Ontario Week of Wonder recap

With thanks to Joan Caesar for sending us updates and photos from the first Ontario Week of Wonder!

Congratulations to everyone involved.  It looked like a fabulous event.

Special congratulations to Joan, who received a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the Saturday night gala show.

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From @joan.caesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks for sending Joan!): The OWOW Festival got off to a great start with sessions by @carisahendrix (Lucy Darling), @nickwallacelive and @therealjaysankey . At the end they gave Paul Romhany a birthday cake which we all shared. Tonight’s Gala show will be an outstanding all Canadian show with Lucy Darling, (winner of the comedy award in Melbourne Australia two years running), Jay Sankey, Nick Wallace and @gregfrewin .

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom) on Oct 25, 2019 at 4:09pm PDT

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More from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!): The Gala Show and close up were wonderful, both full of excellent magic and humour. Quite the night! @carisahendrix @nickwallacelive @therealjaysankey @gregfrewin @promhany @mikeclosemagic @ryanjoycemagic @owowmagicfest #OWOWfestival #owow

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom) on Oct 26, 2019 at 7:09am PDT

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Saturday afternoon from @joan.caesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!): Lecture by @promhany , session with Renee-Claude Auclair, Joan Caesar, and @mikeclosemagic , public children’s show staring @petermennie and Owen Anderson, with stilt walker Doug Hunt. Afternoon lecture by Michael Close. @OWOWMagicFest #OWOWfestival #owow

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom) on Oct 26, 2019 at 5:05pm PDT

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Saturday gala photos from @joan.caesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!): [1/2] @ryanjoycemagic also presented Joan with an award last night. Congratulations Joan! @OWOWMagicFest #OWOWfestival #owow

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom) on Oct 27, 2019 at 8:48am PDT

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[2/2] Saturday gala photos from @joan.caesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!): @OWOWMagicFest #OWOWfestival #owow

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom) on Oct 27, 2019 at 8:49am PDT

(Click on each photo to see at full size)

[2/2] At the end they gave @paulromhany a birthday cake which we shared. Tonight’s Gala show will be an outstanding all Canadian show w/ Lucy Darling, (@CarisaHendrix is winner of comedy award in Melbourne Australia 2 yrs running) @jay_sankey @nickwallacelive & @GregFrewinMagic pic.twitter.com/kBY14CRIHf

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 25, 2019

[2/3] More from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):

The Gala Show and close up were wonderful, both full of excellent magic and humour. Quite the night!@jay_sankey@GregFrewinMagic@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/JP1j10BaGq

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 26, 2019

[3/3] More from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):

The Gala Show and close up were wonderful, both full of excellent magic and humour. Quite the night!@CarisaHendrix@paulromhany@MikeCloseMagic@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/9oMyXvUn8X

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 26, 2019

[2/3] Saturday afternoon from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):

... public children’s show staring Peter Mennie and Owen Anderson, @petermennie@OwenTAnderson@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/GJIuEKyhwU

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 27, 2019

[3/3] Saturday afternoon from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):

... with stilt walker Doug Hunt. Afternoon lecture by Michael Close.@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/tMgBJyRMsc

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 27, 2019

[2/4] Saturday gala photos from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/o4hNoVdHCY

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 27, 2019

[4/4] Saturday gala photos from @JoanCaesar at the Ontario Week of Wonder (thanks Joan!):@paulromhany@OWOWMagicFest#OWOWfestival #owow pic.twitter.com/jBZz2GSVN3

— Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) October 27, 2019

CAM, Close, and Vanish

No, it's not the name of a new law firm.  It's all the reading there is to enjoy this weekend!



From Ryan Pilling's post in the Facebook group for the Canadian Association of Magicians:

September 2019 Northern Peeks published!

• CAM members should have received the latest magazine download link in their email this past week.
• Murray Hatfield remembers meeting the real Mandrake the Magician
• Joan Caesar shares the news about the OWOW Magic Festival coming up this month in Ontario.
• Renee-Claude Auclair tells us more about the FISM North America championship (and the Canadian Magic Championship) happening next year in Quebec.
• Mike Fisher writes about the Great Wizard of the North including his tours in Canada and the United States.
• Jason Verners shares some tips on productivity and how he has kept busy performing at music festivals all summer long.
• I write about my experience at the Ottawa Fringe Festival and lessons learned from producing and performing my new show.
• Gerry Frenette talks about the Too Perfect Theory and how the entertainment often comes out of the diversions from the straight path.

