A career and a cause

Darcy Oake mixes magic with helping others

The holiday season is full of magic and wonder. And yet, for many, it’s full of grief and sadness.

“We live in a day where answers are a click away and there’s not much mystery left,” says Winnipeg magician Darcy Oake, whose work has wowed audiences across the globe.

Oake’s most magical moment came in 2014, performing before 200 million viewers on Britain’s Got Talent show. His signature dove trick made him a favourite of host Simon Cowell. It was pure gold to see audience reaction when Oake kept creating live doves out of sparks that shot out of his hands. He later went on to guest on America’s Got Talent and even performed before the Royal Family for Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday celebrations.

Yet, the magic briefly went out of Oake’s life when his older brother Bruce died of a heroin overdose six years ago. Bruce was only 25, a talented athlete with a love for contemporary music. Substance abuse is on the rise — 47,000 Canadian deaths are linked to substance abuse annually, and for many addicts, waiting for treatment is a death sentence.

Oake, along with his parents, veteran Hockey Night in Canada sportscaster Scott and his wife, Anne, committed themselves to helping others struggling with the same demons that claimed Bruce, raising $1.6 million to open the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in Winnipeg (bruceoakerecoverycentre.ca). The non-profit facility provides treatment, resources and skills necessary for residents to successfully re-enter society.

Today, Oake says he found purpose not only in his career in magic, but in working with his parents to keep his brother’s memory alive through helping others.

Oake, who entertained family and friends with card tricks when his was a youngster, says he’s focused on creating even more spectacular illusions — illusions that take years to perfect yet mere minutes to execute.

“There’s lots of pressure. It’s the only art form that exists that you practice perpetually to hide your skill; you practice to stay hidden as opposed to displaying what you’ve learned,” he says. “The magic is so easily taken out of people’s lives today but it still exists,” adds Oake. “You just have to choose to believe it, to know it’s there.”

“That’s why I love doing this — to show these moments can still happen and magic still exists and you can still find it.”

The facts on drug use:

• Drug use and abuse in Canada is a problem that not only ruins the lives of the users and their families, but also costs taxpayers $22.8 billion per year, including treatment and additional law enforcement, reports canadiancentreforaddictions.org.

• For every $5 spent on drug rehabilitation by the Canadian government, $95 is spent on incarceration of drug users, reports Health Officer’s Council of B.C.

• 60 per cent of illicit drug users in Canada are between the ages of 15 and 24, reports Statistics Canada.

• The rate of death caused by prescription drugs is far greater than that of cocaine and heroin combined, according to Canadianaddictionrehab.ca.