Israeli born Asi Wind is a phenomenal magician who has honed his craft all over the world. Now, at the invitation of the J Associates, he is coming to St. Louis to bedazzle the hometown audience as part of its fundraiser, “The Mentalist: A Night of Illusion.”

The 29-year-old Wind will be the featured entertainment, following a great silent auction and dinner, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries, 3648 Washington Boulevard. Following the Wind show, as if all this were not dayanu, J Associates plan a sumptuous dessert reception. For reservations at $80 per person, email [email protected] or call 314-442-3188.

“(Wind) combines comedy, magic, dramatic moments and electrifying miracles,” co-chairs Laurie Chod and Debbie Lefton explained. “You are never quite sure what might happen with this unpredictable performer. One moment he might be moving objects or bending metals by just looking at them, and another he might be locating a personal object which has been hidden somewhere in the theater while his eyes are blindfolded. Asi will probably change the way you remember magicians, because his unique approach is truly one of a kind.”

For those unfamiliar, J Associates is an auxiliary of the Jewish Community Center with more than 550 members. Throughout the year, it hosts events and all proceeds are donated back to the JCC to fund critical programs and services that benefit thousands of individuals and families in need, regardless of age, race or religion.

Each year, J Associates allocates the money raised to various departments of the JCC. These departments submit proposals and present them to the J Associates Executive Board which, in the past, have included the Helene Mirowitz Department of Jewish Life, Early Childhood Services, Camp Sabra, fitness programs, Roswell and Wilma Messing Cultural Arts and Education Department and Adult Programs and Services, to name a few.

Without the money raised at events such as The Night of Illusion such allocations would not be possible.

THE BOOGIE BALL, which takes place 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 at the Ameristar Casino Resort and Spa’s second-floor ballroom, is the annual fundraiser for the American Liver Foundation – Missouri/Kansas Chapter.

This year’s featured attraction will be the Grammy Award winning Pointer Sisters, who have been making music for more than four decades. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, but Dr. William Peck, who will receive the Liver Foundation’s 2009 Leadership Award, is a heck of a great jazz pianist. However, Bill Peck is not receiving the honor for his musical prowess, but rather for his outstanding work as director of the Center for Health Policy where he oversees its study and analysis of social disparities in access to health care, the rising cost of health care for businesses and the impact of new health care discoveries in and on the marketplace.

Tickets for the Boogie Ball, at $200 per person, will include a lavish gourmet pre-show dinner, complimentary bar, silent auction, New York City DJ Marty Howard spinning the best disco hits and the Pointer Sisters concert. To reserve your place for a disco inferno kind of evening and to help raise funds for research, education and advocacy for those affected by hepatitis and other liver-related diseases, visit www.liverfoundation.org or call 314-352-7377.