Cares Disappear At Senior Center Magic Show

Leftover ice and slippery driveways from the previous day’s storm kept some away, but plenty of members of the Newtown Senior Center were on hand Thursday morning, February 14, to watch Miroslav Cervinek, also known as “European Super Magician Ramigo,” work his magic at the Riverside Road Center.

Mr Cervinek, who became enamored of magic as a young man in the Czechoslovakian army more than 55 years ago, studied under the famous magician Ramigami at the Magician’s School of Magic in Brno, Czechoslovakia. Although primarily employed in hotel service, he performed magic worldwide over the course of his career. In 1963, Mr Cervinek came to the United States, where he continued to perform for conventions and private groups, and appeared on the CBS television show The Ted Mack Hour and Channel 30, WHNB-TV. He has lived in Newtown since 1970, retiring from his position as maitre de at The Newtown Inn after 11 years. He continues to perform feats of illusion for special occasions, at senior centers, children’s parties, and at area schools.

February 14, Mr Cervinek’s performance focused on Valentine’s Day, what he called, “a ladies’ holiday.” His special repertoire for the day featured tricks involving “two of the ladies’ most favorite things: money and flowers.” Even the card tricks featured the Queen of Hearts.

Using no mechanical aids and many original tricks, Mr Cervinek elicited oohs and aahs from the audience as he manipulated cards and mystified the group with sleight of hand and mind-reading tricks. With a swipe of a hanky he turned a rose from red to white to yellow and back again to red. Knots in a rope mysteriously disappeared, even in the hands of the inexperienced help pulled from the audience, and quarters multiplied on a plate before everyone’s mesmerized eyes.

It was a magical way, said center members, to start Valentine’s Day.