Winnipeg: Bill Abbott lecture

Monday December 3rd, Bill Abbott lecture in Winnipeg!


[h/t: Magic Information Canada]

Calgary: Magical arts festival

From the WowFest Facebook page:

Exciting News! We have received word that WowFest has won a funding grant from Calgary 2012! Hooray! A huge thanks to all those who supported the project with their votes, and all the friendly Calgary Cultural Ambassadors. Plus a special thanks to Gwyn The Magic Assistant who helped spread the word. I'm very pleased she has accepted the role of "Social Media Coordinator" for WowFest.

Read more.
 

Congratulations to Ryan Pilling on being one step closer to making his dream a reality!

Dorval: Hahacadabra!

From Montreal Families:

November 3, 2012

Magician Michel Deslauriers will have all the kids laughing, screaming and shouting out for more. There is lots of audience participation as candies appear, silk scarves disappear. And don't forget...EVERY child brings home a balloon animal.

Read more.
 

[h/t: Perfect Magic]

Whistler: Moose in a Top Hat

Moose in a Top Hat (warning: sound) opens December 28th in Whistler, BC.

From their website:
THE EVENING ADULT SHOW brings together the incredible mind reading skills of Christopher Taylor, the outrageous comedy entertainment of Matthew Johnson and the award winning magic of Trevor and Lorena Watters (warning: sound) in one spectacular show.

THE FAMILY AFTERNOON MATINEE SHOW brings together the enchanting story telling magic of Professor T, the hilarious comedy entertainment of Matthew Johnson and the award winning magic of Trevor and Lorena Watters (warning: sound) in one spectacular show.

Read more (warning: sound).

Updated Breaking Magic update

Breaking Magic on Discovery WILL air on November 11 USA side...as far as I know again.
— Billy Kidd (@Billykiddshow) October 30, 2012
 

Which has also been confirmed at iTricks.

Breaking Magic: Breaking news

Updated to add:

Breaking Magic on Discovery WILL air on November 11 USA side...as far as I know again.
— Billy Kidd (@Billykiddshow) October 30, 2012  

Which has also been published at iTricks.

Just got news there will be a new transmission date for Breaking Magic in the USA..probably early 2013. I'll keep you posted.
— Billy Kidd (@Billykiddshow) October 30, 2012

Discovery wants to save Breaking Magic for the new year which means it will not air Nov 11th. Disappointing, but this is good news.
— Wayne Houchin (@WayneHouchin) October 30, 2012

Shawn Farquhar on Canterbury Television

Watch Marcus Gibbs interview Shawn Farquhar on Canterbury Television:




[h/t: CAMmagic.org]

Brampton: Magic With the Sleight-est Hint of Cheese

From zvents:

Today.

Gord Cadabra is bringing his hit comedy/magic show Magic With the Sleight-est Hint of Cheese to Brampton's Cyril Clark theatre for one night only!

Read more.

Rounding the Western rings in November

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.  

City	Club	Event(s)
Calgary, AB	Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring)	- Lance Pierce lecture
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- n/a
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- Lance Pierce lecture
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Lance Pierce lecture
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Tri - City 3 of Clubs Magic Convention - Lance Pierce lecture

 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Ontario rings in November

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- antique magic - Owen Anderson lecture
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- n/a
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- n/a
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Gambling, Betchas, & Scams Magic - CHEO Charity Show Children’s Show
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	-
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Shane Cobalt lecture
Woodstock, ON	CAM 1 (Friendly City Mystics)	-

 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Eastern rings in November

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- n/a
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- n/a

 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Tony Eng Youth Fund Bursary

From Sharing Wonder:

Magicana’s Tony Eng Youth Fund and Magi-Fest in Columbus, Ohio are proud to announce a partnership for the Magi-Fest Youth Scholarship 2013.

The Columbus Magi-Fest is one of the oldest and most significant magic gatherings in the world. It is an 83-year old tradition that has fostered and helped develop the careers of young magicians. The festival includes youth-only events in which international headline performers work directly with young magicians on their acts. Additionally, lectures, shows and workshops are held where attendees can learn about the experiences and knowledge of  professional magicians.

We are thrilled to announce a scholarship for a young magician to attend Magi-Fest. 

Read more.

Geneviève Bernier: Woman of Exception

Evelyn Matlin has a wonderful english summary of the article "Geneviève Bernier : femme de courage et de détermination" from Le Courrier Du Sud.

Go to Perfect Magic and read Evelyn's post "More About Women In Magic" to read about Geneviève, an exeptional woman indeed!



[h/t: Perfect Magic]

CAM has a new webmaster!

Shout out to Jeph Stahl, who has kindly offer to volunteer his time to be CAM's official new webmaster!  Jeph hails from Hamilton Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club) and is doing a fabulous job with their newly revamped site!

Thank you Jeph for taking on that role!

Meta: popular posts

In reverse order, the five most popular posts on this blog:

5. Luc Langevin: aux limites de l'illusion [comme par magie]

4. The secret to Sorcerers Safari's success

3. Send healing thoughts for Volodymyr Martyniuk

2. Shawn Farquhar on Penn & Teller's Fool Us

and the number one most viewed post is .....





1. Canada's Got Talent 2012 auditions

It appears a staggering number of people don't realize that Canada's Got Talent wasn't renewed!

Chance vs Motta

From Post City:

What is Halloween without tricks to go with your treats? Our city is home to two masters of magic, who can easily contend with the likes of Criss Angel. This month, we pit the illusions that wowed Ray Chance’s MuchMusic audience against the in-your-head act of Annex Live’s mentalist Bobby Motta. Who has the best tricks up his sleeve?

