Showing posts with label ~IBM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~IBM. Show all posts

09 January 2015

$250 in prizes and a t-shirt

From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:



03 December 2014

Vancouver: IBM presents Just About Magic

Get ready to JAM IBM style.

From the IBM Facebook page:

02 December 2014

A question from the floor

Updated at 16:00 the consensus so far:

  • The Browser's Den of Magic: oldest existing magic shop
  • Perfect Magic: oldest existing magic shop under single owner (the people that opened it are still running it)
  • IBM Ring 17 - since 1941
  • IBM - co-founded by a Canadian in 1923



What is Canada's oldest magic institution?

From Lee Asher's Twitter feed:

20 November 2014

Peter Marucci wins second Howard Bamman trophy

Congratulations Peter!  

FERGUS - Retired Fergus “magicomedian” Peter Marucci has been awarded the Howard Bamman trophy for the second time by the International Brotherhood of Magicians, in recognition of his 28-year contribution to the organization’s magazine The Linking Ring.

The Fergus resident is the only Canadian ever to receive the award and the only magician to receive it twice.

In his Showtime column, Marucci would outline a new illusion every month and give detailed instructions on incorporating “patter” into performances - his trademark.

Read more.

20 September 2014

Linking Ring (v94, 8) round-up

For those of you who haven't flipped through the August Linking Ring, here's some of the Canadiana inside this issue:

  • Page 19, "The President's Page," by Shawn Farquhar
  • Page 21, "Board of Trustees Nominations, 2015-2016," lists Alex Seaman
  • Page 24, "Kickoff Show With the Stars of FFFF," with photos of Shawn
  • Page 28, "Stage Contest Finals," with photos of Trevor and Lorena Watters and
  • Page 30, "The Close-Up Finals," with a photo of Shin Lim

27 July 2014

Scott Hood, Executive Committee Member of the I.B.M.

Shawn Farquhar isn't the only Canadian with a new position among the I.B.M. officers this year.  Congratulations to Scott Hood, who was sworn in as an Executive Committee Member!

It's also worth noting that Scott is also the president of the Canadian Association of Magicians.  Thank you Scott for taking on that important role!

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:



21 July 2014

Spot the Canadian

Trick question, of course.


From the IBM Facebook page:


18 July 2014

Shawn Farquhar wants to give you $200 in magic!

To be more specific, Shawn wants you to promote the IBM.  The person who promotes the IBM the most between now and September will be awarded a "box full of magic."

Read all the details on the IBM Facebook page.


17 July 2014

Shawn Farquhar: Third Time’s a Charm

Dennis Schick from the IBM has kindly provided me with a PDF copy of the (previously mentioned) cover story about Shawn Farquhar in this month's issue of The Linking Ring to share with the readers of Canada's Magic.

From Dennis:
If you are an I.B.M. member, you have already seen and read the cover story on Canada's own Shawn Farquahar in the July issue of The Linking Ring. If you are not an I.B.M. member, here it is, with a reminder that this is a good example of what you are missing by not being a member. Why not join and support Shawn and his year as president? Go to www.magician.org.

Thank you very much Dennis!

14 July 2014

Shawn Farquhar, president of the I.B.M.

Updated on July 16 to add:
Dennis Schick from the IBM has kindly provided me with a PDF copy of the (previously mentioned) cover story about Shawn Farquhar in this month's issue of The Linking Ring to share with the readers of Canada's Magic.

Thank you very much Dennis! 

From Dennis:
If you are an I.B.M. member, you have already seen and read the cover story on Canada's own Shawn Farquahar in the July issue of The Linking Ring. If you are not an I.B.M. member, here it is, with a reminder that this is a good example of what you are missing by not being a member. Why not join and support Shawn and his year as president? Go to www.magician.org.


Updated at 3pm to add:
  • Dennis Schick has a wonderful interview with Shawn on page 22 in this month's issue of the Linking Ring (v94, 7) July 2014.

As many of you already know, Shawn Farquhar recently became president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Dennis Schick wrote up some interesting parallels between Shawn and Kenrick “ICE” McDonald, incoming president of the Society of American Magicians.  

From the IBM blog:
The combined convention this year of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians will establish a number of firsts, as well as other interesting and historic events. Until someone actually researches the archives, some of these are more assumptions than facts. They are interesting to speculate about anyway. Besides, astute magic historians likely will come forward to set the record straight whatever we say. But until then, here are a half-dozen observations and tidbits about the two new presidents of the largest (I.B.M.) and the oldest (S.A.M.) magic organizations in the world.

Read more.


11 July 2014

Steffen Banta wins Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp scholarship

Congratulations Steffen on winning a scholarship to Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp!

This year Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp runs from Friday August 15th through to Wednesday August 20th.  They are currently taking registrations at http://www.sorcererssafari.ca

From the IBM Facebook page:





And rumour has it that

09 July 2014

Canadians at the World Championships of Magic

Updated July 10 to add this article from The Now Newspaper:
NORTH DELTA — A North Delta couple was crowned “North American Champions of Stage Magic” after traveling to St. Louis last week for the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Society of American Magicians and North American F.I.S.M. Championships Combined Convention.

