Random thoughts from Sorcerers Safari 2014

• Mike and Jen Segal are totally awesome and inspiring people!
• It is tremendous that organizations such as Ellusionist support Sorcerers Safari. (Kids, did you remember to send a quick "thank you" e-mail to them for the generous gift you received?  Do it now!  -- Mom)
• The safety and welfare of the children is an absolute priority.
• Spotted: Mike and Jen Segal, Dan Weibe, Eric Leclerc, Aaron Fisher, Dave Mitchell, Carey Lauder, Lee Asher, Dick Joiner, Steven Kline, Lisa & Michael Close, Ben Train, Chris Mayhew,  Mike D'Urzo, Chris Pilsworth, Rosemary Reid, Joan Caesar, Evelyn and Phil Matlin, Becki & Bill Wells, Philip DaCosta, Mark Correia,  Lorena & Trevor Watters, Chris Westfall, Scott Hammell, Alex Seaman, Loran, Asi Wind and Steve Valentine ... I'm sure there were more!
• It's very cool to see that some of the youth of today have such a philanthropic bent.  I'm thinking here of Mark Correia's "Escaping Parkinson's" stunt to raise money for Parkinson's research project which raised over $15000 and Alex Seaman entry in to the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise funds for ALS (video to be seen shortly).
• One just never knows where Aaron Fisher is going to appear.
• It can get mighty cold at night.
• The star-gazing is incredible away from all the city lights!
• Cube Zags are cool.
• There's always something to do or someone to talk to.  If you want "down time" you have to make it! (And risk missing out!)
• I saw a deer and a rabbit in the woods.  And a hummingbird too!
• Egg plants can be really big.
• Bonfires can have blue flames! (Merci Loran!)
• Candlelit lanterns are wonderful.
• The campers' show was all kinds of AWESOME! Twenty-seven brave performers in just under 2 hours!  My favourite from the campers' show was Holden & Brett's 3 card monte routine.  (Although Ava and Steve's partnership came a close second.)
• To answer a question asked by Doug, Steve Valentine may very well be taller than David Acer.  
• If you haven't met Steve Valentine yet, get thee to the Browser's Den for the "Getting together with Steve Valentine" event.  He's a wonderful person.  You're welcome.
• Being a cabin counselor is a tough gig.  The magic has to come second to taking care of the kids.  (Kind of like being a parent.)
• The kids at camp are were very polite.  They spontaneously thanked me for interviewing them!  Impressive.
• Perfect Magic also brought thoughtful gifts for the campers!  (Kids, I just said you were polite, so while you're sending your thank you e-mail to Ellusionist, make sure you send one to Perfect Magic too.  Do it now!  -- Mom)
• Carey Lauder is an incredible photographer.  (See samples of his magic camp from three years back in Vanish magazine.)
• Chris Mayhew shot some fabulous footage – I can't wait to see this year's camp video!
• Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp gets better every year!
• Mike Segal and Mike Toal should be very proud of what they started together over 18 years ago.
• Sorcerers Safari is full of super nice, caring, talented individuals!

Don't just take my word for it, here's what other people had to say about this summer's magic camp experience:

If ur into magic, or if u hve kids who luv doin magic (truly the greatest hobby for a child, teaches so much) I recommend @SorcerersSafari
— Steve Valentine (@Stevevalentine) August 21, 2014

@LeeAsherMagic fully supports my dietary choices! Thanks for an awesome week @SorcerersSafari #MagicCamp #ss2014 pic.twitter.com/qCUAIbk9wt
— Aaron Fisher (@aaronfishercard) August 20, 2014

Home from the stars and magic, & the future stars of magic @SorcerersSafari until next year..I'm out! @LeeAsherMagic pic.twitter.com/Yo0TnJSVMW
— Chris Westfall (@westfallmagic) August 20, 2014

Just left Canada's magic camp. I had an amazing time with @LeeAsherMagic @aaronfishercard @MikeCloseMagic and many other great magicians.
— Asi Wind (@Asiwind) August 20, 2014

Back home from Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp it was an incredible time, seeing all those kids so enthusiastic about... http://t.co/Nf1Jn8Yq3R
— chris mayhew (@chrismayhew1) August 20, 2014

Just back from our 1st visit to @sorceressfari. What a wonderful experience and great time we had. Read Evy's blog next Wednesday!
— Philip Matlin (@Perfect_Magic) August 21, 2014

Post by Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp.

