Darren wanted to propose to his longtime girlfriend Christine. But these days, you can't just pop the question. You need to do something spectacular, funny and/or insane, with a dash of public embarrassment. So Darren enlisted the help of a hypnotist: Hypnotist show at Toronto CNE includes a marriage proposal.
It all went down over the weekend at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Weeks ago, Darren schemed with hypnotist/comedian Boris Cherniak, who was performing at the CNE, to get the couple on stage for a trick. Through the power of "hypnosis," Cherniak compelled Darren to propose to Christine with some considerable difficulty, much to the crowd's delight. That's when Cherniak pulled out a sign -- and Darren pulled out a ring.
Here's some YouTube video of the proposal, shot from the sidelines:
In case you couldn't follow that:
He called for a volunteer from the audience and chose Chow, telling him to bring along his girlfriend.Surprise! Congratulations to the happy couple.
Within seconds of taking to the stage, Chow appeared to be in a deep trance, head tilted back, eyes closed, as a collective "Wow" rippled over the audience.
Cherniak peppered Kou with questions about why they aren’t married and then ordered the "hypnotized" Chow to propose, only he wouldn’t be able to pronounce the words.
Head lolling, Chow eventually stuttered out a "will."
Cherniak then pulled out some signs to "help" him, propping up four large placards against the slumbering volunteers still on stage. Someone in the crowd murmured, "Beautiful."
The signs read, "Christine, will you marry me?"
She gasped as Chow broke into a wide smile and sank to one knee, ring held out in front of him.
And then she said, "Yes."