Canada's Magic

02 January 2026

Toronto: Stepping Into the Impossible [Jan 26 - 27]

Tickets at Eventbrite.

From the December 29th Facebook post by Jeff Hinchliffe:

I'm bringing back my one-man show for 2 nights, January 26-27th 2026.

Previously shared on Facebook December 29.

01 January 2026

Happy 2026!

Wishing you and yours a year filled with health, joy, and wonder.

Starting the New Year with some of our favourite faces from 2020!

From Brent and Sarah's YouTube channel:

Originally shared May 13, 2020, and every January 1st thereafter.

ICYMI: Sleightly Sketchy -- First three words

Another in an occasional series of sleightly sketchy thoughts.

Previously shared January 14, 2024.

31 December 2025

In memoriam 2025

Remembering those who have passed this year. Through your passion and spirit you have helped shape the magic community in Canada and around the world. Thank you.

Chan, Dennis "Bulldog" (1942.09.29 - 2025.05.01)
Read the tributes to Dennis at the website of the Vancouver Magic Circle
McKim, Warren (1927.03.05 - 2025.02.21)
Olsen, Richard (1950 - 2025.02.21)

Please notify us about additions or corrections in the comments.

Top 5 (er, 3) posts in December 2025

There were 36 posts at Canada's Magic this month. The 2025 Inspirational Canadian Magician Showcase (ICMS) swept the top 10 board! Consolidating the ICMS posts into one entry, the top 3 posts in the previous 30 days were:

3. Toronto: A very merry magic show [Dec 20 - 22] - It looked like a merry time was had by all!

2. Ontario: Dogs do Magic -- A Canine Christmas [Dec 6 - 30] - Congratulations Chris, Ahmed, et al on a fantastic entry for the 48 hour film contest!

and the most viewed post this month ...

1. 2025 Inspirational Canadian Magician Showcase - review this year's submissions:

Alain Choquette
Chris Gowen
Connie Boyd
Dean Gunnarson
Ed Fernandez
Ian Stewart
Matt DiSero
Ryan Joyce
Stéphane Bourgoin

Thank you for your support in 2025!

We couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to our readers, our fans, our followers, our wonderful guest posters, and last but not least, thank you to all of this year's friends (John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, Ian Crawford, Matt DiSero, Doug Hunt, John Smithman, Robin Dawes, Loran, Peter Mennie, Cam Dix, George Blott, and Noah Nogueira, Aaron Matthews, Ian Batterbury, and Eric Bedard, as well as all of our 2025 sponsors (be sure to support them!):

MagicTipsAndTricks.com

Magicians Talking Magic

Toronto's IBM Ring 17, the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club

Canadian Association of Magicians

For more information about purchasing Sponsored Posts or about our Platinum, Gold, or Silver level sponsorships, please visit our Sponsorship page.

Or you can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year!

Donations of any size are always welcome.

30 December 2025

A peek behind the curtain with Frances Morgan from Champions of Magic

We recently reported our random thoughts about "Champions of Magic -- Holiday Spectacular" in Toronto. Frances Morgan, whose official role in the production is "Magic and Props Assistant," kindly agreed to do an interview with us.

Read our random thoughts about
"Champions of Magic -- Holiday Spectacular"

Tickets at Ticketmaster.ca

A peek behind the curtain with Frances Morgan

Based in Spokane, Frances:

performed as a Magician’s Assistant at Silverwood Theme Park in 2022

Read more (click to show | hide)
At the theme park we did grand scale illusions as well as a few smaller illusions and routines. My favorite was our opening act that the magician and I created together (about a week before opening day!) I got hired quite unexpectedly, and had to jump in quickly. I was hired at the end of May and the full season started the first week in June. Before that, I had never been involved in a magic show in any capacity. So it was quite the adventure having to learn everything in such a short amount of time. That lasted a season before I moved on to starting my own show and forming my company, Inland Northwest Magic [INWmagic.com].
debuted her first show as a magician in 2023,
won First Place in the Spokane Magic Club's Close-Up competition,

Read more (click to show | hide)
For my first local competition, I did some simple card routines, but what I have always stood behind is even the most simple magic can be amazing with the right presentation. I had music playing in the background, chose my setup carefully and rehearsed until the last moment to make sure it was ready. It was my first competition and I had just debuted my first solo show a few weeks prior, so that October was a fun and busy month! Some of the card moves in the routine I performed were taught to me by the magicians I met through the magic club
and competed in the 2024 IBM Stage Competition.

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At the annual IBM International Championship, I competed in the Stage Magic category. I had just joined the IBM as I had been elected Vice President of my local magic club and needed to join the IBM in order to do so. When I joined, I saw they had a convention coming a few hours away from me in Washington and knew I had to go. Magic conventions rarely, if ever, come to Washington or Idaho so I took hold of the opportunity and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. When I joined, I saw they also had a competition and figured I had nothing to lose so I sent in a video on the last day available for submissions. I had only been performing as a magician for a short while, so I looked at the show I had, took the routines I got the best reactions from and created a new sequence to make a roughly 8 minute routine. I went to a local park with my friend, we filmed it, went to a restaurant and uploaded it.

