2020 in Review

Well, 2020 was sure an interesting year, right? It started out great, then I figured, "hey how long could this last... it'll be over before we know it!" Boy was I wrong. 2020 has taught me that life isn't always fair and that we've just gotta play the hand that we're dealt. I'm just thankful that my family and friends have managed to be unharmed by the virus thus far. I've read just about every book we have in the house, and I've binged enough Netflix for many years to come! I've had lots of virtual game nights with friends, and we've gotten pretty cutthroat at that new popular game "Among Us". My friends say that I have an unfair advantage of talking my way out of a corner during that game... hmm, I wonder why? Anyway, 2020 certainly wasn't what I imagined it would be, but I have high hopes for 2021. I hope that as soon as this vaccine rolls out to the general public, we'll be back to live events!

I haven't started doing virtual events. I've gotten so many requests for them, and I feel so bad saying no! They really just aren't my style of performance and I hate the idea of my wifi possibly cutting out and making me look bad! So as of right now, I am strictly doing live, in-person events, whether they be small or large.

Over the summer I performed magic for a beautiful wedding anniversary party, as well as for a few 50th birthday parties and 40th birthday parties. These were a great time, with some really great people!

We celebrated my wife's 30th birthday in October by having a small party at TopGolf in Fort Worth, where I discovered that I am horrible at golf! Even if you're not an avid golfer, I would still recommend giving that place a try- it's pretty fun even if you're not any good. It's pretty scary at first, being right up on the edge as you're getting ready to hit the ball! They had some really great appetizers and it was overall a fantastic time. A few of my wife's friends even came all the way from Michigan to help celebrate her 30th birthday.

Also in October, I performed for a super fun bachelorette party! It had been awhile since I'd done one, but I had some fun new material up my sleeve. I love it when people remember that you don't always need a guy in his birthday suit to entertain a bachelorette party... a guy in a business suit with some mentalism at the ready can make for a really fun girls' night in!

The girls had so many great ideas for this party. They had all the usual party favors and decorations that you'd expect, but they also had a unique scavenger hunt happening. Hidden around the house were lots of fake engagement rings, and the girls had to run around and find all of them to win a prize. The catch was that someone had also booby trapped the house! When someone opened the pantry door, a creepy Halloween ghoul screamed! Now that's my kind of party! Any kind of scaring, spooking, or screaming- count me in. Like I've said before, magic and mentalism are so versatile. My performances can be adapted to naturally fit in almost any location. Not every bachelorette wants to have a super raunchy party; she may want to have a fun night in with her friends, open a few bottles of wine, and enjoy some non-explicit entertainment!

2020 definitely shifted my normal clientele from corporate clients to wedding clients! I think by the end of the year, about 75% of my business was weddings, compared to my normal 10%! I saw a lot of bridesmaids tearing up, I saw a few pieces of cake smashed into surprised brides' faces, and I saw one groom completely forget to wear socks. It was a fun year for weddings! I do feel awful for all the couples who had to change their wedding dates, or cancel their weddings altogether. I'm sure their wedding Pinterest boards didn't include sanitizer stations, face masks, and "6 feet apart" signs, but I'm glad I was able to bring some extra fun and excitement to my couples' big days.

As expected, many corporations cancelled their Christmas parties not only to cut expenses, but also to keep their staff safe. I still managed to have more December bookings than I expected, considering the circumstances! So I'm thankful for that. Several of my December bookings were private parties in homes, where small to medium groups of friends and families had a gathering. Although I miss entertaining groups of 200 or more, these more intimate parties were pretty fun! There will be plenty of large parties in 2021, and the demand for a magician at every party will return. Until then, stay safe and wash your hands!

-Anthony

*Cover image found on Reddit

I've come a long way since my first ever blog and it's all thanks to people like you. Thank you for taking the time to read this.