Close-Up Magic at the Cannonball Kids’ Cancer Gold Gala

On a Saturday night in April, guests at the Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation (CKc) Gold Gala stepped into Fields BMW Winter Park to find the dealership transformed into an elegant event space. Cocktail tables stood where sedans usually sit, auction displays lined the walls, and three magicians from the See Magic Live Orlando roster—Kostya Kimlat, Sebastian Gerhardt, and Noah Fay—circulated through the crowd with playing cards and borrowed bills in hand.

Cards Between the Cars

A car dealership showroom is not a typical gala venue, which is part of what makes the Gold Gala memorable. The open floor plan at Fields BMW gave each magician room to move between groups, stopping wherever a cluster of guests had formed and performing five-to-ten-minute sets of interactive close-up magic before moving on.

Gerhardt’s calm, measured delivery played well against the polished surroundings; Fay’s energy and quick rapport-building kept groups engaged and laughing; and Kimlat, who founded See Magic Live in Orlando in 2010, read the room and adjusted his style to each audience.

With three performers covering a two-hour cocktail window, guests encountered magic multiple times throughout the evening, each interaction different from the last. This roaming format works especially well at fundraisers, giving attendees a shared experience and an easy conversation starter between auction lots and dinner courses. A guest who has just watched a signed card appear inside a zippered wallet suddenly has a story to share with the stranger at the next table.

What CKc Funds

Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation was founded in Winter Park in 2014 by Michael and Melissa Wiggins after their son Cannon was diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma at 20 months old. CKc focuses on funding pediatric cancer clinical trials, specifically research into less-toxic treatments that reduce long-term side effects for children.

To date, CKc has awarded 45 grants totaling over $5 million in research funding. Those grants have created more than 1,000 treatment options for children whose only remaining option was hospice. Remarkably, 94 percent of the clinical trials CKc has funded are the first of their kind in the United States.

One example of how this funding multiplies impact: a $200,000 CKc grant to researcher Dr. Elliot Stieglitz enabled his team to demonstrate the viability of a JMML-focused clinical trial. That proof of concept then helped secure a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The Gold Gala is CKc's largest annual fundraiser, and this year's proceeds support continued research at a time when federal pediatric cancer funding faces significant reductions.

Where to Learn More

To support Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation or learn more about their research grants, visit cannonballkidscancer.org.

If you’re planning a fundraiser, gala, or corporate event in the Orlando or Winter Park area and want live close-up magic as part of the evening, browse the roster at See Magic Live.