Magic coming to Senior Center

April will see the first Friday the 13th for 2018, and what better way to celebrate the “holiday” than with a bit of magic in the air.

The Golden Age Club is bringing Butte Magic to Thermopolis. Composed of several Montana based performers and stagehands with a passion for magic, Butte Magic’s show includes simple acts such as juggling and balloon animals to feats such as sword swallowing and fire eating.

Erin Garlinghouse with the Golden Age Club said she has plenty of history with the troupe, noting their matriarch and she “learned to walk together. We’ve been friends for many years.” The main part of the group is all one family, though they’ve taken on others from outside their tree.

There will be four to six members of the troupe coming to Thermopolis, Garlinghouse noted, and they’ve done plenty of other shows including Renaissance fairs and festivals. They will be doing three shows on Friday April 13, with a 9 a.m. school assembly, a brief preview at the Hot Springs County Senior Center at 11:45 a.m. and a main show at the auditorium at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the evening show are $10 in advance for adults — $12 at the door — and $5 for students.

Though fire eating will be part of the show, Garlinghouse noted it would be outside around 12 p.m. in the parking lot of the senior center. She further added the show is family-friendly with no scary stuff. She enjoys their ability to work with all ages, and once saw them perform at a nursing home which “was a hoot.”

The Golden Age Club wanted to bring them here for the solar eclipse but didn’t book them fast enough, so they figured Friday the 13th would be a great idea.

Though Butte Magic will be here on the same day as the Second Friday ArtStroll, Garlinghouse said because of the time for the evening show the troupe wouldn’t be able to perform downtown, though a member, Mary Alice, may be on Broadway doing some fortune-telling.

Trenda Moore with the senior center said the Golden Age Club was started in 1973 when the center opened. The club acts as a benefactor for the center, providing funding when needed for items such as matching funds for grants, appliance repair and replacement or other unprecedented shortfalls. They also buy the ingredients for the center’s famous cinnamon rolls.

Those who would like to be part of the club need to be at least 60 years old and have a desire to help the seniors. The club relies on donations from citizens to help provide additional funding to the senior center. They are currently accepting memorials in the name of loved ones, host Bingo on Saturday nights and sponsor other fundraisers.

For more information about the club or the upcoming show, contact Moore or Gerlinghouse at the senior center, 864-2151. Tickets for the show are available at the center or Storyteller.