year they added birds of prey to their show with an owl, a Red Tail Hawk and a Turkey Vulture. I have to admit I have never been a fan of vultures but this one totally changed my opinion of vultures, he sat so calmly and preened his feathers just as nicely as my own pet parrot. Also new to Subfest this year was the Anastasini Family Circus with their fabulous aerial rocket fantasy act as well as Magically Medieval who as been one of my most popular acts this year.

We had a brand new Fourth of July event this year in Stoughton which we were able to bring in rides from North American Amusements on July 3rd for the fireworks portion of the event which was generously sponsored by IKEA. On Saturday the Fourth the event had a Children's Day event in which we brought in Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix as well as Chuckles the Kids Comic. Johnny went over extremely well and was invited back to perform again in 2010. Chuckles had huge lines for his balloon twisting, he also road his Velociped as Uncle Sam, face painted and did some magic tricks, he is truly a one man festival just by himself.

The Whaling City Festival in New Bedford was the second weekend in July were we had dozens of bands on two stages over the weekend. The festival was surprised by two of the best drawing bands were styles of music that they had never before featured, True Witness a Christian Rock family act as well as Buck T. Edwards which was Country. All the artists were very talented and probably the best line up the festival has had. Also appearing at the Whaling City Festival was Magically Medieval which continued to draw a nice family audience. The biggest struggle for the Whaling City Festival this year was the economy, the festival has no admission charge and depends on sponsors to pay for a large portion of the event. The event typically draws between 130,000 to 175,000 people which is just want sponsors are looking for, however sponsorship has really dried up for most events this year. Such a shame for a great event whose goal is to raise money for scholarships for students in New Bedford which is an inner city area.

My brother Jeffrey decided to get married in the height of our busy season (July 12th) which caused us to miss the final day of the Whaling City Festival as well as the Great South Bay Music Festival on Long Island in New York. We booked Eddie Money to play July 12th at the festival, we hated to miss the event but Gordon, myself and our son Justin were all in the wedding party so it couldn't be helped. Gordon also attended Kieran Ridge's wedding prior to Jeffrey's. The Great South Bay Music Festival is in Patchogue, New York and this year was their third year. We heard Eddie was well received and drew great crowds (as always).

July 17th saw two more events open, Barnstable County Fair who booked in Lucky Bob for the run of the fair as well as Eddie Money on July18th. The South County Balloon Festival sponsored by the Wakefield Rotary Club was also this third weekend of July, returning to this hot air balloon event was the Flying Wallenda's and new to the event was Magically Medieval! Magically Medieval's popularity is probably due to the fact that it is brand new, priced right and includes its own stage, sound and lights, big pluses for any type of event. Believe it or not they have never played a Renaissance Faire although it is certainly appropriate for one. Magically Medieval just seems to go over well at any event.

July 24 to the 26th was the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning where we had the Flying Wallenda's perform their famous high wire routine. Aerial acts really seam to go over really well at balloon festivals, they really fit the "up in the air" theme.

Close Encounters of the Exotic Kind (Tigers and Lions) opened up this week for a return engagement at the Bushkill Volunteer Fire Department's Carnival fundraiser. Vince and Pom Pom are really wonderful at what they do, their show is part education and part entertainment and always well received. Big cat acts are a major part of our business, Close Encounters is typically booked solid a testament to the wonderful job they do!

And finally, last but not least the Northern Maine Fair opened today with the Rosaire Zoppe Chimps as the headline animal act of the fair. Best of luck on your opening day up in Presque Isle!

Wow, what a month!