THE WADE HENRY ABILITY SHOW
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BIO
WADE HENRY
Wade Henry comes from a long familial line of freedom-fighting settlers who arrived from Ireland in the 1700's and 1800's.
Many of these "Irish Henrys" homesteaded and settled in Manitoba (the Great Plains of Western Canada), where Wade was born. It was in the Canadian West that Wade started training for his profession as a performing artist.
Wade began working on his balancing techniques even before he was walking. His father (Randall Henry) was instrumental in this early training.
As a toddler, Wade continued to sharpen his agility by roping his grandmother's german shephard and riding him bareback in the yard. He took many nasty spills, but never ever gave up.
Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Pocatello, Idaho where Wade's father
presented him with a real pony as a Chistmas gift.
By this time, Wade had truly been infused by the "Cowboy Spirit", which he describes as:
"...a certain attitude that most ideally fits the American man. It includes integrity, honesty and courage...along with a high esteem for family, a need for personal liberty, a spiritual element, and of course, a sense of humor. Further, the cowboy is a bit of a show-off. He values his own unique skills and abilities, and enjoys testing and improving them - whether in front of a crowd at a rodeo, or by himself many miles from town as the sun sets."
These basic attitudes served Wade well in later years, defining his own unique performing style.
Wade returned to Canada as a kid and spent the long frigid winters as an ice hockey goalie in the Great Lakes region of Southwestern Ontario. His coach had him throw rubber balls around to improve his reflexes and soon, a professional juggler was born.
in 1993, Wade graduated from the Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) - a school consistently rated as one of the best in the world. Still in his early twenties, and with an Honors Business Degree in hand, Wade took an unconventional path and decided against a career with companies that were recruiting business grads at the time - multi-national pharmaceutical firms and international investment banks. Instead, he decided to find adventure by travelling the world on a shoestring.
After several months of travel, Wade settled into working on a farm in New Zealand. Calling home, he let his parents know that after years of academic toil and preparation for the corporate world, he had decided to return to farming - like a true Henry.
After finishing the harvest season in New Zealand, Wade continued his travels for another year - through Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China and back to Canada. He funded these travels as a world-class street performer, delivering his shows on the streets, town squares and harborfront areas of various Australian and Canadian cities.
Wade's travels as a performer are partially documented in his popular adventure novel "The Greatest Finale". (See Wade's Books)
Wade spent the next several years developing and polishing his skills as a performing artist. He is an accomplished juggler, unicyclist, ropewalker, fire eater, equilibriast, magician, speaker and comic. He indicates, however, that his most important and useful skills lie in his abilities to handle people and audiences.
Wade married Helen O'Ryan,
Singer/Songwriter. They have
6 "kids": Peeter and wife Michelle, Krista, Erik, Karin and Devin - all grown, 2 grandkids: Aurora & Lance, and a growing family of potential "kids" (boyfriends & girlfriends) who affectionally refer to Wade and Helen as "Daddy-O and Mommy".
The Henry Family has been living in Clearwater, Florida since 1997. Wade & Helen continue to operate "Ability Entertainment", the company that serves to book shows for Wade's act, as well as several other entertainers....and distribute Wade's literary works.
Wade is a proven veteran and master of all three modes of grounds entertainment: Stage Act, Street Show and Strolling. This allows him to deliver the best entertainment package to each event in the most optimum way.
Over the past 10 years, the "Wade Henry Ability Show" has become phenomenally popular with Fairs, Festivals and Rodeos. Wade has performed over 6,000 shows and continues his prolific outflow of entertainment today.
Wade is at home in the industry that promotes and celebrates the culture and commerce of ranchers and farmers. For Wade, this is a group that understands the value of a little high-spirited showing-off. And a group that is easily uplifted by demonstrations of ability and a good dose of comedy.
As a toddler, Wade continued to sharpen his agility by roping his grandmother's german shephard and riding him bareback in the yard. He took many nasty spills, but never ever gave up.
Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Pocatello, Idaho where Wade's father
presented him with a real pony as a Chistmas gift.
By this time, Wade had truly been infused by the "Cowboy Spirit", which he describes as:
"...a certain attitude that most ideally fits the American man. It includes integrity, honesty and courage...along with a high esteem for family, a need for personal liberty, a spiritual element, and of course, a sense of humor. Further, the cowboy is a bit of a show-off. He values his own unique skills and abilities, and enjoys testing and improving them - whether in front of a crowd at a rodeo, or by himself many miles from town as the sun sets."
These basic attitudes served Wade well in later years, defining his own unique performing style.
Wade returned to Canada as a kid and spent the long frigid winters as an ice hockey goalie in the Great Lakes region of Southwestern Ontario. His coach had him throw rubber balls around to improve his reflexes and soon, a professional juggler was born.
in 1993, Wade graduated from the Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) - a school consistently rated as one of the best in the world. Still in his early twenties, and with an Honors Business Degree in hand, Wade took an unconventional path and decided against a career with companies that were recruiting business grads at the time - multi-national pharmaceutical firms and international investment banks. Instead, he decided to find adventure by travelling the world on a shoestring.
After several months of travel, Wade settled into working on a farm in New Zealand. Calling home, he let his parents know that after years of academic toil and preparation for the corporate world, he had decided to return to farming - like a true Henry.
After finishing the harvest season in New Zealand, Wade continued his travels for another year - through Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China and back to Canada. He funded these travels as a world-class street performer, delivering his shows on the streets, town squares and harborfront areas of various Australian and Canadian cities.
Wade's travels as a performer are partially documented in his popular adventure novel "The Greatest Finale". (See Wade's Books)
Wade spent the next several years developing and polishing his skills as a performing artist. He is an accomplished juggler, unicyclist, ropewalker, fire eater, equilibriast, magician, speaker and comic. He indicates, however, that his most important and useful skills lie in his abilities to handle people and audiences.
Wade married Helen O'Ryan,
Singer/Songwriter. They have
6 "kids": Peeter and wife Michelle, Krista, Erik, Karin and Devin - all grown, 2 grandkids: Aurora & Lance, and a growing family of potential "kids" (boyfriends & girlfriends) who affectionally refer to Wade and Helen as "Daddy-O and Mommy".
The Henry Family has been living in Clearwater, Florida since 1997. Wade & Helen continue to operate "Ability Entertainment", the company that serves to book shows for Wade's act, as well as several other entertainers....and distribute Wade's literary works.
Wade is a proven veteran and master of all three modes of grounds entertainment: Stage Act, Street Show and Strolling. This allows him to deliver the best entertainment package to each event in the most optimum way.
Over the past 10 years, the "Wade Henry Ability Show" has become phenomenally popular with Fairs, Festivals and Rodeos. Wade has performed over 6,000 shows and continues his prolific outflow of entertainment today.
Wade is at home in the industry that promotes and celebrates the culture and commerce of ranchers and farmers. For Wade, this is a group that understands the value of a little high-spirited showing-off. And a group that is easily uplifted by demonstrations of ability and a good dose of comedy.
Wade and Randy Henry
Early training, 1970.
A unique sort of barrel racing.
Club juggling.
Ropewalking over the marina in Charlottetown, PEI, Canada.
Helen and Wade with their youngest (Devin, middle).
The mighty children (grown-ups) - Peeter, Krista, Erik, Karin, Devin.
Grandchildren Aurora and Lance.
A phenomenal success at North American Fairs.
