The Hamners Magical Birds with Jim Barber & Chico Pete

From the moment the curtain opens on the Hamner Barber Variety Show, the audience is transported to a magical world where beautiful tropical birds appear seemingly out of nowhere, flying over the heads of the astonished audience.

With all the action, one would think an umbrella would be in order, but fortunately that isn’t the case.  Famed Illusionists The Hamners have worked diligently with their friendly flock of magical birds to ensure that an accidental blessing from above doesn’t befall an audience member.

Master Ventriloquist Jim Barber’s canine sidekick Chico Pete is another story all-together.  While he’s fairly confined to Jim himself, Chico often let’s loose with hilarious songs and frisky humor that may leave the audience rolling in the aisles.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg of incredible family entertainment awaiting you at the Hamner Barber Variety Show.  There are amazing original illusions galore that you won’t find in any other magic show in the World.  Jim Barber’s unique puppet characters and multi-octave singing voice will even have the audience becoming part of this fun Branson show.

Individually, The Hamners and Jim Barber have headlined their acts in such mecca’s of entertainment as Las Vegas, Laughlin, Reno, Atlantic City, Atlantis Resort, and even Hollywood’s Famed Magic Castle to name a few.  Together, they combine two amazing variety acts into one incredible show that can only be seen at the Hamner Barber Theater in Branson, Missouri.

By the way, the theater gift shop carries a wide array of magic tricks, photos, dvd videos, quality jewelry, and just in case… umbrellas too!

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Hamner Barber Variety Show February – December 2010

2010 BOX OFFICE RATES Adult (18+) $ 29.50 Teen (13-17) $ 16.50 Child (4-12) $ 8.50 Infant (0-3) FREE 11.6% sales tax additional

Baby Macaws at the Hamner Barber Theater

This inquisitive pair of baby Greenwing Macaws were hatched about 7 weeks ago as part of a licensed domestic breeding program arranged by Dave and Denise Hamner under the direction of Linda Hughes of Rainbow Realm Aviaries in Rhome, TX.  “Linda is one of the best parrot breeders we have ever worked with,” said Dave Hamner.  “We can’t say enough nice things about her facility in Texas.”

As these colorful birds fill out their plumage and grow to full size, they will become highly intelligent and perhaps they will even make an appearance on stage at the Hamner Barber Theater and fly high above the heads of the audience as their parents did before retiring to the breeding program.

A Few Feathered Facts

Greenwings are considered the smartest breed of the large macaws, with an ability to learn things quickly. They are the second largest in size next to the Hyacinth Macaw.  Interactive socially with both people and parrots, the Greenwing macaw often possesses a sweet nature.  With a life expectancy of 60-80 years or more, they can make excellent life-long companions, but raising a parrot as a pet is not for everyone.  Parrots don’t provide unconditional love and a caretaker needs extreme patience and skill to earn a bird’s respect.   These birds also require a great deal of physical and mental stimulation, as they are famous for their mischevious nature and need to chew and destroy.  A healthy and proper diet is essential, and over a lifetime, raising a parrot (let alone an entire flock) can be extremely expensive.

Help Us Name The New Babies

The Hamners have devoted the greater part of their lives caring for over two-dozen of these wonderful winged creatures.  They truly think of them more as children than they do as pets.  With the arrival of these new babies, we at the Hamner Barber Theater thought it would be fun to give our online friends an opportunity to come up with the names that these two Macaws will carry for the rest of their lives.  It’s an important assignment, and one not to be taken lightly.  Here’s how you can participate…

Enter Today for Your Chance To Win

Send us an email and include only one name for each bird.  One is a male, and the other is female.  Be creative with your selection and you’ll have a chance to not only claim the title of “Bird Namer to the Stars,” but you’ll also win a fabulous prize package from the Hamner Barber Theater valued at over $100.00 that includes Hamner Barber DVD’s, Magic Tricks, Puppets, Show Tickets and more suprises!

Submit your entry no later than 11:00pm on Friday, August 28, 2009.

The entire staff, cast and crew of the Hamner Barber Variety Show will be given a list of each entry and asked to select their favorite.  The entry with the most votes is the winner.  Should no entry recieve more than one vote, the Hamners themselves will then determine the winner.

We’ll announce the winner on this website on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

Put your thinking caps on, and send us your names today.  Be sure to include your name and shipping address so we can mail your prize package should you be the winner.  You may also post comments to this article below, but only name submissions sent via email will be considered for the contest.

Thank you for participating in this feathered fun!

Before the screaming jet engines and the plumes of dense smoke, there was a modestly quaint and colorful performance happening nightly over the heads of astonished Branson theater goers.  The act was called the “Pirate Parrot Act” and was developed over many years of intense training, love and dedication by professional illusionists Dave and Denise Hamner who came to the Ozarks from their ranch home in Southern California where they raised their birds by hand and tended to them kindly as if they were their own children.    In their one-of-a-kind act, a beautiful bevy of exotic, tropical parrots appear from nowhere, flying low enough over the audience as to rustle the hair of anyone in their path.  There are macaws, cockatoos and even white doves creating a seemingly endless array of feathered fun to the delight of those looking up from below.  The giddy laughs of amazement and vocal cheers from the crowd is testament to the sheer magnificence of their original routine.  Branson audiences had never seen anything like this before.

The Hamners were receiving high recognition for their magical effects, long before bringing them to Branson.  In addition to appearances across the country, they’ve performed at major attractions such as Disneyland and Hollywood’s Magic Castle.  After a performance in Las Vegas, entertainment Superstars Siegfried and Roy presented the Hamners with their prestigious Bronze Lion Award for excellence and shortly thereafter, they were asked to perform with their beautiful birds on NBC’s “World’s Greatest Magic” TV special which has been aired around the world numerous times.  Host John Ritter introduced the Hamners as “the most amazing bird act in all of magic.”

When the Hamners were hired to perform at a theater in the Mutton Hollow Theme Park in Branson, Missouri (most recently known as Celebration City), they were so taken by the beauty of the Ozarks, that  they sought out other opportunities to stay in the area.  After an invitation from Jimmy Osmond to join him and his talented brothers at the Osmond Family Theater, The Hamners began to earn a reputation around Branson as one of the most amazing support acts in town.  When their contract at the Osmond Theater expired, Dave and Denise were offered a featured role in a new production show called “Branson City Lights” which then led to an opportunity to finally headline their own “Magic of the Night” spectacular at the Remington Theatre.  A couple years later, they once again teamed up with Jimmy Osmond to perform in the “American Jukebox Show” where they shared a dressing room with comedian, ventriloquist Jim Barber who had also been cast in the new show.  Although the Hamners and Jim Barber had been friends for many years prior, this opportunity to appear in the same show brought them much closer together.

After a successful two-season run, the plug was pulled on the American Jukebox Show creating an opportunity for the performers to move on to new ventures.  Jimmy Osmond traveled to England to produce and star in various projects, and in the Spring  of 2004, Jim Barber and The Hamners were offered an opportunity to co-star in their very own “Hamner Barber Variety Show” at another venue that they now own together, the Hamner Barber Theater on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway.  In 2010, the award-winning variety show will celebrate it’s seventh-season as Branson’s most unique family show featuring magic, comedy, music and dance.

In addition to their magical feathered friends, the Hamners have also invented and developed many never-before-seen stage illusions that can only be experienced at their Branson show.  In the world of illusion, The Hamners are true originals in every sense of the word.  As long as they continue to step out onto the stage of the Hamner Barber Theater, there will be magic in the air above Branson!