April Fooled

I only saw one major Canadian magic prank yesterday.  The Vanishing Rabbit posted this on their website and Facebook page:

After very long negotiations, I would like to annouce that The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop has SOLD to a private Magic Shop Chain out of the United States. Although the shop will stay open and the Name will change, I will remain as a Manager and consultant, I would like to thank all who have supported my Magic Shop business the last 10 years and hope that you will remain customers of ours.

While not Canadian, this prank is certainly worth a mention!  From The Magic Newswire this post from The Magic Circle:

The Magic Circle To Mount Legal Challenge 

The Magic Circle is considering mounting a legal challenge to proposals which would see the composition of packs of playing cards dramatically altered from April 2012.

The proposals announced under European Union Directive 27745 / 3665 include the removal of the twelve Jacks, Queens and Kings from every pack of cards manufactured within the EU to reflect modern Republic Member States. A new suit of 'Stars' is to be introduced alongside the traditional Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades making the total number of cards exactly 50 in the new 'metric' packs.

Spokesman for The Magic Circle states "We are very concerned by these new rules. We very much value our Royal connections and cannot accept such a scandalous interference from the EU. The standard pack of 52 cards embodies a long legacy of cultural and magical history.”

A spokesman continues: “Frankly many of our Members are hoping to make these new rules disappear!"

Read the original post (complete with image of the new deck) here.
 

What April Fool's day pranks did I miss?

Montréal: May 1st, 2011 - Magic Day

From the Magie Spectram website:

Sunday May 1st 2011 from 12:00pm to 10:00pm, Spectram Magic in association with Alain Choquette invites you to a Magic Day featuring: Jay Sankey, Jon Allen, Boris Wild and Richard Sanders.

For more information, contact Magie Spectram.

[h/t: magicinfo.ca]

Website: Magic Information Canada

If you're looking for a nationwide calendar of magic events, have a peek at Doug Cuff's website Magic Information Canada.  Events can be seen in agenda or calendar formats.  You can also follow Doug on Twitter (@magicinfo_ca).

Doug also has comprehensive lists of magic shops and clubs for you to browse.

Keep up the great work Doug!

Links for 1-Apr-2011

• Wayne Kawamoto's review of Shawn Farquhar's MatriXpress
   
• Lecleric Show episodes on YouTube (I haven't been able to keep up with viewing, but here are links to last week's videos):
  82. Making Money From Money! Day 82 of 365
  83. The Blushing Card - Day 83 of 365
  84. Poker table Magic - Day 84 of 365
  85. Three Coins & a Toilet - Day 85 of 365
  86. Transporting Cigar - Day 86 of 365
  87. One Handed Rubiks Cube- DAY 87 of 365  
  88. Linking Pull Tabs - DAY 88 of 365
  89. The Magic Castle - Day 89 of 365  

Jay Sankey: April 1 live party on the new Bending the Real channel

From JaySankey.com:

Starting at 9:00PM EST on Friday April 1 I’m hosting a live party on the new Bending the Real channel on YouTube. This is where we are going to host the $5K ‘Bending the Real Competition’ and we thought we’d start things off with a couple of exclusive videos from the ‘Bending the Real’ project. I’m also going to be giving away 12 FREE ‘Bending the Real’ DVDs and hanging out on the channel to answer questions and share bending tips.

Subscribe to the Bending the Real channel on You Tube to find out more!

Calgary: Card Magic Essentials with Brent Smith

From The Vanishing Rabbit:

When:  3 Saturday Nights - April 2, April 9th, April 16th
Time: 7-9pm
Where: The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop

Join Award Winning Magician BRENT SMITH for 3 Nights of Essential Card Magic Sleights. Learning card magic is like building a house. Everything starts with a strong foundation of basic building blocks. These won't we your Grampa's Card Tricks.

This 3 night course will start you at the beginning of card magic and take you to a working professional level.

Learn the core skills (the ones that get used over and over again in thousands of tricks) from a well trained Award winning Magician

For more information, contact The Vanishing Rabbit.

[h/t: Gwyn Auger]

Toronto: Ghost Stories at the Panasonic Theatre.

From the Ghost Stories website:

After breaking all box-office records on its opening at Liverpool Playhouse and the Lyric Hammersmith, Ghost Stories burst onto the West End in June 2010 & has been playing to packed houses ever since. Now it makes its North American premiere - with an all-Canadian cast - at the Panasonic Theatre.

Be prepared for 80 minutes of thrills, laughs and scares that you will never forget!
The totally unique West End show comes from the truly talented and dark minds of The League of Gentlemen's master of the macabre, Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman, co-creator and director of Derren Brown's television and stage shows and star of Dead Set and Severance.

Visit the Ghost Stories website if you're brave enough to want more information.

[h/t: @SorcerersSafari]