Showing posts with label Brian Glow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Glow. Show all posts

14 May 2023

Brian Glow in KYUK

From the May 8th article "Touring magician spreads anti-bullying message to youth in rural Alaska" by Evan Erickson at KYUK:

“There was a news report on the radio on my way back that had said that the worst suicides in the world were happening in Arctic Canada and Arctic Alaska. I said, you know what, I have some of those skills and I can do something about it,” Glow said.

One of the villages that Glow visited on his recent tour of the Y-K Delta was Tuntutuliak, where he performed for the whole community, as well as for elementary and high school students at Lewis Angapak Memorial School.

“It was a really great experience. He had a really great message that he was providing to the students as well,” said Dean of Students Katie Chearney.

Glow uses a two-fold approach to communicate an anti-bullying message, combining his personal experiences with symbolic illusions, for example, using three different-sized ropes to represent children at different levels of maturity.

Read more.


 

 

 

 

 

 

27 December 2022

ICYMI: Plaque rededication on the 100th anniversary of the International Brotherhood of Magicians

On June 6th, Dean Gunnarson participated in a rededication of a plaque at the building where it all started over 100 years ago.

 

From the June 5th article, "Winnipeg still a magic city 100 years after international organization’s founding" by Sam Thompson at Global News

Internationally-known illusionist and comedy magician Brian Glow says the brotherhood, which is the largest organization of magicians in the world, was founded in Winnipeg in 1922.

The city’s long history of magic — which includes a 1923 performance by the legendary Harry Houdini, who escaped from a straightjacket 30 feet above a downtown building — is largely due to its geographic location.

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Although the brotherhood became so popular that it moved to the U.S. less than a decade after its founding, Gunnarson said the city has a long history of famed magicians to this day — from himself and Glow to the likes of Doug Henning, Darcy Oake, and Greg Wood.

“Sometimes we don’t appreciate things in our own backyard… and Winnipeg has such a vibrant, rich history of politicians, entertainers — and of course magic,” Gunnarson said.

Read more.

 

From the June 6th article "'The magic city': 100th anniversary of International Brotherhood of Magicians marked in Winnipeg, where it all started" by Devon McKendrick at CTV News Winnipeg:

IBM was started by three magicians, including Len Vintus, who is from Transcona, in 1922, and now the organization has around 15,000 members with local groups in more than 88 countries.

"He created the world's largest magic organization with no computer, no smartphone, no fax machine, all with a typewriter and a mimeograph machine," said Dean Gunnarson, who is a Winnipeg escape artist.

The IBM was created to connect magicians who lived outside major cities and were unable to attend magic club meetings.

"(Vintus) promoted magic, the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba. He was a real ambassador for this city and province and, of course, magic."

Read more.


From the June 29th article "World’s largest magic club celebrates 100th anniversary, Winnipeg roots" by Cody Sellar in the Free Press Community Review:

To celebrate the anniversary, local members held a ceremony at the original headquarters on June 6, recreating the unveiling of the 1986 historical building plaque by setting the veil ablaze.

Transconian Melvin McMullen, better known by the stage name Len Vintus, founded the organization in 1922 at the age of 19. He rented an office on the seventh floor of the building at Main Street and William Avenue and set to work.

“He was absolutely driven. Wore a suit and tie and vest every day of his life that I knew him, until he went to the hospital with a stroke,” said Dean Gunnarson, a Winnipeg escape artist who became friends with McMullen until his death in 1999.

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The Winnipeg ring has now morphed into the Magic Club of Winnipeg, run in part by brotherhood member Carey Lauder. He’s helped teach a host of young magicians, including Darcy Oake. He said for some kids, magic provides a crucial confidence boost.

“It’s like kid Toastmasters,” he said, citing parents who told him their children gained the self-assurance to speak up in class and other such things.

Lauder, who also works at the magic counter at Toad Hall Toys, said McMullen’s legacy is a point of pride for the Winnipeg magic community.

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Gunnarson said his tombstone is carved in the shape of the province and inscribed with the title: “Mr. Manitoba.”


Read more.







05 September 2019

Nunavik: Influencers Motivating Influencers

From the Globe Newswire:
VERMILION, Alberta, Sept. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A spark of magic, a splash of art, and tunes of triumph are all set to inspire 14 northern communities this fall. The team from Influencers Motivating Influencers will be touring to create and inspire positive change in the Nunavik Region from September 2 through October 25, 2019.

Influencers Motivating Influencers (IMI) has been offering suicide prevention, wellness and anti-bullying tours in remote northern communities for 7 years. "We have a strong, diverse group of multi-talented people, so we can tailor workshops based on community needs." explains IMI founder and tour producer, Dave DeVos. According to Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2018 Inuit Statistical Profile, the rates of suicide in Inuit Nunangat are 5 to 25 times higher than in the rest of Canada.

Magician and International Illusionist, Brian Glow, has packed an unbelievable, Antibullying show into a single suitcase. Brian uses comedy and magic to share personal experiences of being bullied, mesmerizing audiences while delivering his positive message.

Read more.

20 November 2018

Brian Glow in the CBC News

From the November 17th article "For this Manitoba anti-bullying magician, the real trick is helping kids connect" by CBC News (with files from Nadia Kidwai):
A Manitoba magician who found solace in sleight of hand when he was bullied as a kid is using the same tools to help fight bullying in northern communities.

Brian Glow, a corporate magician and illusionist, has performed for audiences in 44 countries over the past 40 years. These days, he spends as much as four months a year in remote communities in the Northwest Territories, enthralling students with magic tricks he hopes help them deal with bullying.

His work with them ranges from performances to workshops on how to do the tricks and motivational speaking.

"Each trick actually has messaging in it, whether it's motivational, whether it's anti-bullying, whether it's what to look out for when someone's talking a certain way," Glow said.

Read more.

03 May 2017

Nunavut: Brian Glow's 3rd Arctic tour

From Brian Glow's Facebook page:
OK the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
 I am leaving on my 3rd Arctic tour of the Kivalliq area of Nunavut starting this Sunday April 30 - May 18. I will be performing my Award Winning Comedy Magic show each evening for the public as well as an anti-bullying show and workshop each day in the schools.

Calm Air and Arctic Co-Op have graciously sponsored the tour expenses. Their generosity is greatly appreciated and is their way of giving back to the communities they serve so well.

On May 4th (May The Fourth Be With You) I will be celebrating my 60th Birthday performing in Naujaat (Repulse Bay, Nunavut in the Arctic Circle. What a great way to live! (it's a beautiful spring -24 today).

 PLEASE pass this on! Photos and stories will be posted while on tour so stay tuned!