Showing posts with label _Victoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label _Victoria. Show all posts

20 October 2025

Victoria: AbracaDinner presented by the ViMC [Nov 1]

Tickets at TicketTailor

 

From the October 6th Facebook post at the Victoria Magic Circle

Get set for an incredible evening on November 1st! Your ticket includes a full lasagna dinner, a glass of wine or sleeve of beer, and exciting magic! You will experience some of Vancouver Island's top magicians both close up and during the stage show after dinner!  

 

 

 

 

12 July 2025

Victoria, Vancouver, & Regina: Piff the Magic Dragon All-Star Vegas [Sep 15 - 16, Oct 24]

Our sources tell us Ontario dates will be added to this tour!  Visit Piff's website for tour updates.

 

This tour is different from previous tours and is also different from his Vegas show. 

 

From Casino Regina

All-Star Vegas is a world-class, high-energy entertainment extravaganza featuring sensational circus artists, hilarious comedians, impossible illusions & more, hosted by America’s Got Talent star and long-standing Las Vegas headliner Piff the Magic Dragon. 

Read more and buy tickets. 

 

 

From the July 8th Facebook post by The Farquhar at UVic

 

 

Of course, you can always see his other show in Vegas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 May 2025

Rounding the Western rings in May 2025

Updated May 18th to add:

  • Mirth and Magic (and comedy competition) hosted by the Victoria Magic Circle

 

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City Club Event(s)
Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - N/A.
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - N/A.
Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - Originality contest.
Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - N/A.
Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - Mirth and Magic


Please leave a comment to let us know about corrections or omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

06 April 2025

Rounding the Western rings in April 2025

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City Club Event(s)
Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - N/A.
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - N/A.
Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - Norden & Gordon's magic shindig.
Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - N/A.
Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - N/A


Please leave a comment to let us know about corrections or omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

05 April 2025

Random thoughts about "Champions of Magic -- Chasing the Unbelievable" 2025

Western Canada, don't miss your chance to catch Champions of Magic -- Chasing the Unbelievable in May!
 

  Remaining Canadian dates:  


 

Last week, we made the trek to the FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton.

  • This was our first trip to FirstOntario Concert Hall.
  • It is a lovely theatre with 2 levels of balconies and a seating capacity of just over 2000.
  • There is a 6 level parking garage across from the theatre (be prepared to pay event pricing!) and quite a few surface lots within easy walking distance.
  • The theatre staff were super helpful, professional, and generally fabulous! 
  • The show is approximately 2 hours in length, including a 15 minute intermission.
  • As always with this show we are genuinely afraid of posting spoilers.  The less you know going in, the more you'll enjoy it!

 



FirstOntario Concert Hall, Hamilton ON

 

On with the show...

Note to parents of young children:  The music can be very loud at times throughout the show.  There are also smoke and fog machines involved.  Forewarned is forearmed.

There's a videographer on hand to capture close-up miracles and project them on a big screen so everyone can see!


It is always a treat to see
Champions of Magic!



Pre-show vibes


  • There were plenty of children in the audience.  Many people in the audience had seen the show at least once before.  Some of the children brought their own RL/GL props!  (IYKYK.) 

  • They've added spectacular lightwalls upstage which add to the ambience of the set.

  • Liberty Larsen, Fernando Velasco, Richard Young and Sam Strange all do what they do very well! 

  • The show is very different from the ones we've seen previously*.  There are significant changes in both the cast, and the structure of the production. 
    *Toronto 2018, Oshawa 2019, Kitchener 2022, and Toronto 2023

  • For those who have enjoyed the shows they've presented in the past, not to worry!  They have retained some of their cornerstone crowd-pleasers! 

  • Some of the new segments are bound be become future cornerstone crowd-pleasers!

  • Significant parts of the show consist of imaginative narrative brought to life through full ensemble numbers.

  • There are also plenty of moments for each of the acts to shine as solo performers.

  • There was LOTS audience participation with both children and adults!  By our count, 13 volunteers were involved.  Many of the volunteers were able to do so from the comfort of their seats.  A lucky few were brought on stage for a fully immersive show experience!

    Some notes on volunteer handling.  (Regular readers will recall that we pay close attention to the treatment of audience volunteers.)  We were particularly impressed when:

    - Velasco went searching for a child to bring on stage.  The first kid he asked, declined. Velasco didn't miss a beat and quickly found someone else.  Additionally, Velasco informed the selected volunteer in advance what was going to happen, and then asked for her consent to continue.  We think more kids were interested in helping out after that.  They got the sense that they weren't going to be pressured into doing something they didn't want to do.

    -
    At one point Young and Strange also required two children to volunteer.  These kids were also treated with respect and weren't talked down to in any way.  In fact, Strange broke character for a brief moment and instantly put the boys at ease.  It was as if he manifested the same child wrangling superpowers gifted to elementary school teachers, and parents of young children.  This segment of the the show ends with the volunteers receiving tremendous audience applause!

