Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Diversions

Last night in Van Meter auditorium, magic was in the air.

Not Cinderella's fairy godmother style magic, but the stylings of illusionist Andre Kole.

Kole, a world famous illusionist and motivational speaker, has invented hundreds of illusions used by some of the most famous magicians today.

But, there is a side to Kole that most people wouldn't associate with magicians in our time.

Kole is a dedicated Christian.

"I love the entertainment, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't have a message," Kole said.

Kole was brought to Western by Campus Crusade for Christ, a non-denominational christian student organization.

Kole said that since he found his purpose in life, he just wants to help students find their purpose.

Ben McGuire, a staff member with Crusade, said some of the staff members had seen Kole's performance before and really enjoyed it. So they decided to bring him to Western.

"We thought it would be a different opportunity for people to enjoy the show and also give them the ability to see a relationship with Christ," McGuire said.

Kole, who's been to more than 70 countries and 3,000 universities, makes it his mission to debunk those who try to promote things as supernatural. In fact, he offers a $1 million reward to anyone who can show they can perform the paranormal feat.

To date, no one has been able to get past the first stage of the process.

The show that Kole performed was his third one to date at Western, where his memories still live on to this day to some of the audience members.

One man came up to Kole at the event and said that 30 years ago, he came to watch Kole and his message carries on to him to this day.

One of the main attractions that Kole performed was a slow motion disappearance of a scale model of the Statue of Liberty. The 11 foot tall statue dissipated at a slow pace, where Kole raised a curtain up slowly from the bottom, leaving three feet exposed at the top to show the progress.

Jeff Venable, a junior from Franklin, Tenn., saw the show. He was also part of the show in a small way. Venable volunteered his jacket to the services of Kole for a demonstration of the paranormal. Kole was tied to a chair, and somehow was able to put on Venable's jacket while still tied to the chair.

Venable said that one of the main things that Kole does with his tours is show that any life without a relationship with Christ is an illusion.

"It's really the most important thing in my life and apparently the main thing in his," Venable said.

Venable wasn't the only person in the audience who had an impression made on them.

Greenville sophomore Sean Beard and local amateur magician said that Kole was a genius.

"He presents a very different type of magic that really relates to the traditional styles used early in magic," he said.

Beard said that Kole's magic is appreciated by different people, but he hopes that people would be open minded after watching the show.

Reach Eric Isbell at diversions@chherald.com.