Norden children's magician of the year!

Maple Ridge News
Wednesday June 7, 2006
By Monisha Martins

Norden, the magician rolled on to the stage wearing Heelies, couldn't brake and crashed into a stack of pots.

Blinded by his floppy big hat, he faced the wrong way and started speaking to the crowd. The audience was in splits.

"I think the Heelies won it for me." said Mike Norden, after being crowned Children's Magician of the Year by the Vancouver Magic Circle on May 28.

The Maple Ridge resident competed against five other magicians for the title at the Shadbolt Theatre in Burnaby.

"Competition was fierce," he said.

He worked on his 10 minutes circus routine, complete with cannon (a ping-pong gun) and a ring of fire, for four months. Combined with comedy and unpredictable on-stage antics, the trick was a winner.

Norden got hooked on magic during a trip to Disneyland seven years ago.

"I was bored out of my skull on the fourth day and found the magic store," he said.

He spent the rest of his trip there and bought everything in sight - card tricks, coins and rope tricks.

Back in Maple Ridge, he started performing for his nieces. Soon a teacher at their school had heard of his skills.

"She asked me to come to school to do tricks."

Norden bought books about children's magic, he learned a few tricks and did a show for the class.

"It went so well that I started doing birthday parties and it went from there," he said.

And he loves kids.

That's why I do it, he said. "I don't have any children of my own so I think my patience level is much higher. I don't have to take them home when I leave," he joked. "I'm getting paid to entertain them."

Nothing fazes him, no crying child or curios cat. "I do enjoy them. They are just blunt. there is no hiding anything."

Most of all, Norden loves magic, mostly because he is curious.

Walking into that store in Disneyland and watching a card spin mid-air, he had to find out more.

"I said ahhhh, I just had to find out how it's done."

To find out more about Norden the Magician, visit www.magicshows.ca