Kingston: Bright Night, Big Dreams

From Kingston This Week:

Bright Night, Big Dreams is taking place Friday, May 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Renaissance Event Venue.

The event is in support of The Sunshine Foundation of Canada, a non-profit organization that grants dreams for children with severe physical disabilities and life-threatening illnesses. Dreams can include a chance to meet a hero, a trip or an item like a new bicycle.

“It breaks your heart and makes you happy at the same time,” said Elaine Turner, president of the Kingston branch of the Sunshine Foundation. “It breaks your heart that the child is ill, but it gives you such an uplift to know that one more child has had their dream fulfilled.”

The colourful cocktail reception will feature live entertainment by magician and illusionist Ray Chance and 3D chalk artist Guy Wales.

Read more.

Eric Leclerc: Day 364 1/2

Watch Eric Leclerc talk about what he's been up to for the past few months and about things he's got in the hopper:

Magic Mike: On the cover of MUM

Congratulations to Magic Mike Segal who is featured on the cover of the May edition of MUM magazine!

Click through to see the cover.

Shawn Farquhar: Penguin Magic lecture

Did you miss Shawn Farquhar's live online lecture at Penguin Magic on Tuesday? Have no fear, you can download it (for a fee) from Penguin Magic.

Toronto: Morrissey moving weekend

From the Morrissay Magic Facebook page:

Special Hours this Weekend
Moving this Weekend
This Saturday April 28 2012 we will close early at 2PM.
We will also be closed this Sunday April 29 2012 All Day.

Our Current Location will close forever this Saturday at 2 PM.

Read more.

Baldini: Interview with Gordon Precious

Watch Baldini interview Canadian War Veteran & Magician, Gordon Precious:

Tim Vallillee is making Great Strides

From The Yarmouth County Vanguard:

Now, at the age of 44, Tim’s organizing a Great Strides walk in support of cystic fibrosis in Kingston on Sunday, May 27.

also

He now has his own entertainment business, performing as The Great TimBeanie magician and Stripes the Clown, in addition to singing in a classic rock band - Joker's Right.

Read more.

Montréal: Will Houstoun workshop

From the Will Houstoun Workshop Facebook page:

Monday, 30 April 2012
5445 de Gaspé, Suite 1010

Exclusive 3 hour workshop with Will Houstoun - Only $50!

We are very excited to announce that on April 30, Will Houston will be presenting an exclusive, 3hr hands-on workshop where he will be teaching some of his favorite routines, both published and unpublished. This event is striclty limited to 10 attendees to ensure that everyone will receive personal instruction and will leave with new material to add to their acts.

Read more.

Got talent: And then there were none

Despite Oslen's efforts in this week's Canada's Got Talent semifinal episode, he did not progress to the finals.

Once again, here's a big shout out to all of the magicians featured on the show: Vladimir the Great, Neil Croswell, Ryan Joyce, Mike D'Urzo, Warren Toaze, Jordan Murciano, Edward Stone, Lucas Wilson, Oslen and Benoit Fournier.  You all did a fabulous job of representing the magic community and raising the profile of magic in the mainstream media with your appearances on CGT!

Remembering Doug Henning

Evelyn Matlin has a wonderful post up at the Perfect Magic blog describing Phil's encounter with Doug Henning.   From her post:

Once, many years ago, Doug Henning, the first celebrity magician in  50 years, came to Montreal to perform. At that time a customer, who was an ardent magic collector and a friend, was dying in the hospital. The friend’s wife phoned Phil and asked if there was any way for Doug Henning to come and visit her husband because it would mean so much to him. Phil said he would try.


Read more.

CAMaraderie: One day passes

From the April 20th CAM newsletter:

Want to come to CAMaraderie but can't take the time to come for the whole conference? We have a solution for you.

Although it hasn’t been widely advertised, we now offer 1-day convention passes. These passes costs $95.00 and deliver a whole bunch of magic.  Each day there are many fabulous lecturers as well as a variety of other events. Choose the Friday pass and you can attend the Close-up show. Choose Saturday and you can attend the Gala Show!

Read more.

Day passes are a wonderful way to make the convention more accessible to those on a shoe-string budget and those with scheduling constraints.  Thank you CAM for this opportunity!

Toronto: Call for volunteers

From Sharing Wonder:

Seeking volunteer magicians/performers for a Luminato show. No experience required.

Can the non-sighted experience the same sense of astonishment that those with sight feel when witnessing magic? For Chilean magician Juan Esteban Varela, anyone with an imagination can transform fantasy into reality. In From the Dark, he does just that. Each audience member is blindfolded, provided with a box of props and then, individually and collectively, directed by him to create magical feats. It is a unique and thrilling experience.

