I do a routine where I have candy appear from a dove pan. How should I go about giving out candy to the children? I don't want them to all rush the pan of candy. I am worried that they might worry about the candy and not my show if I pass it out during the show. What is the best way to give out the candy?
-Tyler

If you must give out candy, the best way is to give it to the parents and let them decide if they want to give it out or not. Some parents are very picky about this. I wouldn’t start handing out anything during the show, wait until it’s over.

Tom

I agree with Tom when ever I do trick with stuff like that I make sure it was ok with the pernts befor the show. and if its ok I would hand it out at the end cause you don't want to call some kid to help you and they get sticky fingers all over your teick or your hand when you shack there hand.
Kyle

I make the candy appear as the first trick in my show. I pour it from the chick pan to a paper bowl. I then point to any adult in the room and tell the kids "Everybody look at her. She will hold the candy 'til the END of the show. You guys make sure she doesn't sneak any."

This tells the kids they will get it but only at the end. It lets the adults know not to hand it out until the end. The little joke about the adult sneaking one gets a little laugh so the kids aren't angry about having to wait for the candy and if the adults don't want the candy distributed they can just take it away.

Works great.

Mike

I don't give out candy. (I kept eating them myself!)

However, why don't you have the same candy in the pan for EVERY show (maybe even fake it if you like or glue them together so they don't fall everywhere in transit) and then give a packet of lollies to the parents when you FIRST arrive and have them either put the lollies in the kid's party bag or put them on the food table.

That way you don't have to refill the pan all the time and the lollies won't get lighter fluid on them.

FYI: I stopped producing candy years ago becuase it can be dangerous. Believe it or not, if you pass out candy and a kid chokes on it, you can be sued because you gave it to them. It's not worth it....

I also produce candy from a dove pan at the end of my show. I always ask the parent's permission first, but they always seem a bit confused as to why I need their permission. I do it in the context of baking a cake. First I produce a spring rabbit by accident, then I produce the candy. I used to just throw it into the air and then pack away while the kids were all fighting over the candy - but I soon realised it's not such a wise idea. Part of the routine uses a bag to chef's outfit - so the birthday kid has this on when the candy is produced. The apron has a pocket in front - so what I do is get the kid to hold it open, tip the candy into the pocket and then ask the kid to share it amongst his/her friends. I then supervise the handing out of the sweets - or I get the parent to do that.

Hey Todd,

Might want to rethink producing a rabbit out of a hat....it might jump out and bite or scratch a kid....not to mention wetting the carpet and leaving a stain!!!It's not worth it....LOL

John

In the past I have produced candy at the beginning of the show and then I give a piece to each child when they help with a trick. At the end of the show I twist balloons and any kid that doesn't have candy can grab a piece as they come by for their balloon. Of course, you still must ask permission from the parents first. Also, I try to stick with candy that is pretty hard to choke on. Life Savers work well.

Forget the candy, first it is incredibly distracting for kids even if a parent keeps charge of it. Since it is a food (of sorts) you can be held liable if a kid gets sick regardless of whether or not it is the candy. Finally some kids have diabetes and will feel left out and some kids have a bad reaction to sugar which leaves them out and some parents have a "bad reaction" to their kids being given sugar - which leaves YOU out. At least for future shows or referrals.

I agree with the suggestion of checking with the parents first. I have produced candy from my dove pan for years now, with great effect. I save it as the last effect in my show because I know the kids are going to go wild for the candy. As soon as the candy is produced, I pour it into a larger bowl and give it to one of the parents to hand out. This gives me a few minutes to pack up my stuff.

The only downside to this is that it eliminates the final round of applause that I would otherwise receive at the end of the show. I compensate for this by all of the applause and participation during the rest of the show.

I personally do a comedy egg can routine. However, I usually do this for blue and gold dinners or family style shows where I always get an adult up on stage or the cub master. The comedy plays better with an adult and the kids love seeing the dad or cub master in a predicament. At the end, I do create candy. I always make sure the candy is individually wrapped candy and I pour it into a bag and give to the adult with instructions to hand it out after the performance. It works well that way.

Kyle

I don't often give out candy (or 'sweets' as we call them here in the UK) in my shows, but when I do I always make sure the organiser knows beforehand in case of allergies, etc. And like Kyle, I always make sure they are wrapped sweets for hygiene reasons. I tend to do the cake baking routine in my dovepan and end the show by saying 'look it's only 'sponge' cake (playing on the gag!), but if you turn around, there's a real cake for you all to eat'. I previously arrange with the organisor to bring the real birthday cake in for this moment. The birthday cake is much better than handing out sweets at the end plus it draws the kids attention away from me so I can hurridly pack my props away from prying eyes and hands!

Jon

I used the popcorn production in "Magic Digest" for a Halloween show. Held out the bowl, almost got mobbed. Managed a stern "Hold it! All the little kids first." Pointed to one in the front row who'd almost gotten trampled. "Starting with her." A few years later I'm watching "Blakes 7" and "Blake" is shanghied into a slave gang. At feeding time, he watches as they mob the trough and shouts "Hold it! One person, one handful, one at a time. Starting with you." pointing to an old man in the group. Deja vu!