Sharing wonder with the help of Magicana

From Magicana:

Through our Tony Eng Youth Fund, Magicana sponsored two young people to attend the John Carney Lecture in Toronto on Feb 15, 2014.

The pair are actively part of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto – an organization near and dear to Magicana as past partners in our My Magic Hands program. Through a happy coincidence, Big Brother, Mike Johns, happened to hear about the lecture and thought it would be the perfect outing with his Little, Wes.

Wes is a budding 12-year old magician with a huge interest in magic and his Big, Mike – equally interested in magic – thought it would be the perfect outing for the two of them. But, limited funds proposed a challenge. Resourcefully, Mike reached out to Magicana and through our Tony Eng Youth Fund, we were able to make their attendance possible. After all that’s what the fund is all about – to motivate and inspire young people who are passionate about magic.

Read more.

Magic and rehab help transform kids with disabilities

From The Star:

Presto! Change-o! Magic is all about transformation.

We are mesmerized by what we cannot explain, enthralled when hands deceive our eyes.

So it was on a recent afternoon in a compact auditorium that’s part of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and was filled with an audience of 50 facility staff, clients, friends and family of the small performers who individually sat in front of the proverbial magician’s table with black cloth and fringe.

Read more.

Nine years of My Magic Hands

Congratulations Julie, on the continued success of this fabulous project!

From Sharing Wonder:

It is hard to believe that My Magic Hands was originally launched nearly a decade ago.

Magicana applied for funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation(OTF) to develop a pilot program version of  ”Magic Hands”.  In 2004, the program was designed and tested during the year in four different at-risk communities around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including Canada’s top children’s rehabilitation hospital, now known as Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The response to the pilot program was excellent and Trillium agreed. Magicana was then awarded a multi-year grant to expand  My Magic Hands program (and, to simultaneously develop Senior Sorcery – a program designed specifically for the senior population). My Magic Hands continued to evolved and developed through funding from private foundations and donors. Today, this program is funded solely by the Slaight Family Foundation.

Read more.

Magicana's Helping Hands

How wonderful to see magic making such a big difference in these patient's lives!  Well done Julie, keep up the great work!


From Sharing Wonder:

For the past few weeks, lead by magicienne Julie Eng, we made one of our favourite stops to Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab to bring some magic to the Helping Hands program.

Helping Hands is a modified constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) for clients with hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body) secondary to an acquired brain injury or stroke. Participants are required to wear a splint or cast on their non-affected hand. Activities that encourage the functional use of their hemiplegic arm, such as magic, help participants in their physical therapy.

Read more.

More Luminato 2013 reviews

From The Globe and Mail:

Monday evening: George Brown House, an Ontario heritage building situated just south of the University of Toronto, is named, of course, after the distinguished Father of Confederation and founder of The Globe, the newspaper that became the newspaper you are reading. Normally off-limits to the great unwashed, Brown’s stately home was the venue chosen by Luminato’s go-to magic man, David Ben, to showcase the extraordinary legerdemain of American magician Steve Cohen.

The setting proved an apt backdrop for Cohen’s act, which owes a considerable debt to Johann Hofzinser, the 19th-century Austrian known as the father of card magic. At New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Cohen’s unofficial home, he typically entertains audiences of no more than 50. For the Toronto cohort, only slightly larger, the diminutive Cohen – nattily attired in morning coat, waistcoat and striped trousers – deftly stick-handled his way through a series of jaw-dropping tricks, each seemingly more difficult than the last.

Read more.

From Mooney on Theatre:

I straightened my bowtie and tucked in my pocket square this evening to see Steve Cohen perform his show Chamber Magic at George Brown House for Luminato, where the dress code is as fancy as the attendees (let’s just say that for this evening anyhow, his sobriquet The Millionaires’ Magician was well deserved). The show, a classic parlour magic display designed for close audiences, sent me running home to the interwebs to try to figure out how some of his tricks had been performed. I’ll say only this: even online, magicians are pretty tight-lipped.

The pleasure of a magic show is in allowing yourself to be amazed – and it’s nice to be able to stay amazed. Cohen’s skills are really a pleasure to watch as he performs of variety of tricks that are indeed bewildering and delightful. You understand that, on some level, something must be happening somewhere you can’t see it, but that feels beside the point for a moment (except to the gentleman sitting a bit in front of me, who murmured his guesses to his companion frequently). When the card is turned or the glass fills with the correct colour of liquid, we in the audience both expect it and cannot fathom it.

Read more.

From Opus One Review:

We enjoyed being fooled. We pay good money to people who can trick us. We long for the impossible, and what Miguel Puga does is impossible, but there it is.

To help us catch him in his onstage trickery while we are seated in an auditorium, Sr. Puga shows some of his illusions live on a big screen, so we can scrutinize his hands. For openers,  he mixes a deck of cards, draws the Ace of Hearts out of the deck, mixes again and draws again, until he has ‘randomly’ drawn out all the hearts in sequence from deuce to King. While his assistant at the piano, Ms. Paz Sabater, plays Manuel de Fallas’ El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician), Puga turns the cards face down and their backs spell out EL AMOR BRUJO. Impossible! How did he do it? I’ve no idea, but I want to see him do more ‘magic’. And he does.

Read more.

