Hoffman Center Blog

Anthony Gilmore, Magician

Magician Anthony Gilmore will perform at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 5 at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita.  Admission will be $10.

Gilmore has been performing magic for 30 years, in Portland, Spokane, Upstate New York, and even in Germany where he met his wife.  Some people may remember when he opened for evening jazz performances at the Brasserie Montmartre in Portland for five years.  Now he mostly performs for private events. Gilmore is also currently working on a project with Senior Living Communities.

The show is aimed at adults, not that it’s ‘blue’, but it’s sophisticated and includes elements like audience participation and mind-reading, and a startling effect where he seems to swallow razor blades. “Rest assured,” said Gilmore via email,  “the magic I perform is for nothing more than entertainment purposes… If you like to be entertained, come and enjoy the show, it will be fun.”

Magic has been a lifelong obsession, starting when he was eight years old and a friend showed him how to perform a trick with nothing more than a coin and a handkerchief.  “I was pretty much hooked,” says Gilmore.

Gilmore’s performance is another offering in the Hoffman Center’s new “dell’Arte Series” program. The series features appearances by a wide variety of performers, including musicians, magicians, comedians, clowns, and just about anything else.

Halley the 'zero emissions' Harpist

Halley Weaver, Portland’s celebrated “Bicycling Street Harpist,” will perform at 7 p.m., Friday, April 9 at the Hoffman Center in Manzanita. Weaver has been praised for her magical take on folk music, with an added dimension for nature lovers. Admission will be $10.

Since moving to Portland in 2008, Weaver has become a fixture traveling the streets with her harp mounted on a custom-designed bicycle trailer. She is jokingly referred to as the “zero-emissions” harpist, for her combination of musical skills and environmentalism.

Halley blends traditional Celtic and Irish pieces with her own unique variations and arrangements. When not traveling by bicycle, Halley opts for the most sustainable transportation options, varying from hybrid cars, bus/train and carpooling to events.

Weaver’s concert will be the first offering in the Hoffman Center’s new “dell’Arte Series” program. The series will feature appearances by a wide variety of performers, including musicians, magicians, comedians, clowns, and just about anything else.

“This way the Hoffman Center can bring in entertainers that most local residents wouldn’t typically see here,” said David Dillon, president of the Center’s board. “The program’s creators envision a series of entertaining, unexpected events you won’t find anywhere else on the North Coast.”

“While not technically Commedia dell’Arte, all of these performers will have a sort of ‘alternative’ feel,” added Dillon. “And certainly the Hoffman Center as a space definitely has the sort of counter-culture spirit the original dell’Arte players were shooting for.”

Future dell’ Arte offerings in the works include a magician, and a reader’s theater production of Bryan Harteniaux’s play “Vesta” performed by Liz Cole of Neahkahnie.