Congratulations to Paul Romhany winner of the 2024 AMA Literary and Media Fellowship

Back in January we published that Paul Romhany was awarded the 2024 AMA Literary and Media Fellowship.  Last Saturday, May 18th, Paul was presented the award at The Magic Castle.  Watch his is acceptance speech below.

 

From the May 19th Facebook post by Paul R:

 

 

From the May 18th Facebook post by Paul Romhany:

There are really no words to describe tonight. I’ll Find them for next vanish and there will be professional photos but it’s 1.35am and JP and I are now back in hotel after our visit to the after party. I hope to post my speech because JP stole the show. The best moment of my life sharing this honour with him by my side.

 

 

 

 

ICYMI: Mark Clearview on the Canada's Got Talent finale and Magic Castle dates [May 27 - Jun 2]

Congratulations on your Top 4 placement Mark!  Can't wait to see where you go from here!

 

From the May 17th upload "Mark Clearview Leaves the Finale Audience STUNNED" at the Canada's Got Talent YouTube channel:  

Mark Clearview proves he belongs in the #CGT Finale with his mind-blowing magic act!

 

 

 

From the May 18th Instagram post by Mark Clearview:

So excited to announce I will be returning to @magiccastlehollywood from May 27-June 2nd 🏰 Catch me in late Parlour of Prestidigation after dear friend @paigesmagic

See you soon LA! 🌴

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A post shared by Mark Clearview (@markclearview)

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Ramsay's short film "The Paradox of Plenty"

From the May 10th YouTube upload by Chris Ramsay:

Hey Folks! This is a short film I made about the pitfalls of collecting things.. Turns out the more objects I end up collecting, the less I actually enjoy them. I made this short film as a sort of exercise in storyboarding. As I'm getting older I find myself more interested in telling stories and less interested in just showing you cool stuff.. this is kind of my way of doing both while fulfilling the creative side. Thanks to Lee, Antoine and Green for their help and thanks for taking the time to watch! Leave a like and give it a share if you enjoyed it!

This was shot on a Canon R5C

 

 

 

 

 

Montreal: Bao Hoang at the Time Out Market [May 24]

From the May 13th Instagram post by Marché Asiasie (translation from French by Instagram):

✨ ASIASIE Market | 24-26 May 2024 - CULTURAL ACTIVITY
V Friday, May 24 at 6pm
📍 @timeoutmarketmontreal

@baomagic is a Canadian magician and content creator whose online community is rapidly growing on Instagram (21K followers), YouTube (174K followers) and TikTok (170K followers). Bao has also been featured by YouTube Canada as a "Rising Creator". Over the years, he has performed at corporate events for some of Canada’s largest companies, including Casino de Montreal, McLaren and Cadillac. On stage, Bao does mentalism and practices highly interactive proximity magic, moving around in small groups. With its blend of skillful pass-by tricks, dazzling psychological illusions, and a touch of humor, Bao promises to deliver an unforgettable experience.

🔗 baomagic.com
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/437558638841232 

 

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New Westminster: Trevor and Lorena at Cabaret of Wonders [May 28]

Tickets at Cabaret Of Wonders. 

 

From the May 8th Faebook post by Trevor & Lorena - Comedy Magic Show:

Come check out the One Night Only show at the Cabaret Of Wonders in New Westminster May 28th 
Limited seats available

 

 

 

 

 

Watch party and how to vote for Mark Clearview during tonight's Canada's Got Talent finale

Read our March interview with Mark, Canada's Got Talent: Getting to know Mark Clearview.  

 

From the May 13th Instagram post by Mark Clearview:

I will Live Stream the entire live process of being in the Canada's Got Talent Finale 🇨🇦🙏🍾 the goal is to have watch parties around the world come together to #VOTEFORCLEARVIEW and secure the One Million Dollar grand prize 💵🏆

So arrange a watch party and post a "clear view" of your television or laptop so I can repost your watch party!!!

