Calgary: Win tickets to see Wes Barker

From Wes Barker's Facebook page:

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Sign up for The Newest Trick in the Book

From the Facebook page of The Newest Trick in the Book:

As Toronto's only magic open-mic, we get a lot of messages from people wanting to be on the lineup. Well, we'd love to have you!

The process is REALLY simple. Attend ONE show (it's free!) so you can see the space and show some support to your fellow performers. Then speak to either Benzi Train or Jonah Babins to sign up for a spot. That's it! Told you it was simple!

But act fast- all the April spots are booked up and there's only 4 more spots left for May (with some June spots gone already as well).

Our next show is Tuesday April 11th, at 8:30pm. Only at See-Scape.

Ottawa: Magic Monday - Buzz! Danger! Cow!

From the Magic Monday Facebook event:

April 24

Magic Monday returns with three outstanding performers!

This month we welcome special guest host, Mr. Brian Robert Wilson!

And joining him on stage are Buzz Collins - Comedy Hypno-Mentalist and the amazing Danger Boy (Aka Nicolas Belzile)!  

Broken wand: Charles Edwin Millard

We were notified by Dennis Schick, the editor of the Broken Wand in the International Brotherhood of Magician's magazine, The Linking Ring, of the passing of Charles Millard.

From the March 2017 Linking Ring:

Recently the I.B.M. Headquarters was notified that Charles Edwin Millard, 68, of Edgetts Landing, New Brunswick, Canada, died July 25, 2016. His I.B.M. membership number was 61351, and he had been a member since 2000 (sixteen years). Born in Kingston, Ontario, he worked in the service industry for over thirty years, with Xerox. Following retirement, he continued to work, both as a church custodian, and for a printing firm. He loved entertaining people as “Choctaw the Clown,” and was involved in clowning for almost four decades. In addition to clowning and magic, he loved the outdoors and nature, including all water sports, roller skating, cross country skiing and bird watching. He also was a photographer. Survivors include his wife, Paula; sons Robert (Cathy) and Andrew (Amanda); grandchildren Julia, Katie, Savanah, Liam and Ella; step-children Tanya Minter, and Steven Lawson; step-grandchildren, Marina, Ryan, Danny, and Samantha; step-great-granddaughter, Brookelynn; and brother, David. Memorial contributions may be made to the Valley Baptist Church, 3039 Main Street, Hillsborough, New Brunswick, Canada EOA 1XO

From the website of the Albert County Funeral Home:

Charles Edwin Millard aka "Choctaw the Clown", 68, of Edgett's Landing passed away peacefully on July 25th, 2016 at the Moncton Hospital with his family by his side.  

He was born in Kingston, Ontario on October 1st, 1947, the son of the late Dr. William Edwin "Eddy" and Annie "Isabel" (Miller) Millard. He was a faithful member of the Valley Baptist Church.  He worked in the service industry for over 30 years with Xerox. Following an early retirement from Xerox, Charles moved to Edgett's Landing, NB where he spent many years as a custodian at the Valley Baptist Church. He was last working with Andrez Printing in Riverview.   Charles was a professional clown and loved entertaining people.  He was "Choctaw the Clown" and involved in clowning for 37 years. He was the Eastern Ambassador for clowns of America International and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. 

Read more.

Canadians on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" season 4

Updated November 24th at add Ekatarina, Matthew Johnson, Shin Lim, and Jean-Pierre Parent.

Updated on May 24th to add Richard Forget!

Updated on April 17 to add Yan Markson!

Updated at 1:55pm to add Patrik Kuffs!

Information is slowly leaking about about the contestants on season four of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us."  So far I've spotted Murray Hatfield, Sheldon Casavant, and Patrik Kuffs.  (And a teaser from Shawn Farquhar.)  Tell me, who am I missing from Canada?


From Murray Hatfield's Facebook page:




From Sheldon Casavant's Facebook page:






From Yan Markson's Instagram:

'Penn & Teller's Fool Us' Season 4 premieres this July, and you might find a firmiliar face this year. - stay tuned! ;) #magician #mentalist #torontoentertainment #torontoevents #eventplanner

A post shared by Yan Markson (@yanmarkson) on Apr 8, 2017 at 12:22pm PDT

From Richard Forget's Facebook page:

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From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:

Toronto: Free magic club

From the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook group:

Hi Denizens-This Saturday, April 8 is the next free Magic Club at Browser's Den.

The meeting will take place from 2:30pm until 5:30pm. All interested in talking magic are welcome.

