Magic and Family Fun, That's Amore!

This past Wednesday, a veil of fantasy and mysticism was lowered over the trees and playground equipment of Marjorie R. Post Park in Massapequa.The Magic of Amore was on hand, and with it came mystery, intrigue, and...rubber chickens.

Indeed, the family-friendly Amore, who has been doing magic professionally for over 20 years, is known as much for his zany Tex Avery-inspired humor as he is for his deft slight-of-hand.

 Massapequa Park resident Destiny Hicks was in attendance with her daughter, Skylar, and son, Hayden.  "I liked how fast his hands are,"Skylar said. "Amore is a lot of fun."

Skylar's mother seconded the notion. "The park had a different magician here last year, but he wasn't nearly as good as Amore," Hicks said.

Many members of the audience were already familiar with Amore, who is a popular act on Long Island.

He has a  repertoire of light-hearted tricks involving over-sized playing cards, a stuffed raccoon, the aforementioned rubber chicken, and, most impressively, a seemingly effortless escape from locked handcuffs.

Also present to take in Amore's magical prowess was a group of children in the Town of Oyster Bay's GAP program, which helps handicapped and disabled members of the community.

The kids could barely contain their excitement, with some of them getting involved as assistants in Amore's act. "Oh, did you see them? They were thrilled," said Enrica Budinich of the GAP program. "Amore was very, very in tune with the kids. I was so very impressed."

That childlike sense of wonder is what got Amore involved in magic.

"I've been doing this since I was a kid growing up," he said. "Doug Henning was on Broadway, and I saw his show when I was maybe six or seven years old...and he was awesome. After that, Mom and Dad brought me to a local magic shop in Franklin Square, and I started doing magic all the time."

He went from doing a few tricks in the living room for his parents to becoming a full time magician through perseverance.

"I started out doing birthdays and children's parties, and eventually started taking every show I could," He said. "Big shows, small stuff, and every kind in-between. Eventually, I found myself going around the world, performing magic."

 Amore is married with three children of his own and a fourth on the way,  so he isn't quite the globetrotter he used to be. "Now that I have a family, I've basically come full circle; I'm back to doing a lot of local private events, such as corporate work, libraries, and schools."

 But when asked what to expect from him in the future, Amore gave a sly grin and replied, "NEVER know what to expect from a magician!"