A birthday party isn’t a birthday party if a clown, a magician or a cowboy isn’t on hand to entertain. Since a lot of children have unnatural fears about clowns and cowboys might be out of place in Ottawa, magicians are the perfect addition to a kid’s birthday party. Ages ten and under are always enthralled with the illusions a magician performs, and the show fits nicely into the beginning of the party giving parents time to prep games, cake, and the present table.
Children have a natural curiosity for what they can’t explain and are in awe of something that seems so magical. Perhaps the most perfect time to hire a magician for a child’s party is between the ages of five and eight, when they still don’t have the means to explain away the illusion or trick being performed. They will remember it as one of the best times of their lives, and it’s an experience that parents happily and fondly share with their children generation after generation.
Parents might not know which magicians in Ottawa the kids now love best, but asking the kids is a good place to start. A lot of times, magicians will promote their business by doing shows at the local schools. Kids can take home flyers letting their parents know that they thought what they saw at school was really cool. This is one place parents most readily rely on as a source of information because they know that the school board is careful about who they hire and allow into the schools for entertainment.
Other parents who have hosted birthday parties and hired magicians from Ottawa area are another excellent source for hiring the best. Parents want the children in attendance at their child’s party to be fascinated, wowed and/ or entertained by magicians, not bored or merely distracted. Other parents know which magicians are good to hire and which aren’t.
Some magicians bring their own assistants, which is fine, as long as they are appropriately dressed for a child’s birthday party. A majority of magicians from Ottawa understand that they will be entertaining children and thus, this should never be a problem. Concerned parents have every right to ask anyway, and the magician they are looking to hire will alleviate their fears by introducing his assistant(s), if he has any, and their wardrobe.
Magicians are also willing to perform at bar mitzvahs, wedding anniversaries, and other special occasions and holidays. Much in the same way people book a band or a music DJ for weddings and parties, magicians fall under the same entertainment category and are booked the same way. Half the magicians in Ottawa work for themselves, and the other half work for entertainment industries that handle the business end of things for the magicians that work for them.
Also referred to as illusionists, masters of tricks, and an occasional “wizard of wonder”, magicians who work for themselves have set rates at which they charge for their magic performances. Entertainment company magicians have no say over the money and financial matters as well as complaints or praise have to be taken up with the company, although praise for the illusionist him- or herself is welcomed at the time of the performance. Blocks of time, usually a half hour to an hour is booked for every magician, by the company he or she works for, by him- or herself or by the magician’s assistant/ secretary. The most popular of all the magicians have very full schedules and last minute changes are only accepted if the magician is available and willing.