    Well done team!
     


  • The show was visually stunning!

Whether you're new to magic or are a professional magician, there's something for everyone!

  • Larsen showcased talents we'd not previously seen in a Champions of Magic show.  She has a very creative style that delivers personal and refreshing takes on some classics of magic.  As an added bonus for magicians, she spent a little bit of time talking about her magical family.  This provided a springboard for captivating and organic storytelling, punctuated with magical effects.
     
  • Velasco succeeded in breathtaking, heart-stopping stunts both large and small.  In addition to having the audience on the edge if their seats, he also performed some head-scratching miracles at a smaller scale.  It will surprise you not, that one of this escape artist's effects conjures the name Harry Houdini.

  • Young and Strange are always delightful!  Even when (and in some cases especially when) they are bickering, they are very compelling.  One can't help but get caught up in the fun they are having!  Both individually, and together as a double act, they consistently deliver impressive sleight of hand, laugh out loud comedy, and a truly exhilarating exhibition of grand illusion.  Since we last saw them in 2023 they've introduced some pieces of magic that were both very impressive and thoroughly entertaining.  They get bonus points for mentioning Canadian born magician Dai Vernon.  Additionally we were treated to video clips  featuring Siegfried & Roy, and David Copperfield.  (It goes without saying that Young's homage to David Copperfield Easter egg is still in the show.)


The magic is excellent. 
Most importantly, the show is wonderfully entertaining.


  • The acts and the scripts are a work in progress and continue to be thoughtfully curated, updated, and revised.   (Bonus points for inserting both current affairs and localized content!)

  • This was our fifth time seeing Champions of Magic and we enjoyed it every bit as much as the previous incarnations. 

      
We highly recommend it!
(Even if you've seen it before.)

 



Final bows with Sam Strange, Liberty Larsen, Fernando Velasco, and Richard Young

 

 



Post-show vibes

 

Disclosure:  We were guests at this show. The opinions expressed above are entirely our own. We did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.

With thanks to
Champions of Magic for the tickets.

 

 

  Remaining Canadian Dates 

 

Read our interviews with the cast:

 
Learn more about Champions of Magic at 
ChampionsOfMagicTour.com and follow them on Facebook, and Instagram



Champions of Magic 'Chasing the Unbelievable' tour


 

 

Don't take our word for it, see what others are saying in the April 3rd Instagram post by Champions of Magic:

 

 

 

 

 

09 March 2025

Rounding the Western rings in March 2025

Updated March 16 to add:

 

 

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City Club Event(s)
Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - Tricks with the theme "luck".
- Lecture by Steve Warburton.
- Lecture by Mike Norden
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - N/A.
Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - The Magic Festival including the Mystery Magic Dinner and the Children's Magician of the Year competition.
Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - N/A


Please leave a comment to let us know about corrections or omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

15 February 2025

Victoria: Jason Verners at the Lost in the Shuffle screening [Feb 18]

From Cinecenta:  

Screening will be preceded by a live magic show by internationally recognized sleight of hand card magician Jason Verners

“Will the greatest illusion of all prove to be that an ancient cold-case murder has been hiding under our noses all this time?”

...

“Farquhar and his magician friends bring so much passion and enthusiasm it is infectious.” Film Threat 


Read more and buy tickets.

 

 

From the February 12th Facebook post by Shawn Farquhar:

 


 

Previously shared on Facebook February 12.

 

 

 

09 February 2025

Rounding the Western rings in February 2025

Updated February 19th to add:

  • Calgary's meeting will be a lecture from Ryan Lackey.
     

 

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City Club Event(s)
Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - Ryan Lackey lecture.
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - N/A.
Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - Annual dinner.
Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - N/A


Please leave a comment to let us know about corrections or omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

05 January 2025

Rounding the Western rings in January 2025

Updated January 9th to add:

  • Calgary's meeting will be a mini-lecture from Dan Stephenson, "My go-to self-working card tricks."
     

 

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City Club Event(s)
Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - Mini lecture from Dan Stephenson "My go-to self-working card tricks."
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - JAM session.
Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - N/A.
Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - Annual dinner with Sawyer Bullock.


Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

 

 

 

 

 

03 January 2025

Victoria: Sawyer Bullock at the VMC Annual Dinner and Show [Jan 25]

From the Victoria Magic Circle:

The Victoria Magic Circle is thrilled to present the Victoria Magic Circle Annual Dinner! A fine evening of high-end magic, comedy, food, and fun! This evening celebrates the achievements of the club and its members, as well as providing an entertaining evening for the public and members alike!

