From the Twitter feed of Bob Cates:
Yes. We won! Thanks to all the fans who helped make this happen.— Bob Cates (@ComedyinMotion) June 3, 2018
Best Variety Act. 2018 Canadian Comedy Awards pic.twitter.com/EJrkZqo2s9
Yes. We won! Thanks to all the fans who helped make this happen.— Bob Cates (@ComedyinMotion) June 3, 2018
Best Variety Act. 2018 Canadian Comedy Awards pic.twitter.com/EJrkZqo2s9
There is a huge sale at Perfect Magic. Why? Because Murphy’s Magic, a wonderful supplier of ours, has a huge sale and we are passing the saving on to you. Some of the items on our sale have a discount of over 80%. Perhaps its spring cleaning time. There are many wonderful items on this special which ends June 1. There are over 1700 items but I only put a sampling up and I’ll continue putting things up until June 1.
Read more.
People often ask me when they come into the shop “What’s your favourite magic trick?” You may think my answer is ridiculous after all the tricks I have in the shop, but it’s the ...
Read more and let them know your favourite in their comments!
I once ran away with the circus! This is from 42 years ago! I am still doing the same two tricks! Both card tricks! I suppose I should learn something new. Still, I bet this is the only card act in history to be seen in a circus ring!
It’s only aerial artist Meghan Schech @mama_circus who has found my card in Auckland New Zealand & LA airport! Congrats! More to find at Sydney, Melbourne, Istanbul, London, Japan, Singapore, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Barcelona, Paris, & Dublin. pic.twitter.com/KY3fZ66ip5— Billy Kidd (@Billykiddshow) May 2, 2018
A post shared by Billykidd (@billykiddshow) on
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ProjectBoard Description
What cool projects are you working on in science (and STEM) classes today? We want to know about them! Your experiments, drawings, videos, and papers... All of them qualify!
Winning team with the most awesome, crazy, creative experiment, or STEM project will receive a LIVE IMPOSSIBLE SCIENCE STAGE SHOW at their school, by World Champion Magician and curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer!
https://youtu.be/mFH6eWeqKh0
See DETAILS & WHITEBOARD to learn more about how to enter, challenge guidelines, and more!
ProjectBoard Details
Who can compete?
Current Middle School & High school Students in USA & Canada
Read more and sign up.
The cards are made from the same Premium Bee Stock used in world class casinos for durability & flexibility. This premium stock has been Crushed Thin so that they can be used for superior and fine card manipulation by card experts worldwide. Finally they have been enveloped in a Smooth Finish so that they are long lasting and glide effortlessly in any environment.
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Every single card in every pack of Hidden Leaves playing cards has been drawn by Mahdi to evoke a nostalgic feel. Crafted with love, this deck is inspired by & a homage to the legendary card artist who in 1885 designed cards for Andrew Dougherty including Tally-Ho.
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Many of Hofzinser's finest deceptions were only possible because of the playing cards of the era. Hidden Leaves playing cards feature no indexes just like playing cards used to be made. This unique feature allows you to explore all sorts of forgotten card transformations, hypnotize your audiences with hallucinations of duplicates, renders well-known prearranged stacks completely invisible (even to magicians).
These are only a sliver of the secrets you will find in Hidden Leaves.
~~~
I have also found through performing with Hidden Leaves that the audience is able to concentrate more on the plot of the card effect you are performing. I believe the reason for this is that there is less information for the spectators to process (they are not seeing a bunch of numbers & letters all the time) which allows them to focus on their cards and the magic that you are presenting.
Read more and back this project.
Updated April 3rd at 6pm to add the following nominations:
Updated March 31st at 9pm to add the following nominations:
- Celeste Evans and Reveen The Impossiblist (Reveen Sr.)
