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On March 11th, 2012, Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta (CMA) brought renowned illusionist Jeff Parmer to perform in the family friendly show, “Magic Maya.” A blend of sleight of hand, incredible magic, and hilarious comedy, “Magic Maya” was a sold-out show hosted at the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Proceeds from this fundraiser are designated for building an ashram on CMA property in Johns Creek. It would be a gurukul-style learning center with shrine, classrooms, and auditorium. Construction cost is estimated at three million dollars. CMA, inspired by the philosophy of Vedanta, began in 2001 and has grown to a community of nearly 400 families with close to 650 children.
The event started with CMA youth group chanting prayers. Shiv Agarwal lit diya and gave a short but most encouraging speech on CMA’s work and its impact on the community. Taal Tadka, a South Asian a cappella group from GA Tech gave an amazing preshow performance.
Star of the show Jeff Parmer kept the audience spellbound. “Magic Maya” incorporated Hindu concepts and pillars of CM teachings, maya, jnana, samskriti, and seva, which Parmer cleverly intertwined as part of his acts, many of which involved the audience.
The show took a break for the pledge drive while CMA Bala Vihar kids and two members of the newly established Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) at Georgia Tech shared their experiences about the impact of the CMA program in their lives. Kids of various grades gave real life examples of how the program helped them in their growth as individuals. The CHYK members talked about how this program gave them a higher purpose in life to aspire for and how it continuously molded their personalities to make them effective contributors to society. CMA outlined how this education was essential in today’s world for people of all ages, as it is not available in regular schools.
The magic show culminated with a grand illusion—Houdini-style—where Jeff Parmer was handcuffed and locked in a cabinet, only to emerge “magically” within seconds, his assistant ending up handcuffed inside a bolted trunk. After a standing ovation, Jeff continued to perform outside the auditorium to the delight of the audience.
http://www.greatmagic.com/Great_Magic/Atlanta.html
Jeff Parmer works magic for Chinmaya Mission ashram
May 2012
On March 11th, 2012, Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta (CMA) brought renowned illusionist Jeff Parmer to perform in the family friendly show, “Magic Maya.” A blend of sleight of hand, incredible magic, and hilarious comedy, “Magic Maya” was a sold-out show hosted at the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.Proceeds from this fundraiser are designated for building an ashram on CMA property in Johns Creek. It would be a gurukul-style learning center with shrine, classrooms, and auditorium. Construction cost is estimated at three million dollars. CMA, inspired by the philosophy of Vedanta, began in 2001 and has grown to a community of nearly 400 families with close to 650 children.
The event started with CMA youth group chanting prayers. Shiv Agarwal lit diya and gave a short but most encouraging speech on CMA’s work and its impact on the community. Taal Tadka, a South Asian a cappella group from GA Tech gave an amazing preshow performance.
Star of the show Jeff Parmer kept the audience spellbound. “Magic Maya” incorporated Hindu concepts and pillars of CM teachings, maya, jnana, samskriti, and seva, which Parmer cleverly intertwined as part of his acts, many of which involved the audience.
The show took a break for the pledge drive while CMA Bala Vihar kids and two members of the newly established Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) at Georgia Tech shared their experiences about the impact of the CMA program in their lives. Kids of various grades gave real life examples of how the program helped them in their growth as individuals. The CHYK members talked about how this program gave them a higher purpose in life to aspire for and how it continuously molded their personalities to make them effective contributors to society. CMA outlined how this education was essential in today’s world for people of all ages, as it is not available in regular schools.
The magic show culminated with a grand illusion—Houdini-style—where Jeff Parmer was handcuffed and locked in a cabinet, only to emerge “magically” within seconds, his assistant ending up handcuffed inside a bolted trunk. After a standing ovation, Jeff continued to perform outside the auditorium to the delight of the audience.
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Video:
For a video giving an idea of what his performance was like, seehttp://www.greatmagic.com/Great_Magic/Atlanta.html
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