Columbus-based professional entertainer Michael Kent will bring his magic and comedy show for families to the Champaign Land Preservation (CLP) Annual Meeting and Silent Auction on Tuesday, July 20 at the Urbana City Park bandstand stage area at 7 p.m.

Kent began performing magic for the public while he was still a young boy living in Urbana. He’s been named Entertainer of the Year and Magician of the Year, performing in over 500 colleges, America’s top corporations, various cruise ships and military bases around the world.

He has performed his show in over 115 cities and 10 different countries. He recently was featured on the third season premiere of the hit show “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.”

Kent will provide his magic and comedy show for free to help benefit the Champaign Land Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Silent Auction Fundraiser.

The Champaign Land Preservation (CLP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) conservation organization. It is a land trust that works to preserve farmland, open space, and wildlife habitat. CLP sponsors programs about land preservation, conservation, local foods, climate change, and natural history. CLP is one of over 1,300 land trusts in the United States.

A land trust is organized to help achieve individual and community land use and land preservation goals.

CLP works with landowners to create easement language that protects the conservation values of the owner’s property. Conservation values may include productive agricultural land, stream corridors, or woodlands. Once these easements are recorded, they remain in place from owner to owner and protects the conservation values of the property in perpetuity. Owners continue to own their land. The owners can use their land, sell it, or pass it on to their heirs, subject to the easement.

The Champaign Land Preservation board will be donating several Silent Auction items to help raise funds for their organization. For more information about the Champaign Land Preservation, please visit www.champaignlandpreservation.org.