This single Rotary Club of Suva event raised more than $20,000 for charity. The crowds everywhere were, to put it mildly - raucous. Most in the audience had never have seen a live performing magician before and there was plenty of comedy and just the right amount of innuendo to make the adults laugh out loud as well.
The Day Job
DGE9980 Jonathan (yes he’s a DGE!) has another job back in New Zealand where he owns and operates six petrol stations and is a long-time Rotarian. While watching Jonathan perform at a Rotary gathering in New Zealand, Suva Rotary Club President Adrian Hughes was convinced that Jonathan’s brand of humour and magic would work wonders in Fiji so he created a new event especially for the funny man with the magic wand. “In all my years of performing, I have never seen anything remotely like Fiji. Every place I went, people just erupted! It truly was magic”, said Jonathan. “I love performing for kids, and the Fiji kids made this the trip of a lifetime for me”.
The Main Event
More than 300 tickets were sold for the Variety Night at $60 each. Laisa Vulakuro and her band warmed up the crowd followed by a cocktail hour and short charity auction. President Hughes highlighted some of the club’s recent charitable projects and announced that the RC of Suva was on a mission to raise more than ever before while honouring this year’s Rotary mantra of ‘Changing Lives’ by supporting efforts to address Non-Communicable Diseases in Fiji. Special Guest, Dr Neil Sharma, the Fiji Minister for Health, thanked the RC of Suva for its long time partnership in addressing the medical woes faced in Fiji including their support this year against rheumatoid heart disease.
When it all was over, Fiji had experienced its first magical night in decades and many a person, both young and old were reminded of a time when Harry Potter, Merlin, Aladdin and so many others were more than characters in fantasy movies... and of a place in our minds where magic really can happen.