[Guest post] Steve Cohen Performs at Luminato

The following is a guest post from Ian Crawford.

--

For years I have wondered what it would be like to attend one of Robert-Houdins' Soirée Fantastic.  Steve Cohen brought the essence of Robert-Houdin to life last night at his Luminato performance in historic George Brown House in Toronto.  First you must understand the setting.  George Brown House is a national historic site, the home of a father of confederation and founder of the Globe newspaper.  The Edwardian house has been perfectly restored to its former glory and is the ideal setting for a performance that celebrates parlour magic.  And Steve Cohen is one of the few magicians with the presence, experience and passion to bring the parlour magic experience to near perfection.

Steve performed a mix of classic magic and mentalism that honoured past masters while acknowledging a twenty first century sensibility.  A lifetime of study, 16 years of performances combined with an engaging intelligence and perfect diction makes Cohens' performances ideal for the Luminato audience.  He expected an intelligent audience, and the tickets even suggested that suitable dress was "cocktail attire".  In return Cohen performed 90 minutes of witty, engaging magic.  He was also suitably attired in a modern morning suit with yellow waistcoat and aqua tie.

Cohen's magic was direct, simple, elegant and completely fried many of the magicians and all of the rest of the audience of more than 60.  Beginning with a multiple card selection, he immediately engaged his audience.  He invited the back rows to stand and others to come and surround him while he performed some coin vanishes culminating in a solid, real brick appearing under his hat.  Appropriately, it was a reclaimed brick.  He performed a classic linking finger rings with style and grace and engaged the audience with some predictions about the inscriptions inside the rings.

One of Cohen's trademark tricks is based on Hoffman's Think a Drink.  While performed part way through the show, this could have easily been the closer.  Five different drinks were predicted, poured and enjoyed by audience members, the last being poured by a volunteer.  Cohen went out of his way to acknowledge and thank the volunteer for dressing appropriately, nice touch.  His message was clear that an evening out should be an experience for all, in keeping with the setting.

Cohen finished his set with a map prediction and then went into some mentalism using billets and an unusually large journal.  The mix of magic and mentalism was clearly a salute to Robert-Houdin, and Cohan engaged his audience constantly.

For his finalé, Cohen asked the audience to come closer and gather round to watch as he performed what I can only describe as a a two deck Triumph.

If you missed Cohen, you can always catch him in New York at the Waldorf Astoria in Chamber Magic.

Toronto is blessed to have a magic benefactor in the Slaight family who sponsored the evening.  And David Ben and Julie Eng of Magicana should be thanked for bringing some of the best magic to Luminato year after year.  Together they have elevated magic to a respectable place.  Robert-Houdin would have been proud.

Ian Crawford

--

Thank you Ian for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

Reviews: Luminato 2013

From Musical Toronto:

Luminato failed to show its hand with the first of its magic-themed shows, which opened at Mazzoleni Hall on Friday night. The title is Concerto for Piano and Pasteboards. It’s a fine show.  But it has almost nothing to do with pianos and everything to do with card tricks.

It’s a short, sweet magic show where the assistant doesn’t mutely stand at the magician’s side in a sequined suit but plays a grand piano instead.

Read more.

From Torontoist:

When Miguel Puga first spoke after performing a couple of introductory card tricks, it was in part to apologize for his broken English. The Spaniard, known also as MagoMigue (yes, that’s pretty much Spanish for Magic Mike), may not have the greatest command of the language, but he then proceeded to prove his assertion, as trite as it may sound, that magic possesses a universal power that can transcend ordinary communication. Blessed with a naturally funny presence and an undeniable gift for showmanship, Puga’s expert card manipulations were every bit as impressive as the apparent telepathic abilities he put to good effect on more than one occasion.

Read more.

From The Star:

By Miguel Puga & Miguel Aparicio. Presented by Luminato. To June 16. Mazzoleni Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-368-4849 (luminatofestival.com) 

The piano gets equal billing in Miguel Puga and Miguel Aparicio’s show Concerto for Piano & Pasteboards, being presented in the opening days of Luminato. But this is really all about 90 minutes of Puga’s magic tricks, not the art of the keyboard.

Read more.

[via Sharing Wonder]

Magical Mentorship: Tony Eng Youth Fund

From the Tony Eng Youth Fund:

The goal of the Tony Eng Youth Fund is to promote and support youths as they pursue the art of magic. We believe that mentorship is an essential part of being a magician and that it is vital to form relationships with people with whom you can learn, grow and exchange information with. Our Tony Eng Educational Bursary program is dedicated to matching up-and-coming magicians with rich resources and opportunities to help jumpstart their career.

On April 2013 Magicana’s Tony Eng Youth Fund sponsored a one-week mentorship program for Trevor and Lorena Watters to study and learn from legendary magician and consultant, Johnny Thompson (The Great Tomsoni & Company) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple received invaluable advise from Mr. Thompson, who graciously accepted them in his home and gave them the “experience of a lifetime”.

Read more.

Read Trevor's thoughts on the experience:

• Day 1: Saturday, April 13
• Day 2: Sunday, April 14
• Day 3: Monday, April 15th
• Day 4: Tuesday, April 16th
• Day 5: Wednesday, April 17th

It certainly sounds like it was an amazing, life changing, opportunity!

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!