Vote now for the 2020 Readers' Choice Award

 

The nominations are closed and voting is now open for the fifth annual 2020 "Readers' Choice Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award!

Take a moment to acknowledge that this has been an extraordinary year.  Many of you embraced new skills and a new performing landscape.  Some of you took on work outside of performing.  Some of you continue to struggle with the day-to-day.  No matter your situation, give yourself a pat on the back.  You've made it this far.  To paraphrase Tom Brady, you didn't come this far to only come this far.  You've got this!

Congratulations to everyone for inspiring someone(s) enough for them to submit your name!  (I'm always tempted at this point, to declare all of the nominees as winners and not bother with the voting part. However, a vote was promised and a vote there shall be.)

Voting will close on Wednesday, December the 23rd at 11:59pm EST.

To vote, scroll down to the bottom of this post and participate in the poll. (Click through the Google Forms link if the poll does not appear in your browser.)

Let's have a look at the nominees (listed in alphabetical order by surname):

Gwyn Auger (aka The Magic Assistant)

Nominated by Jonathan I. who wrote:
"The bigger the magic, the more important all of the team players are, and when it comes to a magic community, the same definitely applies. For me, personally, when I returned to magic about 10 years ago, Gwyn kindly befriended me (not knowing who I was) and it’s been an important part of my ongoing journey through the art of magic. She’s been quite an ambassador for the art and is one of those glues that holds a community together—which is especially important during a time like this. So, I humbly nominate Gwyn for this recognition."

Editor's note:

• Gwyn was interviewed by Bruce Kalver last month, as part of the Backstage SAM Podcast series.
  

Website: Magician.org/member/magicassistant.

Carisa Hendrix, Miranda Allen, and Richard Lee (aka Team Lucy Darling, The Star Ship Quarantine)

Nominated by Anonymous.
"They took the lockdown by storm. In their isolation they created a unique virtual performance that was simultaneously witty, creative and magical with a wicked blend of technology and Lucy Darling sass. Surely that counts as inspiration."

Editor's note:

• Carisa wrapped up the second season (and is co-founder) of Shezam, the feminist magic podcast that "hopes to make itself obsolete."
• In March, Miranda invited Carisa to stay with her and Richard for a couple of months.  They opened a window into their lives and their coping mechanisms (and entertaining antics) during the early days of The Big Pause, from The Star Ship Quarantine on Twitter. 
  
• Miranda did a fabulous escape on Fool Us (season 7, episode 4).
  
• Carisa was the recipient of the recipient of the 2019 AMA Stage Magician of the Year award and was featured on the May cover of Genii.
  
• Carisa also started up the Spark Creative Facebook group last spring in an effort to help keep people focused and creative.
  
• They offered free shows (May 15th live stream and Lucy Darling's Halloween Spooktacular Extravaganza), in addition to their widely acclaimed virtual shows. (Did I mentioned Neil Gaiman gave them a shout out on Twitter?)
  
  

Website: CarisaHendrix.com, MirandaAllen.ca, and NorthernLightTheatre.com/richard-lee-hsi/.

Ryan Joyce and Graeme Reed (aka Graemazing)

Nominated by Ryan P. who wrote:
"They have been producing a ton of stuff, podcasts, tv shows, pizza parties and more all giving an opportunity for other Canadian magicians to perform and connect. The high quality standards of their production are certainly inspiring to me!"

Additionally, Graeme was nominated by Doug H. who wrote:
"He has not let COVID 19 interfere with his ability to present his magic. He has and continues to perform his excellent Magic in awesome creative ways - online. He is not only the most entertaining guy I know, he's Graemazing!"

Editor's note:

• In the early days of The Great Pause, Ryan and Graeme hosted Magicians Pizza Party events to help the community feel less isolated.
  
• Ryan started The Elora Fergus Podcast to foster a sense of community in that area.
  
• Graeme hosted a free virtual magic show over the summer.
  
• Since March, Ryan and Graeme have produced over 50 Magicians Talking Magic podcasts, including a series devoted to skills development during lockdown. 
  (Yesterday they released their 100th episode!)
  
• They had their first ever virtual OWOW Magic Festival, which boasted a Hallowe'en special featuring Nicholas Wallace, Joan Caesar, Graeme Reed, Mark Clearview, and Scott Hammell.
  

 

Website:  RyanJoyce.com and GraemeReedMagic.com.

Magicana (David Ben and Julie Eng)
Nominated by Ben T. who wrote:
"My nomination this year is Magicana. Not only did they start the year off by helping curate the Art of Illusion exhibit at the AGO - which created all sorts of new magic fans - but they also mobilized quickly to set up the "Allan Slaight Magicians Relief Fund" to help magicians across Canada deal with the pandemic."
"Because of all that they've done for the community this year, I nominate Magicana!"

Editor's note:

• The Illusions: The Art of Magic exhibit at the AGO featured more than 55 colourful vintage posters from the Allan Slaight Collection, in addition to employing many local magicians.
• They handled the implementation and administration of the Allan Slaight Relief Fund, which helped to defray cost-of-living expenses incurred by professional Canadian magicians early in The Great Pause.
  
• Magicana also runs the annual Allan Slaight Awards which recognize excellence in magic.
  

 

Website:  Magicana.com

Phil Pivnick (aka WonderPhil)
Nominated by Ian C. who wrote:

"Phil is already Toronto’s best family and children’s entertainer (A1 media) and has a 5 star rating on Google and YELP.  But apart from that he is truly a really nice guy. He’s recently started creating magic for sale to the magic community demonstrating his creativity.  He’s really helpful to anyone who asks.  Sitting down for a session with Phil is a roller coaster of ideas.  What if we do this, how about this or that move.  I’ve always been impressed with his business sense and it shows in his marketing and shows."

Editor's note:

• Phil is offering a free livestream magic show on December 13th.
  

Website: MagicInToronto.com

Romaine (aka Roman Szydlowski)

Nominated by Luiz C. who wrote:
"I nominate Romaine ( Roman Szydlowski).  He has been one of Canada's hidden talent for too long.  He shared stage with the best magicians, has been a mentor to many famous magicians and inspiration to thousands.  If you ever had a chance to sit down with him you know that you always learned something new from him."

Editor's note:

• To get a full appreciation for what Luiz hints at above, visit Romaine's biography at Genii Magazine.
  

Alex Zander

Nominated by Shawn F. who wrote:
"I would like to nominate Alex Zander, who during this year has united magicians, not only in Canada but around the world by using the IBM JAM online to bring magic into the homes of all of us at no cost. For the first thirty days of the lock down we had a lecture every single day and now, eight months later the IBM JAM continues on a weekly basis to offer all magicians a way to connect. He gained nothing personally from doing this task and it taxed his free time greatly. It's inspiring to see the selfless acts of another in support of the greater good."

 

Editor's note:

• Alex, the youngest IBM President, finished his term with tough decisions to make about the IBM Convention.
  
• He was part of the organizing committee for this year's virtual PCAM.
  

 
Website: GottaBeMagic.com

 

 

Vote now!

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