From the July 3rd Instagram post by Nick Wallace:
Very excited to be returning to the one and only @chicagomagiclounge July 9-12.
Previously shared on Facebook July 3.
08 July 2026
Chicago: Nick Wallace at the Chicago Magic Lounge [Jul 9 - 12]
07 July 2026
A Week in the Life of Champions (of Magic) -- part 2 of 3 -- "The Show"
Continued from Part 1 where we learned about Load-In, the Technical Run, The Run, and Pre-show activities.
A Week in the Life of Champions (of Magic) -- part 2 of 3
The Show - Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular (Dec 2025)
I have seen five iterations of Champions of Magic including their 2018 Toronto debut. Fernando Velasco, Richard Young and Sam Strange (as Young & Strange) were part of the 2018 cast. Only three carryovers from that show remain.
Continue reading this password protected (clue below*) article.
* Password clue:
- Canadian magician who appeared on The Muppet Show
- Additional clue for our UK readers, this magician also ran as a candidate for the Natural Law Party in England in the early 90s.
- Format: Firstname_Lastname
For tickets and more information, visit ChampionsOfMagicTour.com
An abridged version of this article first appeared in VANISH Magic Magazine. Republished with permission.
- Part 1 - May 2026 #142, pgs 48 - 53
- Part 2 - June 2026 #143, pgs 48 - 53
- Part 3 - July 2026 #144, pgs 66 - 71
From the May 30th Instagram post by Champions of Magic:
Thank you to our personal sponsors for July 2026!
A quick reminder of our earlier Mail as Medicine request for Katie Hunt. If you have the time, Katie and Doug would both benefit from hearing from their friends!
--
Thank you to John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, Ian Crawford, Matt DiSero, Doug Hunt, John Smithman, Peter Mennie, Noah Nogueira, Cam Dix, Ian Batterbury, Eric Bedard, Sonny Patel, and the Toronto Magic Company 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.
or
06 July 2026
Billy Hsueh SAM 2026 Close-up winner!!!
Congratulations Billy on your well-earned recognition at SAM 2026!
From the July 4th Facebook post by Shawn Farquhar:
Especially Billy Hsueh who won First Place, plus People's Choice and the rarely given Silver Medal of Honor.
From the July 4th Facebook post by The Society of American Magicians:
Close-up Contest
1st Place, People's Choice, and Silver Medal Winner: Billy Hseuh
Previously shared on Facebook July 4.
05 July 2026
Random thoughts about Keith Brown's show "110% Wizard" at the Toronto Fringe
Yesterday, we ventured to the Aki Studio in Toronto.
- This was our first visit to this theatre which is located in the Daniels Spectrum building. According to the Aki Studio website, they are fully accessible for both patrons and performers.
- The theatre is a cozy space, with a capacity of 120 seats (with raked seating). The seating goes about 6 rows deep. Every seat has a great view of the action and Keith has cameras setup to make the small details clearly visible to all. There are seats reserved in the front row, for audience members who have accessibility issues.
- The theatre is air-conditioned (very welcome with the current heat wave).
- The show is approximately an hour in length, with no intermissions.
Pre-show:
Keith is Fringe veteran. (He mentioned that this was his 60th (!!) Fringe festival.) He hosts a pre-show segment designed to make the audience feel at ease. In it he discusses:
- audience participation and what to do if you don't feel comfortable volunteering (this is the first time we can remember a performer proactively giving the audience a method by which they can decline volunteering), and
- what it means to be in his 'relaxed performance' show (sensory friendly, house-lights on the majority of the time, in and out privileges, etc).
It's also worth noting that Keith made this showing a Pay What You Can performance, in the hopes of making live shows more accessible to everyone.
On with the show:
- In a theatre this size, you get a good view from every seat. (Especially with the camera's Keith has setup.)
- The show was nearly, if not completely sold out.
- As Keith mentioned in his interview, 110% Wizard is a brand new show.
- Without giving too much away, the show did involve gift bags, money, cards, cell phone (audience supplied), luggage tags, water fowl, drinks, and family photos (his).
- There is plenty of audience participation. By our count there were well over dozen volunteers (including one not even at the show)!
- The show is very family friendly and kept the children in the audience engaged.
- Keith shared with us, what is was like working his first ever cruise contract earlier this year. He punctuated his tales with effects that directly related to his experiences.
- In his interview with us Keith mentioned a trick that fools magicians. He said, "they think it's a trick they've seen before until it isn't." We were very much fooled!
- If you've seen one of Keith's shows, you'll know that he's an expert at making lemonade out of the lemons he is dealt. We're happy to that he continues to do so in 110% Wizard!
"110% Wizard"
is a very refreshing lemonade!
Don't just take our word for it, read what the press at the Orlando Fringe had to say about this show:
-
From the May 18th article "Review: HIGHER THAN RAINBOWS, 110% WIZARD, and YOUNGER US at The Orlando
Fringe Festival" by Benoit Teves at
Broadway World:
Fortunately, the cruise ship staff gathered enough miscellaneous items for Brown to cobble together a performance of basic yet dazzling illusions, a few of which still grace the Orlando stage this go-round.
Read more.
-
From the May 13th article "Orlando Fringe 2026 review: ‘110% Wizard’" by Seth Kubersky at
Orlando Weekly:
If you have any doubts that Orlando Fringe changes lives, look no further than illusionist Keith Brown. A fixture of the Festival for over a decade, Brown landed an agent as a result of his 2024 show here, and is now an in-demand guest artist aboard Norwegian and Virgin cruise ships.
Read more.
-
From the May 15th article "2026 Orlando Fringe Review: 110% Wizard" by Jimbo Wood at
Orlando Shine:
Brown, a familiar face to Orlando Fringe audiences and a three-time Critic’s Choice winner for Best Magic Show, returns with what he jokingly describes as the “same wizard, now 10% better.” The framing device for this year’s show centers around a cruise ship residency thrown into chaos after an airline loses the costumes and props intended for the run.
Read more.
For more information about the Toronto Fringe, visit
FringeToronto.com
For more information about Keith Brown, visit his website at AbsoluteMagic.ca and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
From the July 4th Instagram post by Canada's Magic (photos taken with permission):
03 July 2026
Thank you to our July 2026 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 - Life Member, Canadian Public Relations Society,
- Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic,
- Michael Close, author of the new Paradigm Shift ebooks, the Workers series and others, and
- Toronto's IBM Ring 17, the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club!
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.
Or you can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year!
Donations of any size are always welcome.
or
02 July 2026
Montreal: Magic Unleashed [Jul 8]
Presented by the Montreal Magic Jam and featuring:
- (Derrick) Chung
- Marc Desaulniers
- Alex Moreaux
- Marc Trudel
- David Acer
For tickets and more information visit the post "Magic Unleashed - SHOW [18+]" at Montreal Magic Jam.
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