[Guest post] Kreskin at the CNE

The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon.  Photos taken during Kreskin's second show at the CNE on Friday, August 15th, 2014.

--

Kreskin loves Canada. And Canada loves Kreskin. He said he thinks of Canada as his second home. Many Canadians even think of him as one of us. No wonder, we've long been enthralled by his charismatic performances, most memorably those also seen throughout the world during his famous 1970s television series taped in Ottawa and Toronto.

Kreskin's twice daily performances at this year's CNE in Toronto is like attending a master class in audience management. With nothing more than his easily recognized voice and considerable stage presence, Kreskin presents a remarkable demonstration of the "powers of suggestion". He says it is definitely not any kind of hypnosis (which he asserts does not exist anyway). Whatever it is, he held the entire audience (both onstage and offstage) spellbound with his supreme confidence and showmanship honed over a lifetime of such performances.

Here Kreskin's "powers of suggestion" render onstage audience members unable to voluntarily control the movement of their own hands and fingers, much to the amusement of the rest of the audience.

During the show Kreskin stopped to chat with this onstage audience member who, under Kreskin's influence, appeared to be unable to remember his own name.

Here Kreskin's influence causes an onstage audience member to believe the woman beside him has eleven fingers, which he repeatedly miscounted, much to his growing bewilderment.

Kreskin concluded his entertaining performance with an homage to Dunninger: "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't [believe], none will be good enough". Kreskin's shows follow in the tradition of Dunninger's who originated the disclaimer.

Anyone within traveling distance of the CNE should see Kreskin this summer. His act may be old school but he still knocks it out of the park each and every time. At nearly 80 he is an inspiration. Dare I say "amazing"? There is so much to learn from watching him. He's well worth the price of admission.

Also at this year's CNE in Toronto, ventriloquist Michael Harrison presents two shows daily. His laughter-filled act is clever and fast paced and a total audience pleaser.

Here Michael does the talking for both his dummy and also for an audience member in a climax to his act that left his delighted audience wishing for more.

Photo taken during Michael's second CNE show on Friday, August 15th, 2014.

If you plan to attend this summer's CNE in Toronto you should be sure to check out the "Browser's Den of Magic" booth in the Hobby Building. Although primarily designed to create interest among newbies, there's some extra good deals on offer that should be of interest to all.

Here Browser's Den of Magic associate Ahmed entertains an enchanted young fan.