Updated March 29 at 7am to add the following nominations:
- Greg Frewin and Mahdi Gilbert
Updated March 24 at 10am to add the following nominations:
- Billy Kidd, Carisa Hendrix, Joan Caesar, and Julie Eng
Updated March 23 at 9am add the following nominations:
- Alain Choquette, David Drake, Mickey Hades, and Shin Lim
Updated March 23 at 7am add the following overnight nominations:
- Bob Farmer, Carl Coultier, Francis Martineau, Gary Ouelette, Howard P. Lions, Mel Stover, Romaine, Roy Cotte, Tom Ransom, Tony Eng, Willis Kinney
Updated at 12:15pm to add:
- Additional submissions: Bedros "Spidey" Akkelian, Bill Abbott, Bobby Motta, Dale Harney, Eric Leclerc, Johnny Giordmaine, Juliana Chen, Leon Mandrake, Sid Lorraine, Stewart James, Ron Leonard, and Vincent C
Updated at 10:15am to add:
- Additional submissions: Darcy Oake, Luc Langevin, Murray Hatfield, Ross Bertram, Tom Auburn
- The following names have been submitted for consideration: Chris Ramsay, Dai Vernon, David Acer, David Ben, Doug Henning, Gary Kurtz, James Randi, Jay Sankey, Martin Nash, Richard Sanders, Shawn Farquhar
Complete list of nominations received (alphabetical by first name):
- Alain Choquette
- Bedros "Spidey" Akkelian
- Bill Abbott
- Billy Kidd
- Bob Farmer
- Bobby Motta
- Carisa Hendrix
- Carl Coultier
- Celeste Evans
- Chris Ramsay
- Dai Vernon
- Dale Harney
- Darcy Oake
- David Acer
- David Ben
- David Drake
- Doug Henning
- Francis Martineau
- Eric Leclerc
- Gary Kurtz
- Gary Ouelette
- Greg Frewin
- Howard P. Lions
- James Randi
- Jay Sankey
- Joan Caesar
- Joel Machtinger
- Johnny Giordmaine
- Juliana Chen
- Julie Eng
- Leon Mandrake
- Luc Langevin
- Mahdi Gilbert
- Martin Nash
- Mel Stover
- Mickey Hades
- Murray Hatfield
- Reveen The Impossiblist (Reveen Sr.)
- Richard Sanders
- Romaine
- Ron Leonard
- Ross Bertram
- Roy Cotte
- Shawn Farquhar
- Shin Lim
- Sid Lorraine
- Stewart James
- Tom Auburn
- Tom Ransom
- Tony Eng
- Vincent C
- Willis Kinney
June 13 to July 8, 2018
Returning to Toronto for the fourth time, Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience – A Parody by Dan and Jeff takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing all seven Harry Potter books (and a real life game of Quidditch) into seventy hilarious minutes.
A Critics’ Pick by the DA Critics’ Pick by the Daily Herald, New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out London, Washington Post, and Boston Globe, the show won the prestigious 2012 Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment & Family Show, playing to sold-out houses worldwide.
This fantastically funny show features all your favourite characters, a special appearance from a fire-breathing dragon, endless costumes, brilliant songs, ridiculous props, and a generous helping of Hogwarts magic!
Read more and buy tickets.
In due time, for now, let me begin at the beginning. It was December 7th, 2017. I was performing at my usual Thursday night spot, St.Louis Bar and Grill in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was one of the first really cold nights, the evening was just starting up. The restaurant was still fairly quiet, and slowly starting to fill with patrons anticipating dinner service. I moved to my usual spot in the back corner of the space, hung up my coat, and prepared what I needed to perform. I noticed my client Jim Reaman (the owner) standing near the bar chatting with some staff.
Since I had a few minutes to spare, and genuinely enjoy catching up with Jim, checking-in and so forth, I headed towards him. We quickly moved from talking about personal affairs, to talking about what I’d been working on, my aspirations, and so on. I mentioned an idea that had been floating around my head, like an annoying little balloon. Sometimes it was filled with helium, sometimes with Sulfur Hexaflouride. The idea was light, in that it was clever, fun, inspiring, educational and full of potential for awesome. It was heavy in that it was terrifying, risky, draining, and full of potential for embarrassment, failure and rejection.
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So December 11th, we began the video with my getting out of the trunk of my car, shoving balls of dough in my eyes, and putting coins over top of the dough. Duct tape fastened the lot to my face, and then I covered the lot with a sleep mask, just in case someone thought I could see through dough, coins and duct tape. Off we went. The entire journey took less than 10 minutes. Remember, the final clip was supposed to be no longer than 3. Thus, on December 12th 2018, I trimmed it down to size, added a quick opening clip of me breathing fire, and a title screen with my contact information at the end of it.
Read more.
How was I making a living at this whole performing arts thing, when I couldn’t find any effects within my repertoire that was good enough to get the attention of someone representing a television network?
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I’m hoping, through the volume of these posts, specifically through some of these rather wordy digressions, to shine a light on the secret and dirty side of the show business world. So that should you one day be in the position of meeting a celebrity, on the set of a movie, walking by a creative project of some kind, or even just running into your friendly neighborhood mystery entertainer: you will have the experience now to engage respectfully, and with the appropriate etiquette.
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Pre-FISM tour of South Korea.Cost each with 8 people is $1375.00 USD for 7 days.If interested please contact Joan Caesar
jcaesar [at] sentex [dot] ca by March 31st.
Day 1: Visit of Haeinsa templeSaturday, 30 June 2018Haeinsa
- The Gayasan park is well-known for its historical sites and landscapes, and especially for the Haiensa temple.
- Visit the temple. After the visit, spend the night in the temple.
Day 2: End of the temple stay and road to AndongSunday, 1 July 2018Andong
- The temple stay experience ends around 12 noon
- Then you will take the road to Andong and rest in the afternoon.
