Cub Scout Magic Shows

Need great family-friendly entertainment at your next pack meeting? Time for the annual Blue and Gold Banquet and you need something to keep over 100 people of all ages happy for 45 minutes? How about a meeting filled with magic and excitement! Magic Scott is the answer!

Magic Scott offers a great value for the scouts. Scott is an Eagle Scout (the highest award in scouting). He is also a Tom Tom Beater in the Tribe of Mic o Say at Boy Scout camp Bartle in Osceola Missouri. This is why he provides special rates for cub scout shows. Contact Scott today for special rates, or read the top tips for successful magic scout meetings!

I remember, as a boy, being a cub scout and getting so excited for the cub scout show at Nall Hills Elementary, in Overland Park KS. Even now, I vividly remember a trick where the magician cut a neckerchief in half and restored it. What a great treat and a lifelong memory! Although I was always curious about learning and practicing magic, seeing a few of those magician’s tricks cemented my curiosity! I hope that I can perform for your kids and offer them the same lifelong memory of amazement and wonder. — Magic Scott

Top 10 Tips for a successful Blue and Gold Banquet:

Magic Scott provides tips for parents planning a blue and gold banquet, although some of this information could be good to know in planning any scouting event!

1. Make sure it will be fun for all ages. Often younger or older sisters are not interested in going to the blue and gold banquets. If you make sure they’re having a fun time too, you won’t have to worry about groups of girls wandering the halls of the school or event venue — they’ll be enjoying the food or engaged in the entertainment. (I do usually pick a little brother or sister in my cub scout magic shows, but for the most part, I use the scouts as the volunteers to help with the magic tricks.)
2. Sound – No matter what the entertainment is, consider sound. When people are much more spaced out than at a normal scout meeting – often at round tables seating 8 or 10 each, the people in the back will be much farther away. All the more reason to make sure that you have access to a good sound system if there are any announcements or awards planned.
3. Pick a venue – it doesn’t have to be at the same place that all your other meetings are. This is a key decision and sometimes can make the difference. I’ve performed magic shows at blue and gold banquets that take place in church basements where the meetings are normally held – and that’s fine, but with a few phone calls, you might be able to upgrade the venue for this special event. Maybe a nicer area in the church, or even a different venue entirely if the budget allows. I’ve also performed shows at elegant venues like the Ritz Charles (135th and Antioch in Overland Park) and it really can make a difference as a special event that people remember. Obviously, different sized cub scout packs have different budgets for events like these, and also there is a bit of tradition with what worked well the last year.
4. Limit awards. Often, there are awards given out at just about every pack meeting. Other than large awards, such as the important bridge crossing into boy scouts, if you can limit the smaller awards to be handed out to another pack meeting, it leaves more time for food and entertainment.
5. Timing – create a schedule and share it with presenters. Is it possible to plan, and stick to a schedule in Scouts? Hah! Some packs to well with this, and I’ve seen others suffer. It’s tough to estimate how long everything is going to take, but usually it all works out if you have a basic outline that you’ve shared with everyone who is presenting. Underscore that it’s important to stick to their allotted time. If things run long, it can mean kids may miss their bedtime – so to be fair, try to keep it moving along.
6. Delegate a slideshow of pictures for the year. Is there a slide show showing events of the past year? If the venue allows it, you can show this before dinner projected onto a wall. It’s a fun way to show the other parents all the fun things you have. Often the den leaders can put this together. Try to make sure all scouts are accounted for somewhere in the pictures, this can also get the kids excited about the year to come. Do not dim the lights and have everyone watch a ten minute slide show — you’ll lose everyone’s attention and it will extend the length of the meeting too much.
7. Is the “Investment in Character” (previously called Friends of Scouting) representative is coming to this months meeting? Check with the committee. Friends of Scouting is a great program that helps fund things like summer camp and helps upkeep Camp Nash and fund things that your normal dues do not cover. The representative, depending on their technique for soliciting donations, can take up to 15 minutes with their presentation. Although this presentation is important for funding local scouting, and the Blue and Gold banquet is a great time to catch all parents, if possible, push this to another meeting if you also have entertainment like magic.
8. Consider catering the entire event. If the funds allow it, consider catering the entire event, as opposed to pot luck. That way you aren’t dependent on the busy parents to whip something up, and you can leave it to the experts. If you are also considering using a different venue, talk to your event coordinator and they can often recommend some of the best caterers that they’ve worked with.
9. Use the committee — but make sure one or two people are empowered. New ideas are okay. It doesn’t have to be exactly like last year! Direct a person to be in charge of the event and give them permission to make decisions at a certain level. For instance, get the authority to book the right venue if it fits within the budget on the spot — don’t wait until the next pack committee meeting to discuss it because you could lose your ideal event venue. Of course, this does happen occasionally with the Magician also, especially in Feb, March, and April. Why? Because those are the months that are extra busy with cub scout magic shows, and your favorite magician, Magic Scott, may book up early.w
10. Hire Magic Scott. Seriously, it has worked for years! I’ve seen all sorts of crazy things happen at scout meetings, and you know what? I’m the only one who remembers it. Why? Because everyone else just remembers the fun magic show, the reactions in the kids’ sparkling eyes, and how Mr. Jones, who is never easily fooled, was so puzzled with the card in the dragon trick that he spit out his Dr. Pepper!
11. What, eleven? I thought you said ten tips?! I always try to deliver a little extra. Here’s one bonus tip – having a magician at your meeting will get the kids super excited for magic. Take advantage of this! Use it to spark a kids interest in reading and visit the library for some books on magic. 793.8 is the magic call number, which I memorized years ago so I could skip the card catalog! There are also Magic awards in cub scouts, and a Magic cub scout book too. On this page you’ll also see how I was invited back to a few meetings to teach magic tricks to the scouts. Direct some of the dens to study a few magic tricks at their next den meeting, and to return to perform for the whole pack in the next monthly meeting. The magic tricks will serve as a great skit to break up the meeting.