Photo taken at the CNE on Friday, August 15th, 2014.

 ~~~~

Thank you The Magic Demon for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

Festival de magie de Québec 2014

From Festival de Magie:

29 au 31 août 2014 

Read more and buy tickets.

Featuring:

Daniel Coutu

Nicolas Gignac

Danys Hamel

Éric Leclerc

Sébastien Louis

Marc Trudel

Christian Cagigal

Mathieu Bich

Stéphane Bourgoin 

Marc Trudel

Gustave Coulombe

Anthony Drouin

Philippe Thériault

Vincent Mentalo

Stephan Therien

and

Projection du film "An honest Liar" Un film sur James Randi

Report: Asi Wind at the Comedy Nest

From Perfect Magic:

We don’t get out a whole lot. We used to when we were younger, but now, after a day at the magic shop we are happy to go home and relax. But Asi Wind, New York  Mentalist and Mind-Reader, was giving a one man show at the Comedy Nest at the old Montreal Forum and we wanted to see him as we had heard about him of course but never had seen him.

Read more.

Ryan Pilling builds a "lazy" magic table

From Playing Big:

My goal for this project was to have a small side table for my show that is extremely portable. This “lazy” table can easily fit in a briefcase, because of the dirty little secret… you only need to carry half of it!

All you need is this easy-to-make table top, which will attach to your standard microphone stand commonly found in 99% of the places I do shows. Worst case scenario, you fly into town and can’t find one in the venue… they can be bought or rented in a heartbeat.

Read more.

HWDYKM answers: part 2

The second post in a short series of answers to those true or false questions asked in the post "How well do you know me?"

Question two:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic is / has been on the executive of CAM.

Question three:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic is / has been on the executive of IBM.

None of you thought that I'm executive material for CAM and 16% (one) of you thought I've been on the executive for IBM.  Fact of the matter is, I've not been (and am not) on the executive for either of these organizations.  Which means, among other things, I'm not Joan Caesar.  (Prior to this poll, at least one person thought that I was -- high praise indeed!)


Question four:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic was born in Western Canada.

Question five:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic was born in Central Canada.

Question six:  True or False?

The person behind the curtain at Canada's Magic was born in Eastern Canada.

One person thought I was born in Western Canada, one in Central Canada and no one thought I was born in Eastern Canada.  One of you is correct.  I was born in Central Canada.

How are you scoring so far?

Anyone out there want to change your guess as to who I am?

Spidey Akkelian in the press

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

Toronto: There's magic at the Ex in 2014!

There's magic at the CNE again this year!

Majinx is back at Kids' World with Professor Wick's School of Magic and Illusion.

And Kreskin is at the Variety Stage.  From The Ex:

From the hard news formats of CNN, ABC and FOX NEWS to the ingenious madcap comedy of David Letterman and outrageous humour of Howard Stern, Kreskin has become a household name. Nationally recognized as a teenager as “The World’s Youngest Hypnotist”, he went on to become a mesmerizing entertainer and a major player in criminal investigations and anti-terrorism initiatives. For the past 11 years, he has been featured on CNN on New Year’s Day to discuss his predictions for the months to come.

Read more.

Toronto: Getting together with Steve Valentine

From the Browser's Den of Magic:

WHAT: Steve Valentine Get-Together
WHERE: Browser's Den
WHEN: Saturday August 23rd, 2014
COST: FREE 

For those interested enough to attend this event, Steve Valentine promises to perform some of his best-selling routines which won him prestigious back-to-back Magic Castle awards. He'll also share a few of the secrets that made him a great magician. Witness powerful effects using objects like: Playing Cards, Coins, and cloth (You must see this one, to believe it!)

Fresh from his recent appearance playing four completely different villains in Disney flicks, Steve Valentine visits Toronto for a free special Get-Together spending time with all the Toronto magicians after heading up to Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp.

And...

Read more.

Frederic Demarais dans la semaine

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

Houdini in the Amherst News

From the Amherst News:

On Aug. 3, exactly 118 years after Houdini’s visit to Amherst, MacNab took people on a tour of Houdini’s time spent in Amherst.

The tour made four stops, and each stop featured magic by Margaret Steele, a magician from Peekskill, New York, who has performed magic throughout the world, most recently performing in China. 

The first stop was directly behind the First Baptist Church on Victoria Street where the back parking lot meets Amherst Town Square.

Read more.

[via Wild About Houdini]

Congratulations PCAM winners!

Congratulations to Gwyn Auger and Billy Hsueh for their respective wins at PCAM this year!

Does anyone have the official list of contest results?

Winner of Best ASSISTANT for #pcam2014 is me!!!!! Thanks Frank for putting me in your act! #magiclife #goldmedal pic.twitter.com/mCCxbG0yHQ
— Gwyn Auger (@magicassistant) August 4, 2014

Placed First in the Pacific Coast Close Up Competition :) i loved every moment of it.
— Billy Hsueh (@MagicofBilly) August 4, 2014

Random thoughts about "An honest liar"

From special correspondent Derek, who was at the screening of "An honest liar" on Friday night:

