ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Many children fantasize about being a hero in their own right, and Tuesday, local children will be able to learn about just that thanks to Liberal Memorial Library.
Dan Heath, aka Dan Dan the Magic Man, will be bringing his act to Liberal Memorial Library Tuesday, June 11, with the show set to start at 1 p.m. The show has made its way to the library for multiple years now, and Heath said he is excited to return.
“We always love coming to Liberal. There's always a huge crowd, and the children who come are always super excited to see us. Liberal's got a wonderful library, the staff there is always so warm and welcoming, and I know they work very hard to make summer reading exciting,” Heath said. “This year's summer reading theme is 'Adventure Starts at Your Library,' and it's a very fun theme because it allows us to do a lot of cool adventure stuff. When we heard the word 'adventure,' we talked about whether we wanted to have a more narrative-style show where the hero faces an obstacle and has to overcome it. And 'adventure' is VERY open to interpretation because you can have a jungle adventure or magic adventure, more like what children typically read about. But we decided it would be more fun to stray from that just a bit and focus more on what it takes to be a hero while going on an adventure. The past couple years, we've gone the more narrative-style route with the show, but we wanted to approach this year in a different direction.”
Heath added the Liberal Memorial Library staff did not wait long to ask him to come back for this year.
“I think it was at the end of our show last year when the staff asked us to see about having an open space, because they wanted us to come back, so it was rather early on,” Heath said with a chuckle. “We have 35 libraries we'll be traveling to throughout the state, and Liberal got on the list early. We've been coming to Liberal for a long time, and this is my 24th year doing this act, and it's been a very rare year when we didn't get out that way. ”
Heath went into more detail about the show itself, saying it will be a very enjoyable time for everyone in the audience.
“My sons and I write the show together, and the main idea we came up with was how all adventures have a hero, so we got to thinking 'What does it take to be a hero?'” Heath said. “There are so many different traits we associate with those types of characters in various media, and a lot of children's first introduction to that is by reading and going to the library and finding the hero in yourself, so to speak. Our show will follow Benny the Bunny, who's really nervous about being a hero because he doesn't know if he has what it takes. We introduce him to several different books, and throughout his journey, he learns about being educated and resourceful and healthy and optimistic about being able to succeed.”
Heath also offered encouragement to not only come out for his magic show, but also to the other activities that will be taking place throughout the summer.
“Summer reading is very low-pressure, and there's no cost to sign your child(ren) up to participate. They'll have a really great time not only reading, but also in going to the various activities and events the library will have throughout the summer,” Heath said. “There's no shortage of research that shows how children who read throughout summer vacation do better during the school year. There's a certain amount of 'brain drain' that happens because children think 'School's out, I don't have to look at any books for a while!' Getting your child(ren) into the library is a good way to help prevent that. The Internet has many wonderful aspects to it, but it can't fully replace reading a book as far as their academic and social development. Our show is one of the many adventures local children can have at the library, and I hope parents will bring their children in for those experiences, because I do believe libraries are full of magic.”
The best part of performing, Heath said, is the people he gets to perform with.
“My favorite part is getting to perform with my sons. My youngest is going to be a junior in high school in the fall, and his older brother just graduated from Wichita State University. I started doing these shows before either of them were born, so it's been a lot of fun and a lot of traveling, and it's great being on the road with them visiting all the different communities in Kansas and meeting all the different people we come across,” Heath said. “Everywhere we go in Kansas, everyone is just so nice and warm and welcoming, and everyone cares for each other, especially in the southwest part of the state. People don't realize how great we have it in Kansas – I grew up in Ashland, so I'm from that area myself, and we're so blessed to live in a place where people really take care of one another and really care. Public libraries really represent the best of who we are because their purpose is to help make their community stronger and better, and we really enjoy being part of that, so I hope people will help us celebrate the library in Liberal.”
Overall, Heath said, he hopes everyone has a fun time at his upcoming shows.
“Like I said, we've got 35 different libraries we'll be performing in throughout the state, with some of them being in Western Kansas, and we'll also be visiting Wichita and other parts of the state,” Heath said. “We'll definitely be seeing lots of wheat waving in the fields, and we're just really happy to be bringing entertainment to so many children in Kansas. I would also like to encourage everyone to take advantage of the fantastic library there in Liberal, and I want to thank the staff there, because they're amazing. That library is such a jewel, and I really hope people realize it throughout this summer with everything they'll have going on.”
