Abracadabra: A new magic-themed exhibit waves a wand over Whittier

The start of any new year possesses the spirit of presto-chango, given all of the fresh starts we attempt.

It's a real now-you-see-it, now-you-don't-kind time of year as we try to acquire better habits, and ditch the stuff we no longer want, and transform the areas of our lives that require a bit of burnishing.

Magic may be the most January-ish of all art forms, for it is very much about, well, magic, and the act of swiftly moving from one state of being to something else that is often quite surprising.

It's the ideal month for a magic-themed exhibit to debut, the sort of prestidigitation presentation that delights, inspires, befuddles, and bewitches us.

Whittier Historical Society & Museum has long been known as an especially spirited spot, given some of the offbeat events and exhibits associated with the institution.

This is, indeed, where vintage hearses regularly gather just before Halloween, and on the final Saturday of January 2024?

The museum will unveil a magic-marvelous experience, with drama and flourish.

And we do mean "drama and flourish": A free magic show will enchant an audience two weeks before the ensorcelled exhibit officially opens.

That is happening on the afternoon of Jan. 13, keep in mind, an early treat.

Soon after the main magic exhibit will appear, as if out of thin air, on Jan. 27.

Of course, the magic of magic never truly emerges "from thin air"; several talented people are working hard to make the illusion-cool exhibit a reality, including magicians from the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame and Magic Museum.

Hours, times, and details can be found here or by contacting the Whitter Museum, abracadabra-ers of Southern California.