Dear Friends,
It is our hope that this story will allow you to be part of Sterling’s magical journey. Words cannot express what each of you has meant to us.
A year ago in December, the Mount Baker Theater and Walton Beverage brought a magician, Jeff McBride from Las Vegas, to our community to perform. As a Christmas present to Sterling, Rochelle and I decided to get tickets for the show, and in conjunction, purchased a ticket for Sterling to attend a half day seminar put on by Jeff McBride. Jeff taught Sterling his first card manipulation in that seminar, a back palm. Sterling said "After seeing what this man could do with cards, music, and magic, this is something I have to do." Sterling credits Jeff McBride as his inspiration into the wonderful world of magic, and Eugene Burger as his guide and confidant into the history of the art of magic.
Sterling started reading everything that he could on magic. He searched the internet and began performing for his family and friends immediately. With only four months of magic under his belt he decided to perform in the Lynden Middle School Talent show. Sterling does all of his own choreography, magic, and music selections. His performance is a big hit and he is off and running. In August Sterling uses the $1200 that he won in a Chess tournament to pay for a week long Master Magician’s course with magicians Jeff McBride, and Eugene Burger, in Las Vegas, Nevada. That class was a life changing experience for young Sterling. They helped him realized that he had a gift for magic, and he then became determined to share it with the world.
Four months later, a friend and fellow magician, John Walton, told Sterling about The World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. He told him that he could see magicians from all over the world competing, and sharing their magic. Sterling put together a quick DVD to send in to audition for the competition. Imagine our surprise when the e-mail from Bill Wells let us know that Sterling had been accepted. You would have thought we had won. To think that someone in magic had said, "This young man is good enough, let’s have him come, and compete." The audition process narrowed the field to eighteen contestants, some as far away as Japan, Korea, Toronto Canada, and Australia. All, coming to compete for fame, in one of the largest magic venues in the world, "The International World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, Nevada."
We flew out of Seattle International on the Sterling’s 15th birthday, Wednesday, February 15th. During the next seven days, the invited eighteen Teens ranging in age from 15 to 19 years would rub elbows with some of the greatest magicians in the world, and compete for the coveted Lance Burton Award, and cash prizes. Sterling and I talked about how excited we were for him, and that he should just do his best and that is all any one of us can ask for. He calmly turned to me and said "Dad, I came here to win this thing." I realized then, that he didn’t know better. He doesn’t realize that no one, after only a year in magic, competing against teenagers four and five years his senior with over ten years of magic experience, that he is not supposed to win. Guess what? I wasn’t going to tell him anything different.... At the end of the day at the awards show they called all eighteen contestants to the stage and introduced each. They asked all to return to their seats, and then they asked the three place finishers to come up when their name was called. "In third place, from New York, Vinny De Ponto. In second place, from New Orleans, Jayson Morrison." And then, Lance Burton, with the First Place award stepped to the podium and announced, "and in first place, from Lynden Washington, Sterling Dietz." All three of the top finishers were students of Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger. "The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree."
Signed Rich Dietz, Sterling Dietz’s Father
Learn more about Sterling and his magic at his website.
