Ran’D Shine Brings Wonder, and Laughs, to Gardner Campus
By Luke Guerin | Observer Contributor
On February 21, Magician and Comedian Ran’D Shine put on a magic show for students, their children, and all others interested in the Student Life Center at the MWCC Gardner campus.
“The purpose of the show is to allow students to relax, to take a break from academics,” said Kathy Matson, the head of Student Life. “There’s a reason this event was planned over February vacation.”
Kathy first met Ran’D Shine at the annual meeting of the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) back in 2020. According to Ran’D, it took very little convincing to come out and perform at the Gardner campus.
With the little kids in the front, Ran’D Shine came onto the stage and wowed the audience, young and old. Some of the solo tricks included pulling knots off a rope (which he did with an older volunteer later), making balloon animals inside of a paper bag, hypnotizing students by waving, changing a black rabbit into a white rabbit inside of a closed book, and of course performing card tricks with his “ancient, mysterious, and ritualistic” cards. Shine even captivated the audience with a story and proceeded to show the group the trick presented in the story. Tricks with an invisible deck of cards, tissue paper, and the rope involved volunteers of all ages from the audience.
Although Ran’D Shine normally performs in front of older audiences, he was smiling and having fun with the younger kids, who were wowing and screaming with excitement right up front. When asked if he works in magic for the reactions, he said, “It’s [magic] for everyone. It’s more than vacations; it’s for joy and to get away from academic stress.”
“It’s fun to be a part of anything, really,” said Alax, a member of the audience and a participant in one of Ran’D’s tricks, who couldn’t look away during the entire trick.
“I didn’t get to go the last time he came here, so I was glad I got to come,” said Aimee, another member of the audience. Both Alax and Aimee agreed that this event, along with other events planned by Student Life, are fun and relaxing. While there are no definitive plans for Ran’D to come back this semester, there are still plenty of events coming up for students to relax and have fun, including Musical Bingo (starting March 14), Therapy Dogs (March 27), and Tropical Sands DJ Dance Party (March 30).
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