You can expect to be thrilled at your table-side by the highly skilled close-up magic team from the club, enjoy a fantastic dinner, and be thrilled by our guest performer, Mr. Sawyer Bullock!

Sawyer Bullock is an award-winning speaker and magician. His unique mixture of wit and trickery has garnered him international awards, glowing accolades, and even his own television show. His performances range from North Korea (twice!) to the Dominican Republic to Rwanda. Sawyer has been a featured magician at TIFF, Canada’s Wonderland, and FIDE international tournaments. He regularly speaks on magic, philosophy, and religion at universities and academic conferences.

The laughter and memories from the night are going to be exceptional – be sure to bring your friends and family to share the moments!

Read more and buy tickets.



Click through to see the Victoria Magic Circle Facebook event "The Annual Dinner with the Victoria Magic Circle"




 

08 November 2024

A peek behind the curtain with Liberty Larsen

The cat's out of the bag.  Champions of Magic welcomes Liberty Larsen to its cast!

We're delighted to interview Liberty leading up to the Champions of Magic "Chasing the Unbelievable" tour dates in Canada:

Check the Champions of Magic website for updates and more information.

 

Read our thoughts about the 2023 Champions of Magic show in Toronto:

TLDR: So. Much. Fun!


Random thoughts about Champions of Magic 

 

 

You may already know Liberty: 

  • is a fourth-generation magician,
  • is from the family that founded The Magic Castle, Genii Magazine, and the Academy of Magical Arts,
  • is a singer,
  • combines theatrical magic with original musical compositions, and
  • was on Penn and Teller's Fool Us S04E04



    A peek behind the curtain with Liberty Larsen



    What is your first memory of magic?
     
    My first memory of magic is on my fifth birthday, at the Magic Castle, on stage with the one and only – Ireland’s Largest Leprechaun, Mister Billy McComb. I believe he did the vanishing birdcage that day. He eventually got me on stage as a volunteer and I was in heaven. I thought he was the bees knees. And as I got older, he just got funnier and funnier. One of my favorites ever. Rest in peace, Billy.
     


    Other than your family, who were the first professional magicians you remember seeing?

    I was lucky enough to see the Siegfried and Roy show as a young kid, and that show was truly mesmerizing, larger than life. It felt like being in another world. I remember the electricity in the room. It was thrilling and kinetic, and they were so graceful. They seemed to have walked onto the stage from the clouds.
     


    On "Penn and Teller’s Fool Us" you mentioned that you 'resisted' the call to magic in your early years.  Do you remember the specific moment when you knew you could or wanted to perform magic full-time?

    Well, I always loved to perform, since I was very young. But I think everyone goes through a phase where they want nothing to do with what their parents (or grandparents, or great-grandparents!) want them to do. My family didn’t push for magic too hard, but I still rebelled against it on sheer principle. I can’t say that the decision to “give in” happened in a single moment. It was more gradual – the result of seeing some truly amazing performers who were really coming on the scene with a very different approach to magic. That was very inspiring, because it showed me that magic is more versatile than I may have imagined. But more than anything, I really came to appreciate the gift magic gives people – the feelings it produces – and I realized I wanted to continue in the legacy and be a conduit for those feelings, because they’re so wonderful.
     
     
     
    By what mechanisms did you begin learning magic? 

    I learned magic at Magic Camp as a kid (that’s right, folks!) in Idyllwild, California. I also learned from dear family friends, and from books.

     


    Liberty Larsen

    Liberty Larsen
     
     
     

    Who inspires you that is not a magician?

    Outside of magic, I’m inspired by Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen (two very special Canadians who almost dated!), Jesca Hoop, Martha Graham, Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Peter Brook, Carmen Amaya, Kate Bush, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Remedios Varo, Robert Moss, on and on… I love people who make worlds out of their dreams and stubbornly insist on living inside them. 
     
     
     
    Who inspires you magically?

    I’m inspired by Rob Zabrecky, Michael Carbonaro, Jared Kopf, Voronin, The Swedish Monkey Opera, René Lavand (rest in peace) and many other gems.
      
     
     
     
    In addition to performing magic, we understand that you are also a musician. Have you studied anything else magic-adjacent? How have these studies informed your magic performance?

    Though I can’t say I’ve officially studied art, film or photography, I’ve definitely been influenced by my own rogue education in all of those realms. Everything that inspires, everything that lights up the circuitry, everything that gives goosebumps, can translate into magic, I think.

    I draw from music more than anything else, because I look to magic to create strong feelings. I’m not really drawn to cerebral stuff, or puzzles, it’s not how my mind is wired. I can appreciate them but they don’t motivate me to get on stage.

