The Exciting New Schedule for KIDabra Arrives Early 2023
Come Early, Stay After
The Chattanooga Area is filled with a stunning array of Attractions!
Optional Pre/Post
Conference
Amazing Stuff To Do!
August 16 - 19, 2023
Chattanooga, TN
Coming in early 2023 the Puzzle Pieces unfold
on a living breathing piece of Art: KIDabra 2023
For Now Enjoy the 2022 Schedule
Times are Eastern US
Welcome to a special place! A place to be Inspired, Challenged, and Motivated. Welcome to KIDabra!
At the Conference, you'll meet the New as well as Foundational Voices of KIDabra and The KIDshow World!
Different from most conventions, at KIDabra Conference our speakers are asked to bring a new, fresh,
original talk each time they appear, as we explore performance and creating great shows from every angle.
This approach helps make each of our KIDabra gatherings, a unique, handmade,
once in a lifetime "Happening" Just for You!
Wednesday August 10, 2022 Optional ShowSkills Workshops
Registration Opens 8:30 AM
Optional Pre-Conference Event
ShowSkills: The KIDabra How To Workshops
ShowSkills are a remarkable series of Workshops that harken back to the beloved KIDabra Breakouts. Designed for you to experience them all in depth, one at a time! Come be inspired, motivated, and enlightened to the possibilities of our performing/show world.
Be sure and add this Optional Workshop Event to your Registration.
9:30 AM
Chris Weed & Fernando Alavarez
Turbocharge Your OnLine Prescence
Christopher Weed, KidShow Entrepreneur Extraordinaire, and Fernando Alvarez, Jr., Website and SEO guru from FernandoSEO, have teamed up for this unique lecture that will give you 20+ non-technical tips, tricks and ideas to turbocharge your online presence, sharpen your website, punch up your SEO. Learn from the pros that have created websites and brands that deliver entertainment to thousands of events every year around the world.
They'll show you real world examples from working pros that are getting it right, presented in a fun and dynamic way, that will cut through the technical jargon and give you the latest updates in a very fast-changing world.
Your Host for ShowSkills is Glenn Strange
10:30 AM
Gene Cordova
The Big Bang Theory
When Magic and Puppets Collide!
Kids LOVE puppets – Kids LOVE magic. When you combine the two you have a sure fire winner. Gene will share great ideas and hilarious ways to perform magic using a puppet.
Gene was invited to teach at the ventriloquist convention in Tokyo, Japan and this workshop was the highlight of the week.
Imagine a magic trick combining different kinds of cereal (what kids doesn’t LOVE cereal?) and your puppet predicts the correct cereal EVERY time. This is just one of the fun routines you’ll learn. Come join the FUN!
Noon
Lunch Choices Available in the Conference Center and around the area.
2:00 PM
Mitch Zeltzer
How to Grow Your Entertainment Business
A proven roadmap to help you grow your party business… quickly!
ATTENTION: CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINERS LOOKING TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL 🚀
Why is it that it seems like for certain party business owners, no matter what they do, it turns to gold!
While others seem destined to struggle their way through this biz?!
After working directly with hundreds of entertainment businesses (and running his own successful party biz for over 16 years) our guest speaker, Mitch Zeltzer, has discovered some patterns.
And, he’s ready to share his secrets with YOU!
In this workshop, you will learn…
✅ The 'SIX Centerpieces of Success' for a GREAT party business
✅ How to improve each of these centerpieces, so that you are ready to take your party business to the next level
✅ Exactly what you should work on first
( Hint: It’s different for everyone, but you’ll be guided through a simple evaluation process to figure out what YOU should focus on first!)
You’ll get real, practical tips on all of this and walk away with an action plan of what to do first to set it all in motion.
Mitch Zeltzer, Co-Founder of Party Business Growth Solutions, has over 20 years of experience in the kids entertainment and edutainment industry. For over 16 years, he ran his own successful business that ran over 3000 events per year. He managed a team of over 75 staff across three locations and a team of 10 full time admin staff. He is the author of the industry top-selling eBook 'Marketing On-A-Budget for Kids Entertainers' and also does professional speaking and training for kids entertainers. Since selling his business, he has been the passionate creator and leader of the Party Business Think Tank, a free Facebook group where over 2900 party business owners connect regularly to help each other grow as business owners and individuals.
3:30 PM
Chris Weed
Million Dollar Mall Secrets
Christopher Weed comes to ShowSkills with what may be his most powerful lecture yet, revealing some of his most profitable business secrets.
Over the last two decades, he’s built a multi-million dollar business serving the needs of shopping centers across six western states offering everything from bubble festivals to Easter Bunnies, Santas, nightly snowfalls, water days, STEAM festivals, pumpkin patches, Instagram art installations, local movie premieres, and much more.
He’ll show you the projects he and his team have created, discuss pricing, how to approach shopping centers, how to evaluate which malls are best, insight into the latest trends in a changing industry and more.
These secrets will allow you to unlock events that routinely book for $10,000+, and are a merchandise bonanza, too.
Wednesday Evening, August 10: KIDabra Conference Begins
Live, In-Person, and Virtual!
5:00 PM
Registration Opens
7:00 PM
The Special Welcome Ceremony
and then
The Famous Kid Show Magic Auction Auctioneered by Gary Shelton!