Read more.

A day at Niagara Falls

As part of last summer's school break plans, we saved up our pennies to see Greg Frewin's show "Imagine" at the Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls.

Kidlet and I made the trek to Niagara Falls through the pouring rain and arrived mid-afternoon during a light drizzle.  We made a quick check in to the theatre box office to make sure our tickets were there (they were!) and to get the parking pass for the car.  (Did you know that ticket price includes free parking anytime after 9am on the day of the show?)

From the theatre it's a short walk to Clifton Hill (the "Street of Fun" by the Falls) and a five to ten minute jaunt (depending leg length and ease of distractibility – SkyWheel! Fudge Factory! Ice cream! Wax museum!) to the Maid of the Mist at River Road and Clifton Hill.  Two silver linings to it being a rainy day: 1) we were already decked out in our finest rain gear and were suitably dressed for the iconic boat ride next to The Falls and 2) the line ups were super short!  (Sadly, we weren't able to see any rainbows in the mist itself, but we were warm and dry!)  Exit through the gift shop...

We wandered through the area, grabbed a bite to eat and explored a little more.  Then back to the car for a dash to the Butterfly Conservatory.

Note to Ontario families:  We used a coupon for a free child's admission (as long as we paid for an adult admission) from our "Ontario 2012 Fun Pass" booklet which was given to us at the end of the school year.  The conservatory was FABULOUS!  Highly recommended!

Back to the theatre.  We were seated with a wonderful young couple from New York.  We were later joined by wonderful company from Ohio and Vancouver Island.  The table next to us had plenty of children aged 4 and up – I had as much fun watching the reactions of all the children as I did watching the show!

Tip: Arrive as early as you can to ensure good seating (the box office will let you know what time is best). 

Note to parents: Bring along some distractions for little ones (such as crayons with paper, playing cards, books, quiet hand-held video games etc.) to help pass the time between arriving for the best seating and show time.  We were lucky that the delightful couple from the Rochester area, kindly joined us in a game of Crazy Eight Countdown  and the time flew by! 

If you think your child would be scared sitting right up close to the tigers at level one, level two offers an equally good view of the stage along with the sense of a physical barrier between you and the big cats.

The theatre also has some entertainment while you wait: tiger and magic trivia on the big screen!  In addition, there was a creative pre-show animated short from the Vancouver film school.

Note to parents:  Some of the kids 8 and under in our area found the short a little scary at times.

My favourite part was a fabulous video promoting Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp.  It put a big smile on my face!

As for the show itself, how could you not be entertained by helicopters, a bowling ball, an invisible deck, Oreos, tigers, talented ladies, fire, milk, tigers, a dog, doves, tigers, Chuck the Duck, and macaws?  Did I mention the tigers?  What's not to like?  (Throughout the show, one of our evening's companions could be heard muttering, "How did he do the thing with the duck?")

Note to parents of young children:  The last big illusion, which I'll refer to as the Assistants' Revenge, was a little tense for some of the younger children.  But it ended with happy faces!

After the show there's an opportunity to have your photo taken in the same cage with a tiger!  (Well worth it in my opinion.)  Technically, you're not really in the same confined space as the tiger, but it sure looks like that in the picture.  The tiger trainer is right there, which made this parent feel a whole lot more relaxed about the experience.  Part of the profit from the items in the magical gift shop, including the photo sales, are used to support a tiger sanctuary.  After the show, you can queue up for an autograph from Greg!

Needless to say, Kidlet and I had an absolutely wonderful time at the show!  A picture with a tiger, a souvenir from the gift shop, and the chance to chat with Mr. Frewin himself!

As impressed as I was with the show, I was equally impressed with all of the staff at the theatre.  Everyone was friendly, professional and customer focused.  Huge thanks to:  the very patient box office staff (Caitlin, Roxanne and Nina), the ushers, the fabulous assistants who we met while in line for having our photo taken, Johnny Ferrara the tiger trainer, the gift shop staff and all of the fabulous people who kept things orderly and moving for the post-show autographs. 

Thank you Greg et al, for a most magical ending to our wonderful day in Niagara Falls!

Spotted in the wild ...

If you receive the CAM publication, Northern Peeks, you'll notice that this edition (Vol 15, Number 3) features Sorcerers Safari!  Tucked inside, is the article "The secret to Sorcerers Safari's success" written by yours truly!

Shawn had the nicest thing published below the article:

"Originally published on August 11 at CanadasMagic.blogspot.ca, which is the finest location for up to date information on magic in Canada."

Gwyn took a nice photo of it ....

@canadasmagic spotted! twitter.com/magicassistant…
— Gwyn Auger (@magicassistant) October 17, 2012

Thanks Gwyn!

And thanks to Shawn for his kind words about this site!

Murray Hatfield and Teresa: Magic 'n' Miracles tour

The schedule is up for Murray Hatfield's Magic 'n Miracles tour!  They're starting in Etobicoke, Ontario in early December.

Not only will you get to see some amazing magic, you'll be supporting some deserving charities. 

Also on the Hatfield tour are Christopher Hart, Michael Goudeau, Miles Meechan and Magdalaina Tamasik.

Schedule and ticket information at the Magic 'n Miracles website.

Anthony Lindan: Peace of Mind

Anthony Lindan is holding a two teleseminars, titled Public Speaking Peace of Mind.  Click through more more details about the events on Wednesday October the 24th and on Thursday October the 25th.