Mind reader dazzles at Wilmette community event

“Your thoughts are my props, and your mind is my stage.”

Mentalist Mark Toland’s words put the audience — especially those who might be wary of mind reading — at ease.

The event hosted by Wilmette resident Ali Wenzke filled the Women’s Club on June 12. Wenzke gathered her family, friends, clients and community members to thank them for their support.

Guests dined on Fajita Pete’s fare and sipped from wine courtesy of the Bottle Shop. The event was made possible with the help of the sponsors: Ben Cohen of Guaranteed Rate; Susan J. Kim, a local attorney; and Chicago Title Insurance Company.

Entertainer and a new resident of the North Shore, Toland showed the crowd how fascinating mind reading can be.

Toland is an international award-winning mind reader, his website says. Recently, he returned as artist in residence at the Chicago Magic Lounge and has had his skills featured on countless TV news outlets.

“You all are very lucky because I warned you that you were going to a mind reader event,” Wenzke warned the crowd.

But she was not so lucky. Wenzke recently helped Toland and his wife find a home in the area, and she shared that she was not aware of Toland’s skill until later in the process.

“He was able to buy a really beautiful home on the North Shore, and the negotiations went very well ,” she said tongue-in-cheek.

Toland took the stage and performed numerous acts involving the whole crowd. In separate readings, revealed the name of a first crush, a dream vacation spot and favorite memory of audience members.

His final trick involved a sequence of numbers, randomly provided to him by the audience, that he added together to end up with a large completely random final number. He then unveiled an envelope given to an audience member before the show containing that exact number.

Guests were left speechless when Toland presented a lottery ticket with the original numbers provided by the audience members.

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