Trevor and Lorena Watters met while studying at Douglas College, and now the couple, who reside in North Delta, perform comedy magic routines together, competing at an international level.  
Read more.

Congratulations to Shin Lim and Lorena & Trevor Watters on their successes at the IBM/SAM competitions!  Wishing you all the best at the FISM World Championships next July.  (Visit the IBM website to read the full list of contest winners.)

Trevor Watters has a magic touch with women.

On one of his first dates with an 18-year-old named Lorena, Watters invited her back to his parents’ house in Delta.

Some men might have chatted a bit before quickly moving to hanky-panky. Not Watters.
He had placed a large illusionist’s box in the living room. He invited Lorena to climb into it so he could stick 12 swords into her.

Read more.

From the Edmonton Journal and CTV News:
Three Canadians from the Vancouver-area will represent North America at the World Championships of Magic in Italy next summer.

Trevor and Lorena Watters, a North Delta couple, beat six other finalists to win the North American Stage Magic Championship in St. Louis this weekend.

Vancouver-born Shin Lim will represent North America under the category of magic acts performed to a small audience without a stage.

Read more.

04 July 2014

Breaking news from IBM/SAM

Updated July 5th to add the official announcement from Trevor and congratulations from the Vanishing Rabbit and Clive Court:








From Murray Hatfield's Twitter feed:


Congratulations  Lorena and Trevor!!!

IBM/SAM Competition Finals update

Thanks for the update Jen!  Way to go Lorena and Trevor!

From Jen Segal's Facebook page:


24 May 2014

Invitation to the IBM/SAM Combined Convention

From the IBM/SAM Combined Convention Facebook page:
June 30 - July 5 in St. Louis





23 April 2014

Linking Ring (v94, 4) round-up

For those of you who haven't flipped through the April Linking Ring, here's some of the Canadiana inside this issue:
  • Cover and page 16, "Tony Econ An Icon in Card Magic" by Joan Caesar
  • Page 58, report of Ben Train Lecture (Ring 211)
  • Page 61, "Manitoba Magic Museum is Tribute to Young Magician" by Dennis Schick

19 October 2013

2014 Combined convention contests

From Ring 49:
For the first time at any magic convention there will be a triple magic championship competition. The combination of the I.B.M. and S.A.M. annual competitions with the 2014 FISM North America Championships of Magic will offer the greatest magic competition ever presented.  These three magic contests will offer a total of over $30,000 cash awards plus performing contracts. While you must be a North American resident to be eligible for the FISM Championships, all accepted contest participants, regardless of their home country, are eligible for the I.B.M. and S.A.M. cash awards.

The contest is limited to 30 stage and 30 close-up competitors. These competitors will be chosen from audition videos (see the website for details). A potential of fifteen residents of North America will have the opportunity to advance to the FISM 2015 World Championship of Magic in Rimini, Italy. Two of these winners will be crowned FISM 2014 North American Champions, one in stage and one in close-up.

Read more.

18 July 2013

10 June 2013

Phoenix: Simply Magical

July 17-20

From the IBM:
Congratulations to Shawn Farquhar, Talent Chairman of the Eighty-fifth Annual Phoenix I.B.M. Convention, for putting together an outstanding lineup. You won’t want to miss being part of this magical event.

Read more.

And don't forget about the Lance Burton Teen SeminarJuly 15-17:
A special pre-convention event for our young magicians ages 13-19.  This event will begin at 7:00pm on Monday , July 15 and run through lunch on Wednesday, July 17.  This unique event featuring Lance Burton, Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger will also have guest lectures and sessions from Shawn Farquhar, Oscar Munoz, Larry Haas and Bryce Kuhlman.  The best news – there is NO EXTRA CHARGE for this event if you are registered for the convention.

31 January 2013

Request for examples of magic benevolence

Updated on February the 8th to include link to Sharing Wonder post.

Do you, your magic club or other magic-related organization do wonderful things for your community?

In the December issue of IBM's publication, The Linking Ring (v92, #12), Dennis Schick wrote "The Benevolence of Magic" (page 56).  The focus of the article was examples of the magic community contributing to charitable causes and included a wonderful write-up of Canada's own Magicana for it's My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery and Tony Eng Youth Fund initiatives.  Read more about these programs at Magicana's blog, Sharing Wonder.

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail Dennis recently sent me:
But we had so many projects come up at the last minute, that we had to plan on a second article, later this Spring. So now I am looking for any other good examples of magic benevolence, whether by individuals (performing in hospitals), local clubs (raising funds for some good cause), or conventions (raising funds for a hunger drive).

I invite anyone with any ideas of examples they would like to tell me about, to write to me: crylds [at] att [dot] net. I am a member of Ring 29 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  [Weird e-mail formatting by Canada's Magic to discourage e-mail harvesters.]

Thank you for your consideration.

Now I'll disappear.  POOF!

Dennis Schick
The Linking Ring, Associate Editor
International Brotherhood of Magicians
 
Feel free to post examples of your magical good deeds in the comments below, and be sure to e-mail Dennis directly!