If Twin Falls Mayor Lance Clow gets his way, the "magic" in Magic Valley will soon become less figuratively identified with the area and more directly associated with people pulling rabbits out of hats.

Clow hosted a town-hall meeting to discuss the Mayor's Initiative 2010 - which, among other ideas to better market downtown Twin Falls, includes proposals for a recreational lake south of town, a nationally recognized memorial for veterans, a consolidated government center, decorative Christmas displays on lamp posts, and - Clow's personal project - a regular magic festival and magicians every weekend.

The meeting was held downtown at Janitzio (formerly Toro Viejo). Ten people showed up, most of whom merely listened as Clow presented his ideas.

"I'm trying to promote the idea of a major festival downtown to bring in magicians," he said. "We're not going to get David Copperfield - unless he wants to put in some significant volunteer time."

Clow even brought an autographed book - "The Magic Life: A Novel Philosophy" - written by New York magician Ace Starry, an alumnus of the College of Southern Idaho and Boise State University.

"They might do tricks and sell tricks," Clow said, referring to magicians performing at multiple downtown venues. "We could also have jugglers ... I'm very excited about this."

Clow also suggested an amateur night - "kind of an 'American Idol' type of thing."

The mayor dabbles in magic himself. "I can fool a 3-year-old," he said, and then upgraded his abilities - "or a third-grader."

He expects the events to begin next summer. "If we're going to get good magicians," he said, "we need to get on their calendars now."

The festival, Clow envisions, would be administered by Kiwanis, but weekend events would be coordinated with the Business Improvement District - a source of contention for some downtown operations.

According to Susan Buhler, owner of Poindexter's, "BID doesn't do anything for us ... I'd rather be in my own world, instead of joining something. We're in the poorest area of town, but we're the only ones who have to pay these BID taxes."

Regarding magic, Buhler said, "It's a good step toward bringing Twin Falls out of its shell, because it's something different and unique." But she said that people in the area don't focus on magic and that she stopped carrying it in her novelty store because of low demand.

Ron Yates, a member of the Twin Falls Historic Preservation Commission, said that businesses were fine before BID, when they had a private merchants association.

But Yates supports Clow's main idea. "I think the mayor's into something good as far as the magic goes, especially the idea of rotating venues. Because his passion is there, I think he'll get it done," Yates said. "If everybody who owns businesses downtown exhibits that passion, the magic will come back."

Damon Hunzeker can be reached at 208-420-4697 or hunzeker@aol.com.