Nature Center Auction to feature Sleight of Hand Lesson

Nov. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- Stokes Nature Center’s 13th annual fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 6th will feature a private sleight of hand lesson from deceptionist Richard Hatch as part of its silent auction. Hatch, whose sleight of hand performances have taken him to such exotic venues as the Kingdom of Bahrain and Eddie Murphy’s New Year’s Eve party, will also appear and perform at the dinner. “I’ll be performing strolling close-up magic during the silent auction early in the evening,” says Hatch. “I promise not to make anyone’s dinner disappear but my own!” Hatch’s appearance and the lesson are sponsored by the Hatch Academy of Magic of Music, a performing arts conservatory offering lessons in sleight of hand and violin playing, scheduled to open in Logan this January.

“The late Allen and Alice Stokes, for whom the nature center is named, were longtime neighbors and friends of my parents, Eastman and Anne Hatch,” explains Hatch. “My wife Rosemary and I are delighted to be a part of this event, and plan to take advantage of this terrific resource often now that we have moved to Cache Valley.” Hatch and his wife, violinist Rosemary Kimura Hatch, met at Yale University when both were graduate students there and spent the past 25 years based in Houston, Texas.

Among the many other auction offerings are weekend getaways, gourmet dinners, a Doug Adams’ sculpture, a painting by Chloe Hedden, private concerts by the Fry String Quartet and the Westminster Bell Choir, catered parties and outdoor adventures.

The evening, which celebrates all things “green”, will also feature a costume contest with prizes for Most Green, Luckiest, Most Sustainable, Most Self-Powered and Lucky Lady.

The fundraiser begins at 6 p.m. at the Copper Mill Restaurant, 55 N. Main St. Tickets are $50 per person, $500 for a table of 10.

Tickets are available at www.logannature.com or at Fuhriman’s Framing & Fine Art (75 S. Main St.), the College of Natural Resources dean’s office at Utah State University and Stokes Nature Center. For more information, call 435-755-3239.

Located one mile up Logan Canyon, Stokes Nature Center’s 3,000 square foot lodge sits on U. S. Forest Service lands and operates under a lease agreement with the U. S. Forest Service. The organization’s mission is to provide opportunities for students of all ages to explore, learn about and develop appreciation and stewardship for our natural world.

For more information about the Hatch Academy of Magic and Music, see www.hatchacademy.com or contact Richard Hatch, 435-932-0017, info@hatchacademy.com

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About the Hatch Academy of Magic and Music: Conceived as a combination of Hogwarts and Juilliard, the Hatch Academy is slated to open in Logan, Utah in January 2011, offering private and group lessons in sleight of hand and violin playing. The faculty/founders are deceptionist Richard Hatch and violinist Rosemary Kimura Hatch.