More than 100 people attended a comedian and illusionist show at the Hotel Jamestown Crystal Ball Room, 110 W. Third St., to raise funds and watch the comedic and illusion offerings of Matt Fore, a comedian, magician and illusionist.

“We did this fundraiser with Matt Fore to try and raise funds,” said Bruce Baehr, the executive director of UCAN. “As an organization, we get a lot of support from the granting agencies in town, and we’re trying to ease the burden on them by becoming more self-sufficient.”

However, while the event was a fundraiser, the attendees seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time there and were entertained in a family-friendly environment.

“Matt Fore was awesome,” said Kate Nutting, a mother of three and case worker for UCAN. “He could have told dirty jokes, but he kept it clean, and it was very conducive to a family-friendly environment.”

More than 100 people attended the United Christian Advocacy Network’s City Mission fundraiser held at the Hotel Jamestown’s Crytal Ball Room, 110 W. Third St,. Nov. 20, and featured comedian and illusionist Matt Fore and a musical selection from a local band, ‘For the People’ -which Bruce Baehr son, Jay Baehr, is a feature player with. Submitted photo

Nutting said her three children varied in age, yet the event kept them all engaged and entertained.

“My oldest daughter Jasmine Cook is 17, my middle child, Kasey Nutting is 16 and my youngest Koda Nutting is 5,” she said. “Fore was able to keep them all listening and watching -he had something for all ages during his show.”

The premier attraction for the event, Fore, is a humorist, writer, speaker and award-winning comedy magician who also serves as a performer for corporate, association and faith-based events around the country with more than 24 years of performance experience. Fore has performed for Carnival Cruise Lines, The Magic Castle in Hollywood and has appeared on several national TV Shows including The Crook and Chase Show on TNN, Fox Sports and Swan’s Place on Odyssey. Fore is a contributor to Success.com, Entrepreneur.com and is the author of two books, “The Five Essential Elements – A Simplified Road to Success,” and comedy devotional “The Truth Shall Make You Laugh.” He is a lecturer among his peers in the areas of entertainment, sleight of hand magic and effective marketing. He lives in Johnson City TN with his author wife Jo Ann. They have three or four kids. He is not sure because he spends much of his time on the road, according to his webpage, mattfore.com.

“This was worth the time and effort to do this fundraiser. We’re looking at doing more events like this in the future too,” said Baehr for the organization located at 7 W. First St. “I’m guessing, I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but I believe we raised between $4,000 and $5,000 from this event.

In addition to featuring Fore, the event also included musical offerings by the band, For the People -which Baehr’s son, Jay Baehr, is a feature band member.

“It was a wonder-filled, fun evening for all who attended,” said Dan Soderberg, a UCAN board member and volunteer.