I love you all let's do this thing!
#cgt @cangottalent @city_tv

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A post shared by Mark Clearview (@markclearview)

 

 

 

From the May 12th Facebook post by Mark Clearview:

Please share. Please vote.
citytv.com/vote
Voting opens from 8pm-9:30pm EST on May 14th and you get 3 votes per email address.
This will change my life ❤

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Mark Clearview (@markclearview)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orlando: At the Table with Keith Brown [May 16 - 26]

Tickets at the Orlando Fringe box office:

 

From the May 8th Instagram post by Keith Brown:

Wanna get blown away?!? Make sure to get your tickets to see my new show, 'At the Table with Keith Brown' coming to the @OrlandoFringe Silver Venue. Get your tickets at tixlink.co/table

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A post shared by Keith Brown (@keithhbrown)

 

 

 

 

ICYMI: Mark Clearview on the Canada's Got Talent semi-finals, BTS, and a message from Mark

But not in that order.  First up, a message from Mark.

From the May 8th Facebook post by Mark Clearview:

I want to thank my dad. I want to thank all of you...

Last night I made history and got a Golden Buzzer in the elimination round from Howie Mandel himself (an inspiration to this Canadian boy). I'm moving on to the finals of Canada's Got Talent.

Simply put: I'd like to take home the win for my father.

Please help me do that by sharing this to directly to 3-5 people and asking them to vote for me. YOU CAN VOTE ON MAY 14TH BETWEEN 8:00PM EST - 9:30PM EST while the episode airs. YOU GET 3 VOTES PER EMAIL ACCOUNT and you can do so here:
HTTPS://CGTVOTE.VOTENOW.TV/VOTE

More to come on May 14th... Your support means the world.

 

From the May 4th upload "This Has NEVER Happened Before | Howie BREAKS THE GOLDEN RULES for Mark Clearview" at the Canada's Got Talent YouTube channel: 

Howie breaks all the rules for Mark Clearview! Sending him straight through to the Finale with a Golden Buzzer + $25,000 from CIBC!

 

 

From the May 7th Facebook post by Canada's Got Talent:

DOUBLE PLOT TWIST! Howie went rogue and provided a second Golden Buzzer Eliminations surprise! Catch up with a stunned Mark Clearview and Howie Mandel backstage in Golden Moments brought to you by CIBC!

 

 

 

ICYMI: Mark Lewis on the Canada's Got Talent semi-finals

Happy birthday Mark!

 

From the May 7th upload "79 Year-Old Mark Lewis' Latest Trick is Pure Magic 🃏" at the Canada's Got Talent YouTube channel:

 

 

 

Random thoughts about "Alex McAleer - Mind Reader"

There's still time to see Alex McAleer - Mind Reader in Toronto!  The show closes May 12th. 

 

Last Sunday, Kidlet and I made the trek to Toronto's Lighthouse Immersive ArtSpace. 

• This was our first experience at this venue.
• For Alex's show, you enter through the Queen's Quay entrance.  (Ignore the sign that suggests you use the Yonge Street entrance.)
• The performance space is half a flight of stairs up from street level, and one flight of stairs up from the entrance.  Contact the venue if you require accommodations.
• The show is about an hour and fifteen minutes, with no intermission.
• While there is nothing inappropriate for young children in the show, because it is a mentalism performance, it is recommended for audience members who are at least 12 years of age. 
• His book This Book Will Read Your Mind is available for purchase at the venue.  (You may have to ask the staff about it... the display was not obvious to us when we were there.)

 

 

On with the show...

• The performance space is intimate, capable of seating approximately 100 people.
• It is general admission seating.  If sitting at the front is important to you, arrive early.
• Unless you are short and there's a tall person sitting in front of you, there are no bad seats in the house.  (The seating is NOT raked.  All the chairs are on the same level.  The stage is raised.)
  
