If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Jim Barber and Seville should feel honored that one of the hot selling Halloween costumes for the past couple seasons has been the Adult Ventriloquist Dummy Costume which looks quite similar to Jim’s trademark act, the Barber and Seville.

Since the costume first appeared at various online costume shops, Jim has received several emails from friends and fans asking if he’s seen the funny, yet familiar costume.

Although the design and construction of the costume is different than Jim’s original creation, the similarity comes from the fact that the tall ventriloquist is holding the smaller dummy, and the “real” ventriloquists head is on the small body.  It’s a visual illusion that is guaranteed to pop eyes and turn heads from all who open their doors on Halloween night.

“I think this is great,” says Jim, “and I encourage everyone to purchase one for themselves, even if you don’t intend to wear it for trick-or-treating.  The more people seen in public wearing this outfit, the more normal I will appear myself,” said Jim with a chuckle.

The costume is available for purchase and immediate shipping from Amazon.com.  Check out their huge selection of other costumes and Halloween accessories, not to mention just about any DVD, book or audio CD ever released!

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!

Dancers: AJ Heard & Ken Brown

In addition to their incredible dancing at the Hamner Barber Variety Show, cast members A.J. Heard and Ken Brown will be performing in a refreshingly creative new morning show designed especially for kids at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater.

Rock-U-Mentally is a hip, educational musical for kid’s of all ages that focuses on teaching children about social and environmental responsibility.

Original songs written and performed by the shows cast include “Don’t Stand By, Stand Up,” H2OH Is The Way To Go,” “Find A Grown Up You Know,” and many, many more.

In addition to A.J. and Ken, the cast includes AJ’s husband Bucky Heard, Chris Skillern and his wife Angie Skillern. Chris Skillern is the co-producer along with Bucky Heard and also serves as the music director for the shows original tunes.

Reminiscent of the old “School House Rock” TV Series (remember…”Conjunction Junction, what’s your function…”), Rock-U-Mentally is produced with today’s youth in mind and focuses on the types of issues and concerns that they deal with in a fun, safe and interactive way.

Performances at the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri begin July 16, 2009 with shows scheduled on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 10:00am. This is a 5-week, limited engagement.

For more information visit RockUMentally.com or call 417-339-3003 for tickets and information.

The event is the brainchild of Tom Brett of the Brett Family Singers with the assistance of Denise Greeno of Ozarks Kirkwood Tour & Travel. Together with Dave Hamner and Jim Barber of the Hamner Barber Variety Show, they have hosted the annual event since 1994.

Admission is only $10.00 Adults and $5.00 Children with 100% of the ticket proceeds going to the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 913.

Performers for the special event include: The Brett Family Singers, Hamner & Barber, #1 Hits of the 60s, Clay Cooper, Ricky Boen, Barbara Fairchild, Joi Christensen, Allen Edwards, Wade Landry and Doug Gabriel. The hilarious Tom Mulica returns as emcee and Ambrus Presley will present the national anthem. Pastor Don Brezavar of Branson’s Church of the Harvest will bring the invocation and the Branson VVA will provide the color guard.

For advanced reservations call the Hamner Barber Theater at 417-334-4363 or purchase tickets at the theater box office located at 3090 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway in Branson.

Ricky Boen and Texas Mud have been entertaining and amazing audiences for the past three years in Branson. However, when you visit the Hamner Barber Theater and Ricky and Texas Mud take the stage you will not hear the Big Band sound with clarinets, saxophones and horns driving the music. This is Texas Swing….music driven primarily by the string sound, predominately fiddles, steel guitar and guitars. Remember though this is Texas Swing and of course that means twin fiddles!