Day 3: Visit of AndongMonday, 2 July 2018Andong
- Andong is the ancestral, spiritual and traditional capital of South Korea because of its Confucian traditions during the Joseon era. There, you will find many relics dating back to the Joseon dynasty, such as the magnificent Confucian school and a typical village of that time.
- You will visit the Byeongsanseowon Confucian School.
- You will visit the Hahoe village, the Hahoedong Mask Museum and the Byeongsanseowon Confucian school.
Day 4: Road to GyeongjuTuesday, 3 July 2018Gyeongju
- Located in the Gyeongsangbuk Do region, Gyeongju was the capital city of the Silla Kingdom and one of the oldest historical cities in the world. It is a major spot for Korea’s culture and heritage today, as well as a UNESCO listed site.
- You will take the road in the morning to Gyeongju.
- Visit Tumuli Park which houses numerous royal tombs, visit the Cheonmachong tomb (the flying horse tomb), Cheongseongdae Observatory and the Anapji pond.
- Night in a hanok. (a traditional Korean house)
Day 5: Visit of cultural sites (UNESCO) in GyeongjuWednesday, 4 July 2018Gyeongju
- Take a trip to some of Gyeongju's historical sites: the National Museum, Tumulus Park, and the Royal Tombs of Daereungwon.
- Enjoy a visit of the Bulguksa palace (built in 528) and the Buddhist cave in Seokguram, national treasures registered on the UNESCO world heritage. You can go there on foot or with bicycles.
- Night in a Hanok.
Day 6: Day at the Namsan Mount and Gogulsa templeThursday, 5 July 2018Gyeongju
- Considered as a Sacred site during the Silla Dynasty, the Namsan Mount is full of mysteries, temples and sanctuaries. It is a real open-air museum with 100 temples, 80 Buddha stoned-statues and 60 pagodas. You will enjoy quaint landscapes.
- In the afternoon, visit of Gogulksa temple and a stop to the Yangdong village.
Day 7: BusanFriday, 6 July 2018Busan
- The second Korean city and the first harbour of the country. Busan is considered a dynamic city with big shops, luxurious restaurants, parks and beautiful beaches.
Highlights:• Visit its beaches: Haeundae beach and Gwangalli beach.• The city centre, the Yongdusan park and the Busan tower will give you a panoramic view of Busan.• The Yonggungsa temple (built on the side of a cliff: unique)• Busan and its impressive Jagalchi fish market which show the riches of its sea and harbour.
The other day I got a call from an old customer, a good magician I’m told by those who have seen him perform, and he wanted a certain electronic device. We had it in stock. He took a long drive to get to our shop as he wanted it right away and he’s from out of town.
I got a call from him today asking if we had another one in stock. I said yes. He asked if we would try it out to see if it worked. We did and it did. He said his didn’t.
“Strange,” I said. “Did you put a battery in?”
“Of course,” he replied.
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When developing your magic business marketing plan there are two potential strategies: shotgun or darts. In my experience, most magicians use the shotgun approach which targets a broad base of potential clients with little to no focus.
I prefer the second strategy called D.A.R.T. which stands for Directed At Responsive Targets.
Guns are loud, fired from far away and hurt or kill their prey. Darts are tossed at their targets from 10 feet away and everyone drinks when you hit the bulls-eye.
Let me explain.
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In due time, for now, let me begin at the beginning. It was December 7th, 2017. I was performing at my usual Thursday night spot, St.Louis Bar and Grill in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was one of the first really cold nights, the evening was just starting up. The restaurant was still fairly quiet, and slowly starting to fill with patrons anticipating dinner service. I moved to my usual spot in the back corner of the space, hung up my coat, and prepared what I needed to perform. I noticed my client Jim Reaman (the owner) standing near the bar chatting with some staff.
Since I had a few minutes to spare, and genuinely enjoy catching up with Jim, checking-in and so forth, I headed towards him. We quickly moved from talking about personal affairs, to talking about what I’d been working on, my aspirations, and so on. I mentioned an idea that had been floating around my head, like an annoying little balloon. Sometimes it was filled with helium, sometimes with Sulfur Hexaflouride. The idea was light, in that it was clever, fun, inspiring, educational and full of potential for awesome. It was heavy in that it was terrifying, risky, draining, and full of potential for embarrassment, failure and rejection.
Read more.
Magicana is pleased to announce on behalf of the Slaight Family Foundation the creation of the Allan Slaight Awards to recognize outstanding achievement in the pursuit of the impossible.
Initiated by the Slaight Family Foundation to honour Canadian media mogul and philanthropist Allan Slaight, and his lifelong passion for and contribution to magic, Magicana will distribute, on behalf of the Slaight Family Foundation $250,000 over five years - $50,000 per year - to recognize excellence in magic.
Read more and nominate.