Toronto: Maestros Of Magic

From Magicana:

In partnership with Luminato, Magicana is proud to present: Maestros Of Magic. 

Miguel Puga and Raefal Benatar give us the opportunity to experience magic for both the eyes and the ears; magic that confounds our logic and music that stirs our emotions. It is an unusual pairing, presented by Maestros of Magic. Steve Cohen, another Maestro, strikes a different chord, one that is as intimate as it is intriguing, performed in the ordinarily off-limits opulence of George Brown House.

Read more.

Luminato 2013 runs from June 14th to the 23rd.

Magic book donation to Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation

From Sharing Wonder:

A magic library is just what every home needs! So, we have made a donation of nearly 40 magic books to our long-time partner, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The books come courtesy of private individuals who have kindly made donations to Magicana over the years, and we are thrilled that they are now being housed in such a great facility.

Read more.

David Ben's review of "The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini"

Late last year, John Cox at Wild About Houdini posted about Bruce MacNab's book The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini, which details Houdini's 1896 Canadian tour.

From Sharing Wonder:

... David Ben, artistic director of Magicana, has penned a review, “The Handcuff King” for the Literary Review of Canada which has just been released (March 2012: Vol. 21, No. 2, p. 27). According to Ben: “Part biography, part travelogue, part magic book, Bruce MacNab’s The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini follows the exploits of Houdini as he laid the groundwork for becoming a 20th-century icon.”

Read more.

Magicana’s community outreach

At the end of January, we briefly mentioned the Linking Ring write-up, "The Benevolence of Magic," which included Canada's own Magicana.

For more information about Magicana’s community outreach programs, please see their post, "The Benevolence of Magic," over at Sharing Wonder.

Request for examples of magic benevolence

Updated on February the 8th to include link to Sharing Wonder post.

Do you, your magic club or other magic-related organization do wonderful things for your community?

In the December issue of IBM's publication, The Linking Ring (v92, #12), Dennis Schick wrote "The Benevolence of Magic" (page 56).  The focus of the article was examples of the magic community contributing to charitable causes and included a wonderful write-up of Canada's own Magicana for it's My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery and Tony Eng Youth Fund initiatives.  Read more about these programs at Magicana's blog, Sharing Wonder.

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail Dennis recently sent me:

But we had so many projects come up at the last minute, that we had to plan on a second article, later this Spring. So now I am looking for any other good examples of magic benevolence, whether by individuals (performing in hospitals), local clubs (raising funds for some good cause), or conventions (raising funds for a hunger drive).

I invite anyone with any ideas of examples they would like to tell me about, to write to me: crylds [at] att [dot] net. I am a member of Ring 29 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  [Weird e-mail formatting by Canada's Magic to discourage e-mail harvesters.]

Thank you for your consideration.

Now I'll disappear.  POOF!

Dennis Schick
The Linking Ring, Associate Editor
International Brotherhood of Magicians
 

Feel free to post examples of your magical good deeds in the comments below, and be sure to e-mail Dennis directly!

TEYF Magi-fest 2010 scholarship winner

From the Tony Eng Youth Fund:

We deliberated arduously over the holidays, but judges have emerged with a winner for the Magi-Fest Youth Scholarship 2013.

Read more to find out who won.

Tony Eng Youth Fund website

From Sharing Wonder:

In 2008, Magicana created the Tony Eng Youth Fund program in memory of Tony Eng (1946 – 2008). Its main goal is to promote and support youths as they pursue the art of magic.

Over the years, the fund has evolved to accomodate the needs of young magicians, from funding convention registrations, to covering lecture costs and mentorship programs. Like Tony, the fund strives to promote and encourage magic-mad youths by providing bursaries and scholarships in the pursuit of magic.

And so, without further ado, we are thrilled to present our new TEYF website: teyf.magicana.com The new site includes:

• A blog that focuses on TEYF news and events;
• A page that honours past TEYF winners through the years; and
• A programs page to keep you up to date to our current programming and challenges!

Feel free to explore and visit our new site and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Read more and leave your comments at the Sharing Wonder site.

 

This was cross-posted with permission from Julie Eng.

Tony Eng Memorial Lecture

Go over to Sharing Wonder to read all about the first ever Tony Eng Memorial Lecture, given by Joe Monti, which took place at this year's Tri-City 3 of Clubs Convention.  What a wonderful way to honour the memory of Tony Eng!

Tony Eng Youth Fund Bursary

From Sharing Wonder:

Magicana’s Tony Eng Youth Fund and Magi-Fest in Columbus, Ohio are proud to announce a partnership for the Magi-Fest Youth Scholarship 2013.