We are looking for volunteer magicians/performers to help make the magic happen!

Read more.

Please note that this is a Toronto-based opportunity.

Got talent: Will you be watching Oslen tonight?

According to the Canada's Got Talent Facebook page, Oslen (the only magician in the semi-finals) will be peforming live tonight.

Will you be watching?

If not, why not?

Toronto: Luminato tickets on sale now

From Sharing Wonder:

Luminato tickets can now be purchased by the general public, bringing you one step closer to Toronto’s  electrifying festival.

Magicana is proud to present three enthralling, cutting-edge shows that will surely challenge the way you perceive the world.

Read more.

The Luminato Mind Over Matter magic series features Banachek, Richard Turner and Juan Esteban Varela.  Buy your tickets now!

Calgary: Garden Variety Show

From the Garden Variety Show newsletter:

April 26, 2012 - 7:30 pm

Past the halfway point and entering the home stretch, the Garden Variety Show has almost finished their third season.  Spectacular juggling, mind blowing magic and illusions, and some of the best stand up comedians in Canada.  Every show seems to be better than the last, leaving every audience member with something wonderful to try and describe the next day at work.

This month on the Garden Variety Show, magician and expert balloon sculptor TD Sparks will be premiering a brand new magic effect, never before seen in Calgary.  YoYo master Song Yao will amaze and astound, along with our juggler Jeff Olynek. As usual we feature a local singer song writer every month, this month Kaley Kinjo bass player for the Plaid Tounged Devils and so many other popular Calgarian bands will present us with his unique solo project.

Read more.

If that wasn't enough talent, the show's hosted by magicians James Jordan and Ryan Pilling!

Montréal: Christian Cagigal - Now and at the Hour, May 7-26

From Théâtre Rialto:

Beyond the Mountain Productions présente la dernière pièce de Christian Cagigal: Now and at the Hour.

Nommé Best of the Bay par le San Francisco Guardian, Christian Cagigal est un comédien, un auteur et un magicien depuis maintenant plus de 14 ans.

Ses précédents spectacles "The 13 Steps" et "The Pandora Experiment" ont tous deux joué à guichet fermé et se sont prolongés dans de nombreuses supplémentaires. Le spectacle "Now and at the Hour" fut présenté en première à New-York lors du festival de théâtre FRIGID de 2009. Peu après, il a été repris à San Francisco pour 10 semaines pendant l’été 2009 et encore à l’hiver 2010.
Read more.

FISM 2012 Blackpool

The 25th FISM World championships of Magic will be held in Blackpool, England, this July 9th through 14th.

Canadians confirmed to be appearing at the 2012 FISM include: Matthew Johnson and Greg Frewin.


[h/t: Magic Convention Guide]

"Best Magician Contest 2012" results

From Arthur Poon:

After two hours of non-stop competition, “Best Magician Contest 2012” finally finished under the joy and good memories.

All of the contestants had shown their wonderful performance successfully, and all of the audiences were having a wonderful night!

In here, I would like to congratulate again those magicians who won the prizes in the competition!

Here is the result:
“Best Magician Contest 2012” 1st runner up: Jeffrey Tong
“Best Magician Contest 2012” Champion: Ryan Brown
“Best Magician Contest 2012” The Most Favourable Magician of the night: Neil Croswell

P.S. The Most Favourable Magician is chosen by all of the audience sending text message to complete the vote.

Read more.

Peter Mennie on Rogers Daytime

Watch Peter Mennie's recent appearance on Rogers Daytime via YouTube:

Train and Mayhew: Playing with your pack

From Ben Train:

Whether you do magic for hundreds of people or just for yourself, we are all looking for the same thing- powerful magic that’s fun to do. Using material from their critically acclaimed books, DVDs, downloads, and numerous magazine contributions, Ben Train and Chris Mayhew will help you discover strong magic that’s not just fun to watch, but fun to perform as well!

also:

Upcoming dates:

• CAM Convention: May 3rd to 5th, 2012
• Ottawa, ON: Tuesday May 15th, 2012
• Montreal: Thursday May 17th, 2012
• Quebec City, QC: Sunday May 20th, 2012
• Boston, MA: Tuesday May 22nd, 2012
• New York, NY: Saturday May 26th, 2012
• King of Prussia, PA: Tuesday May 29th, 2012
• Baltimore, MA: Wednesday May 30th, 2012
• The TFD Convention, Ohio: July 13-14, 2012
• Columbus, Ohio: Monday July 16th, 2012

Read more.

[h/t: magicinfo.ca]

Whitby: Harry Anderson lecture

The day after Harry Anderson's show in Whitby next month, Harry will be lecturing! 

From David Merry's website:

For Magicians who have purchased tickets to his show Harry is holding a magic Lecture the following Sunday @ 10 am

Read more and purchase your ticket.

