RUMFORD – Style, flair and savoir-faire came to a head Monday afternoon when a wizard, his lovely assistant and their animal entourage commandeered the children’s library.

Grand illusionist Almodarr of East Waterboro magically transformed colorful bandannas, sashes and bags into live white doves, then culminated the act with a flash of fire, instantaneously changing a cage of four white doves into a cute white rabbit.

But the biggest trick was turning 40 adults into children as they watched Almodarr and assistant Angelique delight their senses, frequently double-dipping into the worlds of imagination, fantasy and humor.

“He was very good,” said Becky Thibodeau of Rumford. “I was watching his hands very closely because, you know, with some magicians you can see how they do their tricks, but I didn’t even see how he did his. He was good.”

About 80 children of all ages in the crowded room thought so, too.

Their eyes widened in surprise when Almodarr’s show began and the theme for Harry Potter quietly stirred, ghostlike, behind the theatrical set’s castle walls.

“Harry Potter’s here!” they whispered loudly, almost in unison. But, he wasn’t.

Enraptured by the music, they watched intently as Almodarr and Angelique stepped through the black curtain from within the castle walls.

Without saying a word, Almodarr, who wore a dragon skullcap and flamboyant purple and gold robe, quickly delivered his first surprise, pulling a live white dove out of a red sash.

The dove vanished, however, as quickly as it had appeared, when he placed it into fabric stretched between two dowels, folded the fabric together, and swung it through the air. A second later the same trick, produced not a dove, but a bandanna.

Next, he began pulling multiple items ranging from eyeballs to scarves and plastic flowers out of a large book.

“I liked it when he pulled eyeballs out of a book, because I thought it was funny,” said 7-year-old Morgan Gordon of Rumford Point after the show.

After wadding the scarves into a ball with the help of Angelique, who was also dressed in a purple and gold outfit, Almodarr extracted another live white dove from the wad, delighting children sitting on floor rugs.

But the act that drew the most stunned reactions from adults and children alike, involved a simple red balloon that the illusionist blew into a heart and clipped to a platform.

He then opened a book titled “The Book of Secrets,” which promptly erupted into flames.

Grabbing some of the real fire, he quickly threw it at the balloon, which popped with a flash of sparks and white smoke, revealing a white dove.

Almodarr topped that one, rolling out a cage of four white doves, which he quickly transformed into a white bunny that immediately tried to smooch the unsuspecting wizard.

Using the humorously-trained rabbit, which nodded its head as if to say “No,” at every subsequent request made by Almodarr, he intoned, “Imagination begins in the library.”

Other tricks included ripping up tissue paper with a child then restoring it into a wizard’s hat, and balancing a young girl on a board placed atop the back of a chair.

He culminated the 60-minute show by having his lithe assistant climb into a large fiberglass basket, which he then covered. Then, after sticking swords into the basket, including one with a flaming tip, and pulling them out, Almodarr climbed inside it himself, hopped out, covered it with a large, flashy gold cape, and produced his assistant again from within.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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