Michael Close's October 2019 newsletter

Just finished reading the August newsletter from Michael Close.  You may be interested in:

• Great summary of his recent Toronto lecture, a complementary eBook, a look ahead to the Ontario Week  of  Wonder  Magic  Festival (talent includes Steve  Bargatze,  Rick  Merrill,  Jay  Sankey,  Greg  Frewin,  Carisa  Hendrix,  Nicholas  Wallace,  and  Paul  Rohmany), and Penn & Teller Fool Us season 7.
• Michael Close has a podcast for subscribers, titled "Conversations with Close."   This month's guest is Ryan Joyce.  
• Review of Paul Wilson's "Just Think.
• A playing card patent article by Lee Asher.
• The Magic of Science by Tina Hesman Saey
• The Art of Conjuring by Mick Ayres.
• Technically Speaking by by Bruce Kalver.
• and many other newsworthy tidbits from the magic community!

Sign-up at MichaelClose.com to receive Michael's newsletters.  

 Vanish magazine, October 2019, Edition 63

• Articles by Peter Mennie, Colin Underwood, Louie Foxx, Joe Ledoux, Ben Robinson, Tod Karr, Thomas Swieclack, Felicity Field, Nick Lewin, Hal Meyers, and Jeff Christensen.
• Read and subscribe at VanishMagic.com

Ontario: Win your OWOW registration & over $600 in magic gifts

The OWOW Magic Festival will run Oct 25, 26, 27, 2019.


From the OWOW Magic Festival:

Win Your Registration & over $600 magic gifts for FREE!

Register for the OWOW Magic Festival before Oct 4th for your chance to win over $600+ magic goodies & swag, courtesy of Lee Asher, Paul Rohmany,& Michael Close!
​

​REGISTER NOW & GET A CHANCE TO WIN OVER $600+ FREE MAGIC!!!

• ​​    OWOW Registration Fee ($145 value!)
•     OWOW VIP Festival Swag ($75 value!)
•     Michael Close: Teaches Crafting Workable Magic Masterclass ($45 value!)
•     Lee Asher MEGA PACK of magic goodies ($95 value!)
•     Paul Rohmany Custom BOR Marketing DVD!! ($250 value!)

Win your registration and festival swag!  PLUS incredible magic bundle from Lee Asher, learn how to polish your magic with Michael Close and Paul Rohmany gives you the best tool to make more money from every show!

Read more and enter.

From the OWOW Magic Festival Twitter feed:

MAGICIANS!! Win a FREE registration to the OWOW Magic Festival Oct 25, 26, 27 and over $600 worth of magic goodies from @LeeAsherMagic, @paulromhany and Michael Close!!! All crazy details here: https://t.co/0G9KLeuhVM ENDS Oct 4!!! #owow #magicfestival @ryanjoycemagic pic.twitter.com/cmiEZRGe6r

— OWOW Magic Festival (@OWOWMagicFest) September 24, 2019

Publication round up - April 2018

Michael Close's April newsletter:

• Interesting insights into all the behind the scenes work that goes into Penn and Teller's Fool Us, among other interesting articles and interviews.
• Sign-up to receive Michael's newsletters at  MichaelClose.com

Northern Peeks:

• Articles both by and about Ryan Joyce 
• CAMaraderie reminder
• Feature on Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin as well as Houdini's Water Torture Cell
• Articles by Murray Hatfield, Bill Abbott, Phil Matlin, Gerry Frenette, Jason Verners, and Ryan Pilling.
• Renew your membership or become a member at CAMmagic.org

Vanish magazine:

• Articles by Jeff Christensen, Paul Romhany, Hal Meyers (Anthony Street feature), Jeff Hobson (interviews Jonhathan Goodwin), Joshua Endress, Jim Sisti, Tim Ellis, Alex Zander, and Louie Foxx!
• Product highlights: Bill Abbot's 5 card box, Victor Voitko's Snowstorming Fan
• Read and subscribe at VanishMagic.com

Vanish Magic Magazine 40th edition

The 40th edition of Vanish Magic Magazine is out now! Have a look at vanishmagic.com.

From Paul Romhany's Facebook page:

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Subscribe to "Vanish" for free

From Paul Romhany's Facebook page:

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!

EVERYBODY that reads VANISH you can now subcribe for FREE and each issue will be delivered to your mail box each month. Just click on latest edition and press SUBCRIBE on left hand side (do this on computer) - this is a really cool feature I just added. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWS with the magic community

Magical Qualicum Beach fundraiser in the BC Local News

From the BC Local News:

Three magician acts are hoping to make some magic for a new refugee family.