The Columbus Magi-Fest is one of the oldest and most significant magic gatherings in the world. It is an 83-year old tradition that has fostered and helped develop the careers of young magicians. The festival includes youth-only events in which international headline performers work directly with young magicians on their acts. Additionally, lectures, shows and workshops are held where attendees can learn about the experiences and knowledge of  professional magicians.

We are thrilled to announce a scholarship for a young magician to attend Magi-Fest. 

Read more.

Magic for healing

From Sharing Wonder:

We currently have two specially focused sessions with Holland Bloorview called, Helping Hands and Hand 2 Hand.

These summer programs focus on strengthening the client’s less dominant hand by restraining the dominant hand, on and off throughout the camp. Naturally in this conditions, magic becomes increasingly difficult to perform – especially when clients naturally want to use their dominant hand for fine motor tasks, such as shuffling a deck of cards.

Read more.

Review: Banachek’s The Alpha Project

From The Toronto Review of Books:

Do certain individuals have the ability to see the future, to read the thoughts of others, or to communicate with the spirit world? Whatever your answers to these questions might be, in his show The Alpha Project an extraordinary performer named Banachek invites spectators into a universe where such superhuman feats are possible. At least, this is true for the first half of his one-man performance, which recently finished its world premiere.

Read more.

Toronto: Magicana casting call

From Sharing Wonder:

Magicana is looking for experienced entertainers, specializing in magic, dance and music for a variety of community programs to be conducted in the Greater Toronto Area. If interested, please contact us along with your theatre and entertainment experience.

Read more.

They are looking for instructors and instructor assistants for children's programming as well as entertainers for senior's programming.

I have had the privilege of participating with children in Magicana's My Magic Hands program.  They do great work!

From the Dark: an interview with Juan Esteban Varela and Michael Weber

From Cadence Canada:

Cadence recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Juan Esteban Varela and Michael Weber, the incredible mind and director behind the astonishing illusionary production From the Dark, which makes its North American debut this weekend as part of the sixth annual Luminato Festival of Arts and Creativity. As part of the third joint venture between Luminato and the Canadian magic non-profit group Magicana—this year titled Mind over Matter—Varela’s show is one of the most unique magical productions to ever be staged, a production that involves blindfolding both the performer and the audience, to experience a wide breadth of classic magic tricks from a sightless perspective. A novel show and celebration of magic unlike any other, Varela’s show debuted in 2010 at the National Magic Congress in Madrid, Spain, and has since been spellbinding audiences around the world. Stemming from an idea that pegs the question of whether a person truly needs the sense of sight to reason, imagine, and be amazed, Varela’s From the Dark is a conceptual behemoth and an experience that will surely tanzilize the senses—minus those involving the eyes, of course—and promises to give the audience a show unlike any they’ve experienced before.

Read more.

Visit Magcana's website for more information about The Luminato Mind Over Matter magic series.

Tony Eng Youth Fund bursary winner and IMX competitor

From Sharing Wonder:

Sawyer reached out to us through the Tony Eng Youth Fund. At 16, his passion for magic appears to have no bounds and magic has enriched his life for the last four years. We provided Sawyer, a community-driven young man teeming with leadership qualities, a bursary to help him attend the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM) 2012 convention. In his application, Sawyer expressed a heartfelt desire to meet Vancouver-based magician and President of CAM, Shawn Farquhar. We were pleased to provide  Sawyer with the grant to achieve this goal and to also compete in the magic competitions at CAM.

Read more.

From the CAM website:

This year there is a special addition to the convention where youth were invited from around the globe to compete in a contest that is endorsed by FISM.  This is the first contest of it’s kind and representing Canada is Sawyer Bullock of Ontario.

Read more.

Wishing Sawyer the best of luck at the 2012 International Youth Magic Championships!

One handed CUT- A-THON winner!

From Sharing Wonder:

Congratulations to Sebastian Dagenais, winner of the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM) 2012 One Handed CUT- A-THON contest.

The young and talented Sebastian hails from Montreal and performed 119 one-handed cuts for three rounds.

Read more to find out what Sebastian won!

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.

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!

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.

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: Luminato - Mind Over Matter

From Sharing Wonder:

For the 2012 Luminato Magic series – Mind Over Matter – we have invited three masters of the impossible – Banachek, Richard Turner and Juan Esteban Varela - to challenge the way we perceive the world and function within it.
Follow us and we will keep you updated on all our shows! For now, see David Ben’s – artistic director for Magicana –  magical video invitation.

The sixth edition of Luminato takes place from June 8–17, 2012.
Read more and find out when tickets will go on sale.

Read more about Luminato at the CBC.