Featured Entertainer!
Celestia Ward

Where do you Serve? I work in the Las Vegas / Henderson area. What type of Entertainment do you Provide? I do caricatures, and can usually draw 12-15 faces per hour. Number of years in the business: I can't believe it's almost twenty years now! But I started back in 1992 (and that's not counting the years of drawing friends in their yearbooks, and for the school paper, etc.). How did you get into the entertainment business? In college I was looking for a way to relax, as all my other classes were pretty stressful premed subjects. A one-credit cartooning class ended up changing my whole career track! The professor, Tom Chalkley (a good friend now) encouraged me to try my hand at live caricature, and it became a great way to earn money for tuition. Even after graduating, I kept on doing this nights and weekends along with my day job, and finally, about ten years ago, I stopped resisting and became a full-time artist. What's your favorite type of event? ALL of them are great! But if I had to pick I guess I'd say trade shows. In a few hours, or sometimes even a few days, I get to immerse myself in a whole different profession and chat with experts from all over the world. The booth staff become familiar faces, and they are always thrilled with my ability to engage the clients as I draw them. It can be unnerving for folks, being stared at and cartooned! But a smile, along with a few questions and jokes, turns it into a fun experience--plus they get a caricature to take home! What's your most memorable event? That's tough, since they're all memorable. Once I was booked by a guest instead of a party planner--she brought me as a "gift" for her friend's sixtieth birthday. I arrived with my easel and found the birthday gal was maybe five glasses of wine into her celebration. She hugged me enthusiastically and said "I have no idea what you're going to do but I'm so excited to see you!" I spent the next two hours drawing their small group; everybody laughed so hard all evening, showing their caricatures off and making fun of each other. Indeed, I felt like the perfect gift for the person who has everything!
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