Could It Be Magic

One of our favorite summer hangouts is Silverwood Theme Park, which is about fifteen minutes up the road. With our season passes, we frequently go for an afternoon to ride the rollercoasters, splash in the wave pool, or just see a show.

I'm a sucker for a good magic show, and the one at Silverwood has never disappointed. For years it was performed by Nick Norton, son of the park's owner. He had the training and showmanship to pull off the big tricks quite well. Nick grew restless this past year and decided to try his hand at the film and TV industry. His replacement, a young man from Texas named Johnny Magic, lasted only a short time this summer before falling ill and returning home.

Suddenly, Norton is back on stage at Silverwood, but he shouldn't worry about leaving again because there's a young magician named Kenneth K. who has been filling in on days off. Kenneth, just 20 years old, was a backstage tech on the show who found himself in the right place at the right time and now appears poised to take over the production full-time.

He's a little rough around the edges, but he puts on an entertaining show. My kids and I have seen him perform twice in the past few weeks. His rendition of the old torn newspaper trick was brilliant. We all think he has what it takes to do well in the competitive world of magic.

Most interesting to us is that he was homeschooled his entire life. In fact, it was at a homeschool group that he first discovered his talent for entertaining people when the other kids asked him to do a few tricks that he'd been practicing. From there he began performing table magic in restaurants and street magic at various malls around Spokane, Washington. It wasn't long before he found his lucky break at Silverwood.

If you find yourself at Silverwood on a Thursday this summer, take a break from the water slides and wooden coasters to check out the up-and-coming Kenneth K. at the Theater of Illusion. It's fun to see a homeschooler succeeding at his dreams.