    On stage, I don’t want to be clever. I want to feel connected to people When I’m in an audience, I want to feel like the performer is cracking my heart open like a walnut, and melting me. So, I look to music for how to do that, because that’s how I’m wired. So I often sing, because it’s a quick cheat to shift things from intellect into feeling. But even when I’m not singing, the same elements of music – rhythm and pacing, tone and resonance, harmonics and dissonance, dynamics and flow – all these things go into good theater, and satisfying magic.  
     

     

    What, if anything, makes you nervous about joining the Champions family?

    Giant theaters! Exciting, but not something I’m used to. I’ve performed in a lot of very small, cabaret style venues. This is a whole different ball of wax.
     
    What are you most looking forward to about joining the Champions of Magic family?

    The adventure of it! I love the electrical current that’s running through this project. It’s got a strong pulse. It seems like I’m hopping on a train that’s changing platforms and going to a whole new dimension. This is such a fantastic group of people, and it’s an ambitious risk we’re all taking together, which is a truly exciting challenge.
     
     
     
     

    If you could go back in time to study (magic or otherwise) under anybody, who would you choose to be your mentor?


    I think I would go back in time and study dance with Martha Graham. I devoured her autobiography and am so inspired by the way she lived her life. She was a genuinely magical person, and a profound teacher. I feel like what she taught could translate beyond dance into just about anything. She taught people how to be deeply in their bodies, truly themselves and radically open to their own source of inspiration.    






    Liberty Larsen

    Liberty Larsen




    Many magicians have a Canadian connection to magic.  Tell us about your Canadian magic connection(s).

    Dai Vernon and Doug Henning are masters in their own right, but I didn’t have any direct connection with either of them. So, I would say my first Canadian magic connection in this life is one Mister Christopher Hart. I saw his act many, many times growing up, and it was striking for a young imagination to watch. I love Christopher. He also played “Thing” in the (more recent) Addams Family movies. Go Canada!

     

     
    If you could prevent other performers performing an effect forever, what would it be?

    I read a truly terrible “gag” in an antique magic book about having your Thanksgiving turkey get up and walk off the table. It involved using a real chicken, plucked, and doing some terrible things to force it to be still, and painting it brown as if it was roasted. I would outlaw that turkey trick, punishable by tarring and feathering.

    If you could only perform one effect for the rest of your life, what would it be?

    I am not sure I could ever be up to that challenge. But if I could shapeshift into a bird while singing, and land one someone’s shoulder, maybe deliver a secret message that only they would understand and that would inspire a huge gasp, it would be that.
     

     

    What’s your go-to Karaoke song?

    “Get it While You Can” by Janis Joplin. Not because of the lyrics, necessarily, but because her emotional range is just so great to sing.
     
     


    What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about performing in Canada?

    The Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture.

    Just the fist thing that came into my mind…  

    [Editor's note: "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois can be seen at the National Gallery of Canada.]
     

     

    From the October 31st Instagram post by Young Hollywood, Liberty Larsen, and Fernando Velasco (one of her Champions of Magic co-stars) are interviewed about the Magic Castle:

     

     

    Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

    I just learned that, “The first reference to throwing rotten vegetables at bad stage acts came in an 1883 New York Times article after John Ritchie was hit with a barrage of tomatoes and rotten eggs by an unpleasant audience in New York. A large tomato thrown from the gallery struck him square between the eyes and he fell t the floor just as several bad eggs dropped upon his head.” The more you know…!
     

     

    Thank you Liberty, for making the time to answer our questions!

    Learn more about Liberty by visiting her website LibertyLarsen.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

     

      Champions of Magic  

    Catch Liberty in Champions of Magic touring in Canada 2024-2025:

        Check the Champions of Magic website for updates and more information.

     

    Read our 2023 interviews with the rest of the cast:

     
    Learn more about Champions of Magic at ChampionsOfMagic.co.uk and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter



    Champions of Magic 'Chasing the Unbelievable' tour


     

     

     


    24 September 2024

    Victoria: Murray Hatfield, Syd Bosel, and Ken Pham [Oct 5]

    From the September 17th Facecbook post by Sin City Illusions:

    Get ready to be amazed and amused at Laugha-Cadabra: A Comedy Magic Show! Join us for an evening filled with laughter and mind-blowing magic tricks, featuring the one and only Murray Hatfield.

    You won't want to miss out on this hilarious and entertaining event featuring some of Canada's top magicians and comedians. Get your tickets now while you can!

     

     

     

     

    26 July 2024

    01 May 2024

    Rounding the Western rings in May 2024

    Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

    City Club Event(s)
    Calgary, AB Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring) - N/A.
    Edmonton, AB Edmonton Magic Club - N/A.
    Winnipeg, MB The Magic Club of Winnipeg - SYM.
    Fraser Valley, BC IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring) - Sean Taylor lecture.
    Vancouver, BC Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle) - N/A.
    Vancouver, BC SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly) - N/A.
    Victoria, BC Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - N/A.


    Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.