Celebrated performer and much-loved Kiwi magician Elgregoe is hitting the road and bringing his new live show to Tauranga schools.

The New Zealand Order of Merit member for services to education Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Top Children's Entertainer for 2009 will be performing for students attending Omanu, Otumoetai Primary, Pahoia Primary and Greerton Village schools this week.

Kiwi magician Elgrego and stage assistant and wife Sue will be performing their new show at several schools in the Western bay next week. Photo: Trustpower

From Elgregoe's sidekicks Zazu, Ecce and Ruby the talking parrots, to the Floating Man trick, to an unbelievable show of ventriloquism, there'll be plenty to entertain the students. But the show is more than just entertainment – it's a vehicle Greg uses to promote the anti-bullying message.

This year's show theme Traffic Lights fits into the 2016 curriculum for primary and intermediate schools, with an emphasis on healthy relationships at home, in class or on the playground.

'I want school to be a positive experience for them and give them the skills to have a bully free day because that's the real magic,” says Elgrego, who's known off-stage as Greg Britt.

Over the years more than 850,000 Kiwi kids have been treated to Elgrego's show which blends humour, magical illusions and behavioural education.

This year Elgrego, and stage assistant and wife Sue will engage with thousands more students teaching them how they can become part of the solution to bullying in schools with engaging with students with the fun of the show to help 'stop bullying, slow down to consider their actions, and go be that student who makes a positive change”.

Elgrego says he's inspired to tackle the issue of schoolyard-bullying after a friend, who worked as a principal, expressed frustration at the phenomenon and jokingly challenged him to make bullying disappear with his magic.

'Every time I step onto a school stage I say to myself: ‘this one is for them'. I want to take them on a journey, to give them that sense of wonder I felt when I first saw a magician and, more importantly, to remember the messages.”

In 2005, Trustpower pledged support to Elgrego's ‘edutainment' mission after watching him perform live. With the company's support, Elgregoe is able to attend 10 schools free of charge and spend more time in smaller schooling areas of the country than would otherwise be possible.

In tandem with the live shows, Elgregoe and Trustpower also run a poetry and poster competition to encourage more thoughtful consideration of key messages with more than $5000 in prizes up for grabs.

For more information visit: www.elgregoe.trustpower.co.nz