YOUNGSTOWN MAGIC CLUB Presto! Shows to appear before your eyes

Local magicians are hoping to make empty chairs disappear at two events.
Like feats of prestidigitation, two magic shows will appear in the Youngstown area in upcoming days.
Liberty will witness the magic of world-famous magicians when the Youngstown Magic Club sponsors its ninth annual Spring Close-Up Magic Show at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex on April 1.
Two shows will be held, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and will cost $5 per person. Four magicians will perform "table-top" magic -- magic that can be seen close-up by the audience, said Nick Verina, the event's promotions director.
Each show will consist of three rooms of 50 people and the magicians will travel from room to room performing coin, card and rope tricks, Verina said.
All the magicians performing in the show are members of the Youngstown Magic Club, which formed in 1927, the second oldest magic ring in the world, he said.
One of the event's performers, Tom Craven of Kent, worked as a professional magician for seven years and performed across the United States and Canada, Verina of Niles said.
Craven also performed at Magic Castle in Hollywood and spent more than 30 years as a performer, lecturer, author, teacher and magic dealer.
Something new: For the past nine years, Craven has been part of the Spring Close-Up Magic Show, and he said he prepares different tricks every year so the audience does not have to see the same tricks again.
"I have kept a record of all the shows I've done since 1962," he said. "I will pull the file I have for this show to see what I've done in the past and make sure not to do those same tricks."
Craven plans to do a special trick involving a magazine and a calculator for this year's show, he said. He added that many of the tricks will involve audience participation.
The other magicians performing are Jose Colon of Youngstown, Trent Rapp of Canfield and Gary Morton of Warren.
Morton, like Craven, also performed at Magic Castle in Hollywood. He has entertained audiences with his magic for more than 20 years and is president of the Youngstown Magic Club.
He also is an actor and appeared on the TV shows "Cheers," and "Night Court" and the movie "Beverly Hills Cop 2," Verina said.
The Youngstown Magic Club has performances throughout the year, many which help raise money for nonprofit organizations. Another close-up magic show will be in the fall, Verina said.
Up close and personal: "In the past, we have had an excellent turnout for the show," Verina said. "It's over an hour of magic and it's really great for people who never have seen a live magic show close-up."
Morton and Craven also will be performing a show called "Mind Puzzles" with Scott Gonda's company, Imagination Factory, on April 7 at the Oakland Center for the Arts, 220 W. Boardman St., Youngstown. That show will begin at 8 p.m. and tickets are $10 per person.
Gonda of Youngstown began Imagination Factory in October and this will be the company's second show. He said the first show in January was sold out.
"This show is a little different because it will be more artistic and use more music and light effects," Gonda said. "We also have a camera with an eight-foot screen so people sitting in the back will be able to see the stage."
The tricks Gonda plans to do will involve mind reading and puzzles, and he said the magic will be directed toward a more adult audience.
"But I encourage kids who love magic and who would just love to watch to still come," Gonda said.
To purchase tickets for the Youngstown Magic Club's spring magic show call (330) 652-6499. To purchase tickets for "Mind Puzzles" call (330) 782-2592.