CAMBRIDGE, Ontario — (CANADIAN CHRISTIAN NEWS SERVICE) — Canadian Juggling Champion, clean comedian and physical variety artist Bob Cates has won the Entertainer of the Year award at the 2016 Canadian Event Industry Awards.
The Canadian Event Industry Awards is widely acknowledged as the pinnacle mark of professional achievement, and the highest honour a Canadian event professional can earn. The award was presented at a gala dinner held at Toronto’s The Grand Luxe Event Boutique on March 31, 2016. His fellow nominees included a hypnotist, a magician, an artist and a mentalist.
“It’s always thrilling to be recognized by your peers for professional excellence,” said Cates. “But this award is particularly meaningful to me because I’ve been nominated for several major awards recently but didn’t actually win. So this is my Susan Lucci moment!” he laughs.
Cates has been delighting audiences for 22 years. He keeps the crowd laughing with fast-paced comedy routines involving advanced juggling, wild unicycling and balancing skills, black light, laser manipulation, memory tricks, illusion, and an insane 22 spinning plate finale (using real, breakable plates) that has to be seen to be believed. He is one of few entertainers left in North America who perform authentic plate spinning–his signature piece.
“In our extensive talent database, we have categories such as ‘WOW’, ‘Variety’, ‘Novelty’, ‘Spectacle’, and you can be sure Bob Cates is tagged in every one of those, and a lot more,” says entertainment agent Carol Priest, President and Director of Talent Resources. “He is indeed the very meaning of the word ‘WOW’. As a variety artist he is always a true spectacle to behold,” she adds. “I’ve been working with Bob (and family) for many years and I can’t imagine a more deserving performer than he, to receive the 2016 accolade for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. Of course, that won’t change his value in our books. He’s a gem. A diamond in our minds and also in our hearts.”
Cates was nominated for “Best Variety Act” at the 2014 and 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards. He was also twice nominated “Best One Man Show” at the Canadian Comedy Awards. He was also twice awarded “Best Entertainer of the Year” at the Festivals and Events Ontario Awards. His Comedy In Motion show has headlined on hundreds of cruise ships and at many special events and youth conventions.
A resident of Cambridge, Ontario, Cates has been a special guest performer at the Israeli Juggling Convention and at several National Youth Conventions in the United States. When he is not performing as a headliner on luxury cruise ships, he is a favourite at corporate events and in theatres, at churches and ministry events.
The Canadian Event Industry Awards program was founded in 1998 to provide a platform for event and meeting professionals from each major discipline of the industry, to be recognized and celebrated for their talent, hard work and success. Since its inception, over 600 awards have been presented and the competition has become a globally recognized symbol of excellence, as well as a powerful launching pad for companies looking to establish themselves in a competitive marketplace.
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For interviews and information:
Bob Cates
Email: bobcates@comedyinmotion.com
Website: www.comedyinmotion.com
Phone: 519 575 5568
Downloadable, high resolution photos:
Bob Cates (head shot)
Bob Cates (in action)
Attention Radio Stations – Downloadable Audio Files:
Clip #1: Bob Cates talks about how it feels to win “Entertainer of the Year” award – he talks about being nominated a number of times before and how personally satisfying it is to take the trophy home. (21 seconds)
Clip #2: Bob Cates talks about the significance of the award. (21 seconds)
Clip #3: Bob Cates discusses his Christian faith – and how it influences his act. (32 seconds)