• The film sketched Randi's early career and then moved on to detail his high-profile debunking of Uri Gellar, faith healers, the channeling movement and paranormal research. It concluded with the deception is his own life: the identity fraud committed by his partner.
• It shone a light on the ethics of disproof by deception.
• It contrasted his public face proclaiming honesty, and his private face where he kept a couple of big secrets.
• It's interesting, go see it!

In addition:

• Randi performed a quick rope tie routine.
• There was a meet and greet as well as photo ops.
• Birthday cake was involved.

England: Shawn Farquhar

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

Winners to see "An honest liar"

A quick reminder that "An honest liar" is playing various times at Toronto's Bloor Cinema until August 21st.

The contest to win tickets to see "An honest liar" in Toronto tonight closed last night at midnight.  Here's the official list of entrants:

1. Dan McLean Jr
2. Mark Campbell
3. Magic Mike Segal
4. Mark Lewis
5. David Olson

I digress for a moment and encourage everyone to read the entry by Mark Lewis.  I wish I could offer a prize for best entry!

Random draw results:

  

  

Congratulations to Mike, Dan, and Mark Campbell!  I've sent you an e-mail with the name of the contact person and instructions on how to claim your tickets.  Enjoy the show tonight and be sure to tell me all about the Q&A with Randi!

Thank you all for playing!  A special thanks to Hannah from Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival for generously making these tickets available to you!

Trevor and Lorena in the Vancouver Sun

From the Vancouver Sun:

Powerful magic can be found in the unlikeliest of places. Trevor and Lorena Watters, a couple from North Delta, were crowned North American Champions of Stage Magic earlier this month, winning them entry to the 2015 World Championships of Magic in Rimini, Italy. The Sun reached the pair between illusions to discover how magic brought them together and what tricks they’re conjuring up for next year’s contest.

Q: What drew you both to magic?

Read more.

Win tickets to see "An honest liar" in Toronto

Great news! I have been offered three pairs of tickets to give away to my readers, to attend "AN HONEST LIAR" at the Friday, August 8, 6:30pm screening in Toronto, Canada.  (I understand that there's a Q&A with Randi at that screening.)

I will be holding a random draw for each pair of tickets.  (There will be three winners. Each winner will receive a pair of tickets.)  The draw results will be posted on Friday August the 8th.


To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me your favourite Amazing Randi memory (from a personal encounter, an interview, a performance etc).  (You do not need to be a magician to enter the contest.)(Your favourite memory could be entering this contest!)
2. Leave your name, along with a way that I may contact you (e-mail address, phone number, website, Twitter handle etc.) so that I can notify you if you win.
3. If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and contact information for me to share with Hannah from Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

The fine print:

• To participate in the contest, you must be 18 years of age or older.
• One entry per person.
• This giveaway is open to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (Je m'excuse!)
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• If you experience difficulties leaving a comment, you may e-mail it to me for posting.  (I am not responsible if your e-mail is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder.)
• You must be able to use the tickets as offered.  (No cash value will be offered if you cannot use the tickets.)
• Photo ID will be required to claim the tickets at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema box office prior to the show on your way into the screening.
• The odds of winning depend on how many people enter the contest.
• Contest closes on Thursday August the 7th, 2014 at 11:59pm EST.

With thanks to Hannah from Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival for generously making these tickets available to you!

Toronto: An honest liar

Updated at 14:40:

• Contest details can be found at this post: Win tickets to see "An honest liar" in Toronto

I'm hoping to set up a ticket give away for this documentary.  Details to follow.

From Hot Docs:

AN HONEST LIAR
August 8- 21

James “The Amazing” Randi is an 85-year-old magician and escape artist who has been enchanted with illusions from a young age. Dedicating his life to learning the tricks of the trade, Randi became a sensation who toured the world, always honest about being a “liar, cheat and charlatan.” When people start using the same tricks but calling themselves “psychics”—like spoon-bender Uri Geller or “faith-healing” like televangelist Peter Popoff—Randi is angry and afraid for the people who are duped.  

James "The Amazing" Randi will participate in a Q&A on August 8, at 6:30 p.m., moderated by NOW Magazine's senior film writer Norm Wilner. 

Read more and buy tickets.

Bob Cates in The Record

From The Record:

Bob Cates, champion juggler of fire sticks and sharp knives, stood at The Hot Corner.

Third base on a baseball diamond somewhere outside Ottawa.

All is not fair at the county fair. Not in the fall of 1998.

"Behind me was a hay machine, threshing away," recalled Cates, now a 43-year-old Hespeler resident and 2014 Canadian Comedy Awards nominee for best variety act.                          
Read more.

Montreal: Patrik Kuffs

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.