Wayne Houchin: Canadian tour CANCELLED (for now)

From Wayne Houchin:

Yesterday afternoon I tried to cross into Ontario to begin a small tour that was to include Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Niagara Falls. After looking at my tour schedule the border patrol told me they wanted me to obtain a labour market opinion and special permit as I "might be taking jobs from Canadian Citizens." They denied me entry into Canada. I obtained additional paperwork and tried to cross a second time - again I was denied entry.

Read the full statement.

Send healing thoughts for Volodymyr Martyniuk

Updated April 16th to add: You can leave your well wishes for Volodymyr via comment at the Canada's Got Talent website page titled "Volodymyr Martyniuk announcement."

From 680 news:

After appearing on Citytv's Breakfast Television in Toronto, Friday, Canada’s Got Talent contestant Volodymyr Martyniuk (aka Vladimir the Great) suddenly collapsed while leaving the Citytv building.

He was rushed to St. Mike’s hospital, where is undergoing treatment for a brain aneurysm.
Read more.

We wish Volodymyr a speedy recovery.


[With thanks to @daringderek for letting us know.]

Toronto: Wayne Houchin IMPORTANT UPDATE

If you had plans to see Wayne Houchin in Toronto this weekend, please read the following posted at the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook page:

IMPORTANT---We are TERRIBLY SORRY to inform you that we have to CANCEL THE WAYNE HOUCHIN LECTURE planned for this Sunday/April 15.
Wayne was not allowed to enter Canada. We are greatly sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Please contact us at Browser's Den for a full refund should you have already purchased a ticket.

A similar message is also posted at the Browser's Den of Magic website.

Please contact event organizers directly for the lastest information regarding Wayne's appearances.

Las Vegas: Murray SawChuck

From iTricks:

Murray SawChuck is taking a gig at the Laugh Factory. The comedy club at the Tropicana will be Murray’s home for a limited engagement beginning April 30th.

Read more.

Toronto: Luminato advance tickets

From Sharing Wonder:

We would like to extend the opportunity to buy advance tickets for Luminato 2012, before they go on sale to the general public on April 14.

From now to April 13, pre-sale tickets can be purchased online via the special BUY TICKETS links located throughout this blog (or by phone at 416-368-4849). Please use the code SEASONS for phone-based orders. Not only will you be able to purchase tickets for the magic programs (see below), but you will also have access to ALL Luminato ticketed events.

Read more.

Got Talent: And then there were two!

From Toronto.com:

Volodymyr Martyniuk the magician will join the semifinals on Canada’s Got Talent, host Dina Pugliese announced on Citytv’s Breakfast Television on Friday.

Read more.

You may recall that Vladimir the Great was the first magician put through after the auditions.  As of March 26th, Oslen (Nelson Chang) from BC was the last magician standing when the semifinalists were announced.

Both Vladimir and Oslen will next appear on Canada's Got Talent on April 22nd.

Good luck fellas!

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

From tou.tv:

Voici une nouvelle et spectaculaire émission avec Luc Langevin et des personnalités bien connues du public : Brigitte Boisjoli, Myriam LeBlanc, Jean-Michel Anctil et Paul Houde. Ces invités seront tour à tour mystifiés par les prouesses de l'illusionniste.

Watch the show online.

[h/t: CAMmagic.org]

Windsor: Penn and Teller

Penn and Teller will be at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor on Saturday June the 2nd.

Visit Ticket Master to confirm details or to purchase tickets.

Alan Sands blogs about Murray Hatfield & Teresa

From Alan Sands Entertainment, "Magic Castle March 2012":

Murray Hatfield & Teresa were really the delight of my evening at the Magic Castle, since I represent them in the United States. They shined far brighter than I had expected. Teresa is an amazing dancer, able to hold the attention of the audience as she solo dances her way in and out of boxes and around Murray. She added a fluidity to the show like few have. Just smooth, that’s the only way to describe it. She’s gorgeous, yet not overtly sexy; classy, yet completely enthralling. Murray does all the talking – and he is a great entertainer in his own right. It’s rare to see two people working together who can hold the attention of the audience independently. Together they are absolutely dyn-o-mite!

Read more.

[h/t: CAMmagic.org]

CAMaraderie: The Paul Gertner Super Session Workshop

From the April 6th CAM newsletter:

In the Super Session Workshop Paul Gertner will teach four of his favorite routines straight from his professional close-up show and his corporate speaking program. These are routines that are audience tested that Paul has NEVER taught before. At the Workshop you will be learning routines that Paul has used to make a living as one of the world’s leading corporate magicians for the past 35 years. These routines are not part of Paul’s standard magic lecture and are featured only as part of his Super Session Workshop Series. The only thing we ask is that you keep the routines you learn in this workshop for your use only.

