and his son Victor Kent Jr. of Oroville performed the first live tandem escape from medical straitjackets over a
pond at the Beech Bend Amusement Park Friday.
Victor Kent, 47, and Victor Kent Jr. ,10, performed the double tandem straitjacket escape at the park in Bowling Green, Ky.
They used Posey Medical Restraint real straitjackets, not to be confused with the gimmicked jackets often used by magicians, Kent Sr. said.
The last time he performed with the straitjacket was 7 years ago, he said by telephone on Saturday.
"I was surprised to find that the straitjacket had somehow shrunk while it was stored, as it was a little tight," Kent said jokingly.
They performed in a heat wave temperature of 102 degrees, with a heat index due to humidity of 110 degrees.
The Kents are part of the Kent Family Circus and make Oroville their home when not on tour.
Their tour will take them to eight states and they will travel over 20,000 miles during the summer. The tandem style of the escape dangles two people from a crane with ropes tied around their ankles.
This is the first father-and-son act and also the first double escape, Kent said.
"This is a feather in the cap for Oroville," Kent said. "It was also a lot of fun."
Earlier this year, the Kents brought World Circus Day to Oroville with a free family magic circus.
See Kent Family Magic Circus: Vaudepalooza at www.kentfamilymagiccircus.com. Call 1-888-867-7077 for more
information.
See a video of the tandem escape on YouTube athttp://goo.gl/z4dOy.
Staff writer Mary Weston can be reached at 533-4415 or mweston@orovillemr.com
.