Thank you-Old Jeff, Young Jeff & The Browser's Den Team.

James Randi and Matt Dillahunty

From the Pangburn Philosophy YouTube channel:

Pangburn Philosophy ALL ACCESS presents "The Amazing James Randi TRICKS Matt Dillahunty." This moment occurred in a hotel, prior to the CONJURE THE NIGHT event which took place on April 2nd 2017 at the UBC Chan Centre in Vancouver BC Canada. James and Matt spoke together about conjuring, skepticism and the life of James Randi. James and Matt later performed some conjurations followed by illusionist Murray Hatfield and 2 time world champion of magic, Shawn Farquhar.

Browser's Bash 2017 in the Toronto Star

Edited to add this direct link to the Toronto Star website:

• https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2017/04/06/browsers-annual-bash-for-illusionists-is-where-the-magic-happens.html

From Press Reader:

Jeff Pinsky is the guy who makes it all happen.  For the third year in a row, he has rounded up the sprawling community that's grown around his four-decade-old specialty store, Browser's Den of Magic, on Dufferin St. north of Lawrence Ave. W.

"The magic shop, and in extension the bash itself, is a separate little world," he said. "It's a wonderful escape for some people."

Guests at his bash said that Pinsky's event is really the only one out there of its kind and scale. Some flew in from across the country, or even as far as Japan, to be there for the 12 hour "full day of magical fun!"

Read more.

Bobby Motta on CBC's "The Goods"

From Bobby Motta's Facebook page:

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Thank you to our April 2017 friends!

Thank you to John Smithman, John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, and The Outerbridges, for being Friends of Canada's Magic!

It's good to have friends like you.
    

You too can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year! 

Donations of any size are always welcome.

Thank you to our April 2017 sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support.

This site would not be possible without their backing.

We're grateful to have the support of:

• Clive Court - The Fun-da-Mentalist,
• Evelyn & Phil Matlin, owners of Perfect Magic,
• Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic, and
• Michael Close, author of the Workers series and other ebooks.

The next time you see them, let them know you saw their sponsorship here!

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.

Winners of Browser's Bash Bingo 2017

You'll notice that I didn't mention anything about Magic Convention Bingo in the Browser's Bash recap.  That's because this year, Browser's Bash Bingo was not officially part of The Bash.  It was just a little side entertainment provided by Canada's Magic.

Thank you all for your kind words about the idea.  And for playing along!  And especially for not being rude and shouting "bingo" during a speech, presentation, lecture, or performance!  (I twitched a little when Dick Joiner shouted "bingo" on stage at one point, but it turned out he wasn't playing our little game!)

The eagle-eyed of you may have noticed that I published the winning cards on the evening of The Bash.

Winning #BrowsersBash2017 bingo cards! pic.twitter.com/jDmzIC7Za9

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 2, 2017

Without further ado, the winners of the tickets to the Toronto Magic Company's yet to be announced show are:

• Jeff Kosciejew,
• Lee Elliott, and
• Randy Govang!

I'll be in touch with details about your prize!  Congratulations!

Thanks again to Ben Train for making these prizes possible.   (If you haven't already, go to Toronto Magic Company's website now and sign up for their newsletter!)

If you couldn't find me to drop off your completed card (with a bingo), or you were playing along at home and got a bingo  (5 across, 5 down, 5 diagonally through the centre, or all 4 corners), take a picture of your card and email it to me (canadasmagic at gmail dot com) by Sunday April 9th 2017 for a shout out.  Maybe Ben will have some extra "buy one get one free" coupon codes to share.  You never know!

Did you see the clues I left to help you out?

Eye spy a handlebar mustache, for those of you playing Magic Convention Bingo (Bash Edition) at home. #BrowsersBash2017

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Bingo players, did you catch the sweater vest? #BrowsersBash2017 pic.twitter.com/fQj7nfgmKU

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Bingo players, Glenn just said ACAAN! #BrowsersBash2017

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Bingo players, did @aaronfishercard just say, "or are you happy with the mind you've got?" #BrowsersBash2017

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

(Which must have meant he said, "Would you like to change your mind?" just before that.)

Dick just mentioned @SorcerersSafari , for those of you playing Magic Convention Bingo (Bash Edition) at home. #BrowsersBash2017

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Jeff and the Coopers. #BrowsersBash2017 pic.twitter.com/erg7T1UHdk

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

(Mother and daughter, anyone?)

