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Ihop Inner circle Glen Spey, NY 1604 Posts |
I just got back from a vacation in Pennsylvania’s Amish country.
I can’t begin to explain how much I admire their way of life. I was with friends and I was a passenger in the front seat of our car There was a horse and buggy in front of us with 5 young girls sitting in the back. The light turned red and a girl about 3 years old was looking at us. From my seat I vanished a silk (TT) and reappeared. The girl reacted and the other girls all turned to look at us. I did it again and they all laughed. The driver of the buggy turned around and I did it again. They all laughed. What a wonderful display of smiles from the girls and the father. The light turned green and we went our separate ways. What a wonderful experience. I’ve been studying the Amish way of life and I’m certain they have not seen anything like this before.
Ihor
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WitchDocChris Inner circle York, PA 2614 Posts |
I actually live in that area. Well, depending on which one you're referring to.
The Amish/Mennonites are very appreciative of entertainment (They tend to do community events together). My wife's done stilt walking gigs for them - they love corny jokes and pay in cash, so that's fun. They tend to be very reserved so it can be tricky to engage them - they literally keep a distance and watch whatever's going on. Even with a band - they just sit quietly and respectfully and listen to the music. Anyway - it can be a good gig if you can get it.
Christopher
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Yes! I have worked many Amish schools in Ohio. They were always exceptionally polite, respectful, and, were a joy to work. As soon as they got to "know" me, they responded beautifully with lots of laughs!
In Montana, back in the '80s, I did an elementary in the early morning. I had a late Jr. High in the afternoon. The elementary principal invited me to a Hutterite elementary, a few miles out in the country for lunch. It was a small one room school with about 50 kids. I stuffed a few props in my pockets, and did an impromptu 20 minutes. Those kids had never seen a magician!!! It was a real joy!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Ron Giesecke Special user Redding, Ca. 947 Posts |
My buddy John Hinton has been working some Amish gigs, and seems to be having a riot doing so.
One word about the men: they are usually very savvy about technology, even if they don't employ a lot of it--especially mechanical stuff. They are well-read. I was on a Segue "tour" in my hometown, when I saw a giant group of them hanging out by the visitor's center where we were. I left the route and headed over to them, as they were watching us ride by. As soon as I stopped, they began to verbally reverse engineer the machine, and knew all about the technology behind it. It was fun and games, until the tour guide berated me for violating the route terms. |
D. Yoder Veteran user 376 Posts |
I live in Lancaster, PA and am very familiar with the Amish community here. Amish that I know are very open to enjoying magic tricks. A previous post mentioned the difficulty of getting people to volunteer in front of a group. I have found that to be true.
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Playing elementary schools, mostly, I had no problems. In Colon, Michigan, where I often spent summers, there are hitching rails in front of some of the stores.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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