Read more.

From the April 7th CAM newsletter:

Interested in registering for the Paul Gertner workshop?

Well you have to be registered for CAMaraderie first - you can find registration details here: http://cammagic.org/camaraderie/registration

Need to check out the line-up before you register? There's a link for that too! Just click here: http://cammagic.org/camaraderie/acts


P.S. We've just heard that the winner of the one handed cut-a-thon will receive the book 'A Cut Above', compliments of Magicana.

Toronto: Morrissey's new location

From Morrissey Magic's Facebook page, video showing a sneak peek of the new location:

Because it's a FAQ: Penn and Teller in Toronto?

During last week's Celebrity Apprentice, Penn Jillette stated that he had to fly to Toronto to do a Penn and Teller show that couldn't be rescheduled.

The show to which Penn referred was likely the one at Casino Rama in Orillia on November 4th and not a show in the city of Toronto.

Toronto: Best magician semifinalists

From Arthur Poon:

After the discussion between A1 Chinese Radio and the judges, these are the people who will compete in the final round (no particular order):

• Chad Zhou
• Edward Stone
• Ellison Bautista-Chan
• Jeffrey Tong
• Neil Croswell
• Mark Correia
• Mohamad Motahari
• Ryan Brown

These talented competitors are chosen from all of the wonderful competitors in Toronto. The competition will be unquestionably enjoyable, and you should come to watch the final without any regrets.

Date: April 14, 2012
Time: Saturday night at 7:30pm
Location: Market Village at 4390 Steels Ave. East (located at Steeles and Kennedy Ave.)
Entrance fee: FREE!!!!
 
Please remember that Mr. Wayne Houchin ---- world class famous magician and illusionist will be performing at the competition. Make sure you and your friends & families will be at Market Village on time!

 

SEE YOU GUYS ALL THERE AT MARKET VILLAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wayne Houchin: Now with more April dates!

Wayne Houchin has recently added dates to the Central Canada leg of his tour. 

An April 13th Kitchener lecture, and an April 21st performance with Greg Frewin in Niagara Falls have been added to his Toronto appearances (April 14th: Sorcerers Safari Open House, Best Magician competition and April 15th Toronto lecture), his Montréal's lecture on April 18th and his Ottawa lecture on April 19th.

CAMaraderie update

From Browser's Den of Magic Facebook page:

A dear customer and amateur magician has made arrangements with Joan Caesar of the Canadian Association of Magicians that for the next 50 people who register for the CAMaraderie Convention there will be a draw to win a $250 Gift Certificate to Wendy’s Restaurants.  And for those who have already registered another $250 Gift Certificate will go to one lucky winner.

Many magic conventions have shut down because of poor attendance. WITH ALL THIS HAPPENING, CAMARADERIE CONTINUES TO OFFER THE BEST VALUE IN MAGIC IN CANADA. Joan and Shawn Farquhar and the rest of the magic community needs your support SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO BRING IN NAME PERFORMERS FOR YOU TO ENJOY AND LEARN FROM.

Read more.

What are you waiting for?  Register now!

Chris Pilsworth: Rotary Club fundraiser

From Nepean/Barrhaven EMC:

Magician Chris Pilsworth performs at the Rotary Club of Nepean-Kanata's annual Rock the Boat fundraiser at the Holiday Inn on Kanata Avenue on March 22.
Read more.

James Randi: Magic Castle award

On Sunday, James Randi won the Magic Castle's Lifetime Achievement Award!  Congratulations Amazing Randi!

[h/t: iTricks]

In related news, previously posted Amazing Randi documentary "An Honest Liar" recently won a MIPdoc international pitch nod.

Toronto: Mega Magic with Mike D'Urzo

From YouTube:

Z103.5 presents Mega Magic live at the Isabel Bader Theatre on May 12, 2012! Featuring International Award Winning Magician & Mentalist Mike D'Urzo. 1 NIGHT ONLY!

Watch the trailer:

Rounding the Western rings in April

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)	- Peter Wardell lecture
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- David Ginn Presents "Kidbiz Live"
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- N/A
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Peter Wardell lecture
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Peter Wardell lecture - meeting, election - round table

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

Rounding the Ontario rings in April

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

Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Murray Hatfield and Teresa  lecture
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- Ambitious Card Workshop
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Wayne Houchin lecture - Short election meeting plus 4f lecturer
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Murray Hatfield and Teresa lecture
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- N/A
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Murray Hatfield and Teresa lecture
Woodstock, ON	CAM 1 (Friendly City Mystics)	- N/A

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in April

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

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- perform something new, preferably something from the auction - critique night, for those who wish to participate
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- N/A

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