Paul Romhany (a recent arrival to Qualicum Beach) will be headlining a show also featuring Parksville double-act Sandra and Heather McNeill as The Magic of Zanthera, as well as Eric Bedard.

On Sunday, Oct. 1, the four magicians will be performing a 90-minute, all-ages show as a fundraiser for the 2017 Qualicum Refugee Sponsorship Group.

With volunteers having helped to resettle the Johdee refugee family in 2016, this new group aims to do the same for another refugee family.

The group will be required to support a family of up to four for its first year in Canada, meaning Qualicum RSG-17 needs to raise approximately $35,000.

Read more.

Qualicum Beach: Spectacular Magic Fundraiser

Sunday October 1st. Paul Romhany, Eric Bedard, and The Magic of Zanthera.  Now with silent auction.

From Eric Bedard's Facebook page:

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ReginaCadabra in the CBC

From the CBC:

Doug Arden has been waiting nearly 20 years to be a part of a magic festival in Regina, and this weekend he'll lift the curtain on his long-awaited performance.

ReginaCadabra is Regina's first magic festival. Featuring 10 Canadian magicians, it runs Wednesday through Sunday at various locations around the city.

"I've always loved entertaining people so I look forward to making everyone laugh. That's what I live for," said Arden, a local ventriloquist, comedian and magician who has been working full-time as an entertainer for 20 years.

Read more.

ReginaCadabra in the CBC

To learn more about ReginAcadabra (featuring: Chester McBain, Chris Funk, David Merry, Doug Arden, Jeff Richards, Keegan Duck, Paul Romhany, Richy Roy, Sean Watson, and Shawn Farquhar), visit ReginAcadabra.com


Watch Tracy Fahlman and Brent Kloeble talk about the upcoming ReginAcadabra event on CTV News.


From CBC News:

Brent Kloeble has high hopes for the new ReginaCadabra Magic Festival, which makes its debut July 26 in the city.

Kloeble, who is the chairman of the event, hopes the festival gains enough momentum to become an international attraction.

"It's an exciting event for Regina. There's nothing really like that around here," Kloeble said.

"We can make this a big tourism event," Kloeble said of the family-friendly festival, which will feature 10 performers throughout the week. "We know people will travel in to come see it."

Read more.

From the ReginaCadabra Twitter feed:

Close- up magic by Chester McBain @EscapeRegina see Chester and many other #magicians @ReginaCadabra #magic #festival in #yqr this summer https://t.co/4ujqDywTko

— ReginaCadabra (@ReginaCadabra) May 24, 2017

Paul Romhany and the Crohn's and Colitis Crunch Challenge!

Watch to the end to see Paul's outtakes!

From Paul Romhany's YouTube channel:

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News from Paul Romhany about VANISH Magic Magazine

From Paul Romhany's newsletter:

I have been extremely busy over the past six months working with several different teams who are each helping me take VANISH to a new level in the magic magazine world.

Over the next few months I'll be sharing all the amazing news with you. Here is the first great piece of news for readers of VANISH ...

VANISH MAGIC MAGAZINE will be coming out MONTHLY starting January 2017 and it will remain FREE per edition for that month.

Read more.

Review: Paul Romhany's "Dream Prediction Elite"

From Olympic Reviews:

It’s the usual confabulation performance of a dream - you first place an envelope down with a prediction clearly visible in the window section.  The participant selects a destination, an amount of money and a travelling companion.  You write these down in a notepad, which is shown around.  The selling point of this effect is that you open the envelope and the piece of paper seen through the window falls out on to your hand, and the participant opens it and reads it.  I’m really not sure why we don’t have more variations of performance in these, it always seems to be a dream, but this is a good one.

Oh, and you perform this entirely solo, and it’s instant reset.

More discussion below…


Read more.

Paul Romhany in the PQB News

From the PQB News:

After travelling to more than 120 countries around the world, Paul Romhany has decided Qualicum Beach is where he wants to settle down with his wife and son.

Romhany, who is originally from New Zealand, has spent the past 25 years travelling around the world as a magician and Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

It was when he was eight years old that Romhany said he saw a Charlie Chaplin movie — and he was hooked.

“It’s all I’ve ever really done,” Romhany said of his professional career. “I jokingly say that I wasted the first eight years of my life.”

Read more.

[via iTricks]

Video peeks behind the scenes of fundraising for Fort McMurray

Watch on Paul Romhany's YouTube channel, video highlights of the New Westminster edition of "Fundraising for Fort McMurray."

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Watch on Ryan Joyce's YouTube channel, video highlights of the Brantford edition of "Fundraising for Fort McMurray."