Roxanne and John helping out. #BrowsersBash2017 pic.twitter.com/mn0RPBHr6a

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Female and male volunteers.

Next up, four-time Guinness World Record holder, @Scotthammell ! #BrowsersBash2017 pic.twitter.com/GfAHp9kuQI

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) April 1, 2017

Here are some of the other items the winners have marked off on their cards:

• False cut
• Appearing cane
• Someone mentions "CAM"
• Someone said "Ordinary deck of playing cards"
• Used the tag #BrowsersBash2017 on social media (verified to be true!)
• Jumbo cards
• Father and daughter
• Charlier cut
• Handkerchief
• False shuffle
• Visited the USPCC booth
• Someone said "ordinary piece of rope"
• Forcing pad
• Cads from mouth
• Ambitious card
• Purchased something
• Invisible deck
• Someone wearhing white socks and black pants
• Said hello to someone from Montreal
• Top hat
• Cardistry
• Visited the Browser's booth
• Said hello to the Cooper family

Browser's Magic Bash 2017 recap

In case you missed it, I live-Tweeted and live-blogged this year's Browser's Magic Bash last Saturday.  In this post I've consolidated (and edited) the blog posts and Tweets. (For the complete list of Tweets and photos check out this Twitter link to #BrowsersBash2017.)  It's a very long post.  Click "read more" below to view it.  Thanks for joining in.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

Port Stanley: Bill Abbott

From Eventbrite:

Sat, 29 April 2017

JOIN US & MAGICIAN BILL ABBOTT for an enchanting night of magic! Come and experience five-star close-up magic in an intimate setting.
---------
Bill Abbott is an internationally acclaimed entertainer with 20+ years experience and over 5000 performances in over 11 countries. To learn more about the man of the evening, check out www.billabbottexperience.ca.

 Read more and buy tickets.

Montreal: Axel Hecklau lecture

If you can't make it to the Ring 17 event, you can catch the Axel Hecklau lecture in Montreal.

From the Montreal Magic Jam:

Monday April 3rd

Axel Hecklau is one of the most creative magic minds of Germany. He has lectured more than 200 times in more than 15 countries worldwide (including at FFFF, the Magic Castle and at FISM) and now he’s coming to Montreal. Axel will be presenting his latest creations and improved effects for stage, parlour and close-up situations, including:

• Newsflash 2.0: This is the newspaper tear on steroids. He’s taken an old chestnut and taken it to a whole other level. Gene Anderson calls this “Absolutely brilliant”
• Just a Cup: A chop cup routine that isn’t. Axel’s diabolical chop cup routine doesn’t even use a chop cup! So no banging necessary, it can be done completely surrounded, is completely examinable and many phases can be performed right in the spectator’s hand.
• Destiny – it´s your choice: A stand-up piece that starts off as prediction and ends up as something far more magical. Packs small but plays very big. Very visual, perfect for parlour or stage.
• Two-Fusion : Axel Hecklau has taken the T & R card to a new practical, visual and emotional level. If you like Anniversary Waltz, you’ll LOVE this.

So please come join us on Monday April 3rd at the Mainline Gallery (just a block south of the Mainline Theatre) to watch one of Germany’s finest magicians and you’ll quickly see why Axel is FISM Europe’s 2017 Champion of Parlour Magic.


Read more and buy tickets.

Rounding the Western rings in April 2017

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)	- TBA.
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- TBA.
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- TBA.
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring)	- Third Monday magic. - Jon Allen lecture.
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- TBA.
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- At Jens Henriksen's.
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Jon Allen lecture.

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

Rounding the Central rings in April 2017

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

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Executive meeting. - Free form first Fridaze. - Second Saturday night special. - 1st annual Easter Show. - Instagram Tuesday.
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Auction items. - Daryl tribute.
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- TBA.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Auction.
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- TBA.
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- TBA
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Axel Hecklau lecture.

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in April 2017

Does anybody have current information to share about the Magic Circle of St. John?

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

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- Visit their Facebook page.
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- TBA

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

Fabulous evening show with:

• Luiz Castro,
• Nathan Kranzo,
• Scott Hammell,
• Michael Ammar,
• Dick Joiner,
• Eugene Burger, and
• The Sentimentalists (Chris Mysterion and Steffi Kay).

(And Dick Joiner our Bash emcee!)

Best wishes Shawna in life after The Den!
 

Jeff Hinchliffe, welcome back to The Den!

 

Thank you all for coming out today, and for helping to make this dream become a reality!