Hypnotist Jesse Lewis coming to Bonnyville during Jr. A Pontiacs parents night

Fans looking to be entertained with something off the ice can look no further than an upcoming hypnotism show next weekend. 

The Bonnyville Pontiacs are welcoming Jesse Lewis, hypnotist based in Saskatchewan for a one night affair Friday, Feb. 10. 

The event, which includes a dinner, is part of the team’s parent and billet appreciation weekend, where the player’s families are welcomed to town. 

Lewis was inspired to practice hypnotism after seeing a performer well known to Bonnyville audiences in Wayne Lee in 2002. 

“Since then, I just fell in love with it. It’s really the only thing that I’ve ever wanted to do. Which might sound weird for a kid coming to high school to do hypnosis, but that’s what happened back then,” Lewis told Lakeland Connect. 

With that said, what exactly is hypnosis? 

“The answer to that is, no one knows for sure. And I’m probably the only hypnotist that’s going to tell you that. On stage, a lot goes into it. People come to a show they’re expecting to see a show. They know that they’re going to need to volunteer. So they’re hypnotized even before they even arrive at the event,” said Lewis. 

“Really, it comes down to peer pressure and social compliance more than anything else on stage.” 

Lewis emphasizes his show is clean, funny, and can inspire. 

“We go from there from anything to imagining aliens speaking to riding in a rocket to being a unicorn to a whole bunch of different things happen during the show. And it’s really just based around fun and not being offensive to anybody. And nothing embarrassing to anybody, either,” he said. 

“We basically get to go back to when we were 10 years old and we could imagine all those things happening to us, almost as if they were real. And it’s honestly quite magical, in my opinion.” 

As part of the evening, there will be a silent auction and 50/50 to raise funds.

Tickets are $50 in advance or $65 at the door, which can be bought at tickets.bonnyvillepontiacs.ca.