20 things you need to know about Sorcerers Safari

Also in the 26th edition of VANISH magazine, starting at page 104, is "Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp: A Canadian institute."

To mark their upcoming 20th anniversary, have a look at "20 things you need to know about Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp."  Paul Romhany did created an eye-popping with fabulous photos taken by James Carey Lauder.

Does anyone have anymore information to add about the origins of "Farquhar Lake" mentioned in item 6?

My favourites are:

1. Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Arts Camp is hosted at an actual outdoor camp in Haliburton, Ontario. With an actual lake. Be sure to pack your swimsuit. And lots of sunscreen.

and

20. There is no one single thing that makes Sorcerers Safari successful. As Magic Mike Segal often says, "it is more than the sum of its parts." And he's right. He's created, seemingly by alchemy, a unique opportunity for young magic enthusiasts to learn from and network with, professionals who are open and approachable. When asked how he came by this elusive recipe, a modest Segal said, "I'm totally amazed. This is the best trick I have ever pulled off in my life."

What would you add to this list?

--
Erratum:  #5 In 1997-2000 Sorcerers Safari was hosted at Camp Tamarack. From 2001 to 2015 it was at Camp White Pine.

--
The 2016 season of Sorcerers Safari will run from Sunday August 7th through Friday August 12th, 2016. For more information, or to register, please visit Sorcerers Safari

Five years of VANISH Magazine

Congratulations to Paul Romhany and company on their fifth year of the successful VANISH International Magic Magazine!

How wonderful to see a beautiful 10 page spread by Ben Robinson, dedicated to Paul and his accomplishments.  Have a look in the June / July 2016 edition 26, starting at page 46.

New Westminster: Fundraising for Fort McMurray

Featuring Shawn Farquhar, Murray and Teresa Hatfield, Paul Romhany, Gary Savard, John Kaplan, Clinton Gray, Trevor & Lorena Watters, Damien James and Mike Battie.

From Fundraising Magic:

WHO:  BC's top magicians and variety artists.

WHAT: One-time only family-friendly benefit show on behalf of those families in Fort McMurray that have lost their homes in this devastating tragedy.

WHEN: Monday, May 16th 2016

WHERE:
Massey Theatre
735 8th Ave, New Westminster 604-521-5050
www.ticketsnw.ca

WHY:  So many young families have been affected by this disaster. As family entertainers, many of us have performed multiple times in Fort McMurray, and have a longstanding and deep connection to this community. Pooling oiur talents to show our support and raise much needed funds is something we're all greatly motivated to do. Besides, helping our neighbours and fellow citizens during their time of need is the Canadian way.

Read more and buy tickets.

From Clinton Gray's Facebook page:

Grand Master of Magic: Paul Romhany

Congratulations to Paul Romhany who was recently awarded the "Grand Master of Magic Citation" at the 32nd New Zealand International Magicians Convention.

From the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians:

The Grand Master of Magic was first awarded to Edgar the Great Benyon in 1969 and in the forty-six years since then only seventeen names have been added to the list, you Paul Romhany are now the eighteenth member. The criteria for this award is simple : 

“Its purpose is to honour those magicians who are acknowledged by their fellow magicians to be masters of the art and craft of magic. The recipients first and foremost must be magical performers of a high standard. In addition they might be originators of magical effects, or administrators giving time and expertise to running societies and conventions. They could be consistent competition winners, or have an international standing, or be known only in the New Zealand setting. But above all they are people who have served magic well, have graced our art, and made a special contribution over many years.” 

Paul you have been judged to be such a person. A Grand Master of Magic. Congratulations.

Let me share with you a little of Paul’s history in magic.

He was born in 1968 in Auckland. At the age of eight he saw his first Charlie Chaplin movie, The Circus, attended a live magic show, and became interested in ventriloquism. He joined the Shore City Magicians Club, an Auckland magic society with an emphasis on youth. At the age of twelve Paul won his first talent quest and began to perform semi-professionally. He is still a member of the Shore City Magicians Club and was its President for many years. He maintains a lively interest in the society and has donated copies of most of his published books and many magic tricks and props to the Shore magicians.

Read more.

Wayne Kawamoto reviews Paul Romhany's "Merge"

From About:

“Merge” offers Paul Romhany’s close-up version of linking finger rings. Until now, the effect has been largely considered for stage and stand-up work. But now, Romhany has re-imagined the stunning effect so it may be performed in close-up and strolling situations. It’s a brilliant adaptation and a powerful routine that allows you to perform magic with borrowed finger rings. 

Read more.