• The show is highly interactive.  We counted about 10 volunteers in addition to multiple whole audience activities. 
• The audience was completely baffled time and again.  It genuinely appeared that minds were being read!
• Exclamations such as "How'd he do that?", "That's not possible!", and "How could that even be done?" were frequently heard in the audience.
  
• Alex has a commanding stage presence, well honed audience management skills, and extraordinary technical abilities!  (The impressiveness of his technical abilities was reinforced to us after we attended his lecture earlier this week and learned more about the processes involved!)
• Add to the above that Alex clearly put a lot of thought into his underlying motivation for the different aspects of his performance.  We especially enjoyed his delightful storytelling!  (The imaginary friend segment he teased in his interview was very creatively satisfying.)
• Kidlet and I recognized one segment from the Champions of Magic show we saw in 2022, but the rest of the show was new to us.  He expertly scaled his large stage performance to this cozy venue, where it was even more impressive.
• Alex's warm, witty, and inviting personality, coupled with getting to know copious audience volunteers, made it feel like we were having a fantastic time with friends! 
  

 

 

We didn't want it to end.

 

 

 

Alex McAleer - Mind Reader closes May 12th.   

 

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Alex McAleer (right)

 

 

Thank you to our personal sponsors for May 2024!

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, Robin Dawes, Loran, Peter Mennie, George Blott, Noah Nogueira, Aaron Matthews, Cam Dix, Ian Batterbury, and Eric Bedard 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

 

 

 

Cheer on Mark (Clearview and Lewis) on Canada's Got Talent tonight!

From the May 6th Instagram post by Canada's Got Talent:

It’s about to get real😨…the best compete for their spot in the #CGT finale. Plus, YOU get to vote for the acts going through to the public vote. Don’t miss it.

#CanadasGotTalent THE ELIMINATIONS - two-hour event, Tuesday at 8/7c on @city_tv or stream it on Citytv+

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From the May 5th Instagram post by Canada's Got Talent:

#Toronto’s @markclearview takes the stage THIS Tuesday for our first-ever Eliminations round!

Don’t miss the biggest twist in Got Talent history! Watch #CanadasGotTalent: The ELIMINATIONS, TUESDAY at 8/7c on @city_tv!

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From the May 4th Instagram post by Canada's Got Talent:

We still don’t know how Mark Lewis did this 🤯

Catch up now on demand or stream it on Citytv+ ✨

Don’t miss the biggest twist in Got Talent history! Watch #CanadasGotTalent: The ELIMINATIONS, TUESDAY at 8/7c on @city_tv!

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Toronto: Magic Quartet premiere [Jun 3]

Tickets at Eventbrite. 

 

From Kemin Zhang:

MAGIC QUARTET

Featuring 4 of Toronto's most eccentric magicians!

Sean Rooney,
Jeff Hinchliffe,
Mark Lewis and
Kemin Zhang (a.k.a. Dr. K)

​Date: June 3rd 2024
Time: 6pm & 8pm
Place: Ontario Historical Society
34 Parkview Ave.Willowdale ON

 

From the May 1st Facebook post by Kemin Zhang:

A psychic, a scholar, a composer and a balloon artist walk into a bar... no it's not a bar, it's an old house of the Ontario Historical Society. Looking forward to this show! Come check it out if you have your first Monday night in June free!

Hamilton: Staircase Variety with Chris Bruce, Mighty Mike, and Nick Wallace [May 8]

Tickets at The Staircase.

 

From the April 24th Instagram post by The Staircase:

A monthly show at The Staircase! Hosted by illusionist Nick Wallace (America’s Got Talent, Penn & Teller: Fool Us winner) and featuring a rotating cast of some of Canada’s best magicians, variety and oddity entertainers!

May's lineup:

Expert sleight-of-hand artist @magicchrisbruce
Comedy Strongman @mightymikeshow
Host illusionist @nickwallacelive

 

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