Jean-Pierre Parent in the Montreal Times

Congratulations to  Jean-Pierre Parent!

From the Montreal Times:

Montreal Magician Jean-Pierre Parent – In the spirits of Montreal’s 375th anniversary making waves for the metropolis within the four corners of the globe, we can be proud of our people of Quebec, especially those who stand out with art and/or entrepreneurship! Montreal’s very own Jean-Pierre Parent Magician Comedian is a 4th season winner of the prestigious Penn and Teller: Fool Us contest that aired last Thursday, August 17th.

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Watch on Jean-Pierre Parent's YouTube channel:

[Guest post] Random thoughts about "UNBELIEVABLE! A Magical Experience"

The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon. 

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"UNBELIEVABLE! A Magical Experience"

Running nightly at 7:30 pm in the Pacific Coliseum at the PNE in Vancouver, BC until September 4th. Free with admission.  [The PNE is closed on Monday, Aug. 28th.]

Random Thoughts For Canada's Magic
by The Magic Demon

Photo taken on Wednesday August 23rd by "The Magic Demon." pic.twitter.com/U9uIzCee8B

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) August 25, 2017

It's UNBELIEVABLE... that a whole year has gone by since the first edition of Unbelievable! debuted in 2016.

It's UNBELIEVABLE... how fast the 90 minute coliseum-size magical extravaganza whizzed by.

It's UNBELIEVABLE... again how good it was.

Performance viewed on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017.

Murray Hatfield and Teresa have returned to the annual summer PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) with their second incarnation of Unbelievable! - a  magical phantasmagoria of illusion, pyrotechnics, music and sheer wonder.

Joining them on stage are American magicians Chipper Lowell and Danny Cole and Canada's own Shawn Farquhar - all performing at the top of their games, combining unique energies to synthesize an evening's worth of spectacular visual entertainment.

I don't propose to review the show element by element  but I would like to refer to a few hastily scribbled notes and mention a few memorable highlights.

Murray and Teresa  - first and foremost and as always, magnificent performers, classy and compelling to watch. I love all their often fire-enhanced big box illusions. At one point they featured three big box illusions at once on stage (which must be some kind of world record!) Later they also did a show-stopping, breathtaking up to date version of "Metamorphosis." I've not seen it done in person since Doug Henning and his version for me was the one to beat. I think I can honestly say that they have finally done so. I was also truly impressed by Murray's innovative and suspense-filled variation of an effect familiar to some of us. I won't give away which one -- but when I saw it I marveled at his sheer brilliant audacity for turning such a classic close up effect into a coliseum-sized miracle. Murray, I salute you!

Photo taken at "UNBELIEVABLE! A Magical Experience" on Wednesday August 23rd by "The Magic Demon."@MurrayHatfield pic.twitter.com/RqEiysji4G

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) August 25, 2017

Chipper Lowell. What does one say about such a comedic phenomenon? He quickly won the audience over with his outrageous antics. We were soon laughing at all his seemingly spontaneous frenetic presentations. His very verbal style is ideally suited to such a massive forum (seating 10,000 at full capacity). It is hard to describe -- it's very "over the top" and somewhat "camp" but extremely focused even when it looks like he's made a mistake. (Hint: He doesn't.) It's hard to combine magic and outright comedy. To make it also look so easy and effortless as Lowell does is the mark of a real pro.

Another impressive talent is American Danny Cole. His silent act (done to the pounding beat of contemporary Latin dance music) assisted by his graceful wife, borders on the poetic. His suits change colour, his ties take on a life of their own, coat hangers behave most mysteriously, chairs defy gravity, CDs multiply, appear and disappear. Throughout these visual impossibilities appearing right before our eyes (and magnified by the two huge screens to each side of the stage) Cole remains the epitome of stylish, sophisticated elegance. This is a magician's magician.

For me, perhaps the most enjoyable moments of the evening were courtesy Canada's own Shawn Farquhar. His opening effects performed from the audience directly to the cameras were stunning card manipulations done to cleverly mirror the lyrics of an accompanying song. The audience loved it. But where he really excelled were his interactions with audience members. His version of "Topsy Turvy" bottles was a genuine delight because of his interaction with his audience volunteer. And it was his "Dancing Hankerchief" routine with a cute little five year old girl picked from the audience to assist him that so won everyone's hearts and unconditional appreciation. You could tell his volunteers really liked him and trusted him and the audience picked up on that. It was an invaluable lesson for all performers.

TIP: Bring earplugs unless you want to go partially deaf early in life. The music is loud.

I said it last year and I see no reason not to repeat myself again this year. Good advice is good advice!  If you are in or near Vancouver run (do not walk) to the PNE and see "Unbelievable! A Magical Experience." You will not regret it.

Congratulations to Murray and Teresa for masterminding another outstanding success.

 

 ~~~~

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

ET Canada: Property Brothers talk acting and magic

From ET Canada:

“I went to Vancouver to pursue that, and I was taking acting courses, networking and doing all the things I had to do to make sure that I was being seen,” he continues. “In the end, that experience was really important because it created the buzz for our first auditions, which got us on TV and made it worth it.”

Jonathan, on the other hand, was pursuing his dream of being a magician, but a miscreant crushed that hope. His props and equipment were stolen, effectively putting the twin out of business. Nevertheless, he learned an important lesson that day.

Read more and watch videos.

For those of you going through magic camp withdrawal

Some of you out there may feel like there's someplace you should be, or should have been a week or so ago.  You may have an inexplicable need to find your way to Haliburton, Ontario.  Or you could just be experiencing the emptiness of Sorcerers Safari magic camp withdrawal.

For you, I present Camp TV 2.  The last of the Sorcerers Safari videos.  This one, created by Chris Mayhew, has highlights from last summer (2016) as well as previous years.


Watch Camp TV 2 on the Sorcerers Safari YouTube channel:

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I think there's something in my eye ...

Penn Jillette apologizes to the people of Newfoundland

Penn Jillette's grandfather came from the Conception Bay North area of Newfoundland.


From the CBC:

"I apologize to people of my favorite place, Newfoundland, and my family for screwing up on Real Time," he tweeted. "May I apologize without apologizing or mitigating to the people of Newfoundland. I was wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong."

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