Our legendary auction with tons of great buys! (You must be registered for the convention to participate as a buyer or a seller.)
Auction info and guidelines here.
Thursday, August 11
9:30 AM Welcome to KIDabra International Conference.
Registration Opens
Dealers Open
Your Host for the Day is TBA
9:30 AM
KIDabra Dealers Open for The First Time
Do you stick in the mind of your clients? The top performers are top of mind with clients. Being sticky is no accident. It’s a result of key ingredients found in Client Glue. Combine these ingredients with your unique personality and you’re on the path to successful stickiness.
Barry reveals the ingredients that have helped him get more consistent bookings in his market. Learn what makes librarians and teachers happy and how their happiness affects your success. All will be revealed when we open a can of Client Glue.
10:30 AM
Barry Mitchell
Client Glue
Noon
Special Luncheon Sponsored by Foam Daddy
2:00 PM
Jef Eaton/Kandu Magic
3:30 PM
Chef Bananas/ Chad Jacobs
The Live KIDshow with a Live Audience of KIDS!
and Lecture Following the Show
5:30 PM
Dinner
Thursday Evening, August 12
7:00 PM
An Evening with Marcela
Live, Laugh and Love: Life as an Entertainer
For 40 years, Marcela Murad (formerly known as Mama Clown) has been doing what she loves and being paid to do it.
Marcela shares her process and methods to achieve success as an entertainer utilizing magic, comedy, puppets, kids toys, music and dancing. Release your inner child and set your spirit free learning to create a marketable show performing simple magic tricks but mostly using your own personality and charisma to create an entertainer that kids will not soon forget.
It’s all about the memories!
9:00 PM
The Dealers Show
followed by Visiting and Shopping in The Dealers Room!
The Legendary Late Night Balloon Jam
hosted by Annie Banannie
Friday, August 12
9:00 AM KIDabra International Conference Continues:
Registration Opens
Dealers Open
Networking Time
Your Host for the Day is Brian Hoffman
9:30 AM
Jim Kleefeld
You’ll Flip for This!
New Effects! New Variations! New Ideas! New Routines!
All designed to help you see KIDshow materials in a new light.
Jim will explore some history - some of this stuff goes way back, further than you think! He will show you commercial props you’ve never seen, custom-created props you never bought, and that no one has ever seen, and ways you can use those that no one ever imagined!
Well, Jim has imagined them, but then he has been using his imagination in the KIDshow Business for over 50 years.
That imagination comes to life at KIDabra and you’ll Flip for these great ideas!
10:30 AM
Buster Balloon
The Game Show
Noon
Walk to Lunch Choices in the Neighborhood
2:00 PM
Duane Laflin
Revealing KIDshow Magic Secrets
3:30 pm
Cody Clark
Cody will touch your heart, and open your eyes and mind as he takes you into his world and shares "A Different Way of Thinking"
He'll teach you how to make your show sensory friendly, how to use your performance for advocacy, and how sensory kids react to your show and why. You'll be empowered so that you can go empower your audiences!
5:30 PM
Dinner
Friday Evening, August 12
An Evening with Sammy Smith
7:00 PM
Hosted by Ken Scott
Join host Ken Scott as he catches up with the busy editor of The Linking Ring, author, performer, and KIDshow Superstar, Samuel Patrick Smith. Then, Sammy presents some of his beloved signature KIDshow routines from Big Laughs for Little People, plus keep an eye out for his old friend Puff to make an appearance. Look for the SPS Magic booth in the dealers room, and most importantly enjoy the time with Sammy!
(Photo courtesy of Michael Messing)
10:30 PM
Late Night Special Event
with one of Magic’s Most Creative Minds! Come Discover the Surprise!
(We can neither confirm nor deny that hints may be contained within, nor will they self destruct in 20 seconds, or will they?)
Saturday, August 13
9:00 AM KIDabra International Conference
Continues:
Registration and Dealer's Opens
Networking Time
Your Host for the Day is Annie Banannie
8:00 AM
Santa Morning Jam!
Calling all Santas, Mrs. Claus" and Elves
for a post breakfast visit.
Hosted by Santa Tate
Photo by Michael Messing
10:00am
KID Talks
Noon
Walk to Lunch Choices in the Neighborhood
2:00pm
David Kaye
A KIDabra Debut Event:
From The Surprising to The Extraordinary:
How Magic Wands Came to Rule KIDshows!
3:30 pm
Chris Capehart
KIDabra Lectures with Chris are the stuff of KIDabra Legend!
In the seven years since he was last with us in the he was named Parlor Magician of The Year from The Academy of Magical Arts/ The Magic Castle and presented with the prestigious Milbourne Christopher Award for Lifetime Achievement.
To see Chris perform the Misers Dream with a kid, or his Linking Ring routine is to see pure magic! His Fraidy cat Rabbit routine is a Masterpiece, actually anything Chris presents is a Masterpiece form a Master Magician!
5:00 PM
KIDabra Dealers Open for Final Shoping
The Annual KIDabra Drawing takes place in the dealers room this year! Don't Miss It!
Dinner out and about, but hurry back for The Gala :)
HOT
8:00 PM
The KIDabra Gala Show
Tickets available at the door for friends and family. You're Registration badge is your ticket.
Your MC for the Evening is Ken Scott!