Ricky Boen is one of the most energetic, talented musicians to grace a stage. This 1983 World Champion fiddle player leads this incredibly gifted group of musicians which includes Mark Boyd on guitar and vocals, Ricky’s dad, Darrell Boen also on vocals and guitar, Mark Pearman is the other “half” of the twin fiddles, Casey Robertson keeps the beat on the drums, Mark Abbott is on the upright bass and vocals and polishing off that Texas Swing sound is Dave Musgrave on the steel guitar. After just one song audiences will not be surprised to learn that Ricky Boen and Texas Mud were named Western Swing Group of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists in 2001 and were honored with the coveted Will Rogers’ Award.

Joining Ricky and the boys is eleven-year-old Brooke Hale. Brooke’s powerhouse voice and her lively dance moves bring just a little feminine touch to this group. And ready or not Branson’s only female comedian “Ida Claire” is in the house! You never know what Ida is up to on any given day and generally neither does Ricky and the boys.

This unique Texas Swing Variety show definitely has something for everyone. Between their blend of amazing instrumental talent, vocal harmony, lots of laughter and fun, it is easy to see why it is definitely Texas Swing Done Right!

Related Websites: TexasMud.com, BransonWebcast.com|Ricky Boen

Related Articles: Ricky Boen Honored in Hometown, Hamner Barber Welcomes Texas Mud, Texas Mud Video Promo

Ricky Boen & Texas Mud

The Hamner Barber theater proudly announces the addition of a new morning show,Ricky Boen and Texas Mud to the theater’s 2007 line-up of top-quality entertainment.

“We are thrilled to host this incredible group of performers as our new morning show.” stated Jim Barber. “I’m a big fan of Texas Swing music, and these guys are one of the best western music groups performing in the country today. “

Ricky Boen is the 1983 World Champion fiddle player from Odessa, Texas and his group “Texas Mud” won the coveted Will Rogers Award, being named Western Swing Group of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.

The group has traveled across the United States performing at fairs, festivals and auditoriums, and performed with major artists such as Mark Chestnutt, the Bellamy Brothers and the Texas Playboys.

2007 marks their 3rd season in Branson and their first season at the Hamner Barber Theater. “From the first song until the last, this show keeps your feet a tappin’ and your cheeks a grinnin’,” said Dave Hamner. “We love it and we know our visitors will too!”

The show will open March 24, 2007 and performances will run through December 14th.

When asked how he best describes the focus of the show, Ricky Boen replied, “It’s simple –Texas Swing done right! Several shows will do a song or two as a tribute to Texas Swing, or a taste of it, but it’s what we love, and what we do! We try to take the roots of Texas Swing from guys like Spade Cooley and Bob Wills, and season it with some more contemporary icons of the style, like George Strait and Asleep at the Wheel, and make it our own. I’ve always said that if you come to one of our shows and leave without feeling like you were entertained, it’s your fault, because we’re going to put it out there, full throttle, every time we hit that stage.”

Besides the amazing fiddling of Ricky Boen, Texas Mud has an incredibly talented group of players, with Tim Gregg on guitar and vocals, Ricky’s dad, Darrell Boen also on vocals and guitar, Cortlandt Ingram providing the other half of the twin fiddles, Casey Robertson on drums, and Mark Abbott on upright bass.

Twelve-year-old singing sensation, Sarah Blackerby, who was part of the Silver Dollar City production of “A Christmas Carol” two years ago, is joining Ricky and the boys to bring a little feminine grace and a powerhouse voice to the mix, having gained a special dispensation from school responsibilities to join the cast.

Also featured is comedian Rufus, hilariously played by the talented Tim Gregg from Rotan, Texas. He comes from a musical family and has been playing guitar since he was 12 years old. Tim has performed in professional touring bands and has opened for many national acts such as Tracy Byrd, Asleep at the Wheel, Chris Ledoux and more. Tim has written two #1 Western Swing Songs as well as one #2 song that will burn in your memory for years to come!

If you’re looking for real, honest-to-goodness, western swing music, then Ricky Boen and Texas Mud is the perfect ticket for the entire family! It truly is the best way to start your day, and with a bonus… the coffee is free!