Abbit the Average Brings a Bit of Comedy and Magic to GT Library

Merely holding upside down a brown paper bag containing a glass Coke-a-Cola bottle and telling an astute gaggle of children the bottle had disappeared wasn't enough to fool them, but when magician Abbit the Average crumpled the bag into a compact round ball, it convinced them. After the room full of children gathered in the Community Room just outside the Grand Terrace Library at City Hall told Abbit they didn't believe he'd truly made a glass bottle disappear just by placing it in a paper bag, waving his baton in front of it and asking the kids to shout "Abbit Kedavra," Abbit feigned incredulity. "You think I'm holding the bottle with my hand through the bag?" he asked the kids, who shouted back, "Yeah!" With a flourish, Abbit crumpled the brown paper bag, which the audience had watched him place the glass bottle into just minutes before, and turned it into a round ball - not containing a glass bottle. Abbit the Average blended comedy and magic into an entertaining show on Thursday morning, July 16, as part of the Grand Terrace Library's Summer Reading Program. His show was one of several events put on by the Friends of the Library group, longtime member Barbara Khacherian told the Grand Terrace City News. The Friends of the Library regularly fundraises through its annual Book Sale at the Country Fair to help bring summer programs - this year, there are a total of seven - to the community. The interactive, free events include an animal presentation, magic shows, juggling shows, and even chemistry and planetarium demonstrations. The summer reading program encourages kids to set reading goals while incorporating fun and interactive activities to engage them. Khacherian explained readers who accomplish their goals receive various prizes, including book bags and gift certificates to places such as Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. Between magic tricks and comedic anecdotes, Abbit also talked about the benefits of reading with the kids. "Do you know how I learned to do this?" he asked the kids. One young attendee, who introduced herself to Abbit as Emma, ventured a guess: "You learned magic by reading books!" Abbit confirmed he had. "And do you know where I got that book from?" "The library!" was the reply. Abbit told the children, "This is my job, this is what I do and it's really fun. It's all thanks to libraries." Following the show, children and their parents visited the library across the way, where they checked out books to read. There are two more upcoming programs sponsored by the Friends of the Grand Terrace Library at the library include: * Full Spectrum: Crazy About Chemistry, Thursday, July 23 at 10:30 a.m.; and * Full Spectrum: Portable Planetarium Show, Saturday, July 25 at noon.