I never actually expected to hear anything back, but about a month later, I saw an email in my inbox from IBM. The headline was simple “I.B.M. Contest”; the opening, polite “Thank you for sending your submission for the 2024 Tacoma I.B.M. Convention Competition.” Reading this, I fully expected it to be a polite ‘thanks but try again later’ kind of email, but to my surprise I read and re-read and for good measure read again the next line. “Congratulations, we are pleased to inform you that you have earned a spot in the finals of the Gold Medal Competition and will appear on the International Stage Championship”. I began to jump and run around the house in complete shock and happiness. That competition was my turning point as a magician.

Competing at IBM, I truly felt like I was a magician. This was not just friends and family, this was a panel of judges who looked at my performance and said ‘yes, she can compete at this convention’. It truly is and was an honor to be there.

I did a linking ring routine (which I started to perform at the request of my mom who has always loved the linking rings and which has since become a staple in my shows), a dream bag production, where I make flower boxes appeared; and a torn and transformed paper to kabuki effect.

I learned so much from performing at IBM, including the simple fact of taking a chance, because even if unlikely, you just might get the opportunity you were looking for. This same lesson led me to Champions of Magic! By asking, I was able to connect with the producer, who very kindly took time to answer questions I had about the business side of magic and eventually led to me being asked to come on tour.

What is your first memory of magic?

When I was about 3 I went to a theme park and there, I experienced my first magic show. My favorite routine was when the magician made a table float on stage and to my astonishment, proceeded to walk down the stairs into the audience with the table! Ever since then, the floating table has been one of my favorite illusions to perform. When I went to my first magic convention, I had the honor to meet the builder of the illusion, and have been performing it ever since.

What genre of magic has your focus currently?

Everything! Different circumstances allow for different magic. My love of magic stems from my love of connecting people and bringing stories to life. I am working on a Valentine's theme show using both stage and close-up magic. The theme is a love letter to magic and wonder, and will be performed in a movie [theatre] that was first owned by a magician. I have the honor of being the first magician to perform magic there since him in the past 50 years! A show that gets to play with a history like that is such a thrill and an honor.

I love the theatrics of stage magic and helping the audience get lost in the wonder and story of it. Theatre is my first love, having grown up performing since I was about 3 years old. Close-up magic is a new adventure and for me, the appeal lies in connecting with the audience in an up close manner. Having magic happen in your hands as an audience member is one of the most amazing things you can experience. I also love doing walk-around magic for events. I usually start with just conversing with people. Many people have at least some small connection with magic, and often I can utilize that when I perform magic for them. I get to have fun weaving their stories into the magic to create something personal for them and unique for me.

Why did you want to become part of the Champions of Magic behind-the-scenes family?

I saw Champions for the first time in 2022. It was my first time seeing a magic show of that magnitude and I absolutely fell in love with it! My favorite part was the ensemble aspect of it. Magic usually features the solo magician but growing up in theatre, nearly every show I saw had an ensemble of actors working together to build a story. The ensemble aspect of Champions felt more natural and exciting to me. One of my favorite parts of theatre is getting to play off the other actors in a scene, and I got to see that same playful creativity with Champions.

Magic has this amazing ability to bring the audience into its space. Unlike other forms of theatre, magic breaks the 4th wall and gets to incorporate the audience unlike anything else. Magic has all the wonderful qualities that I love about theatre and then some. It is more spontaneous and can connect with an audience in a unique way; Champions shows that in a wonderful and grand display.

What are your roles on this tour?

I get to do a little bit of everything! My official title is Magic and Props Assistant. I work primarily with the props team and between the three of us we take care of over 200 props in the show, from sunglasses to a sparkly, metal moon. We build, repair, improve, set, strike and pack all the props every new show day. I also get the chance to be onstage as an Assistant for a few of the acts. For one routine, I get to wear the dress I wore as an Assistant in the theme park, so a fun personal call back, and I also wear a necklace of a snowflake that my family gave me for Christmas a few years ago. For me, it is a way to bridge my past experiences with this new chapter.

What surprised you most about touring with this ensemble of magicians?

This is my first tour and I have an immense amount of respect for the stamina of this group! Especially the crew and the producer. Every person works incredibly hard and will jump in to help when needed. If one of us is sick or injured, or simply let something slip in the rush of the moment, we all try to pull together to help one another and give the best experience possible to the audience, while supporting each other as a team.

Tell us about a highlight from this tour.

One highlight was at one of the shows, we invited a kid onstage and he had the best time! I got to interact with him and his mom off stage and his whole face lit up at being a part of the show. Getting to inspire people of all ages is just spectacular!

What compelling reasons are there to come see "Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular"?

Theatre is magic when seen live, and a live magic show is theatre on another level. This show has something for everyone of all ages. One of my favorite aspects is the different genres that come into play.

Some examples: we have a callback to old Hollywood detective mysteries, a sit-com holiday party, and a tribute to grand scale Las Vegas magic shows. We also get to bring a few people up on stage to witness the magic up close!

Frances' connection to Canadian magic
There is a podcast called Discourse in Magic that talks about the business side of magic as well as interviews with magicians, and it is run by Jonah Babins from the Toronto Magic Company! I have listened to many episodes of that podcast.