Canada's Magic

30 May 2011

Broken wand: Les Brockelsby

From the Globe and Mail on Thursday May 5th:

DECEMBER 8, 1923 to APRIL 30, 2011 Leslie 'Les' George Brockelsby of Calgary passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the age of 87 years.

...

He also had a passion for magic from a very young age, performing his first magic show at age seven as 'The Wonder Boy of Plymouth'. Once retired, his interest in magic returned when he helped organize a local magic club, Calgary Magic Circle - Ring 66 which is now known as the 'Les Brockelsby Ring'. Les spent much of his time mentoring aspiring young magicians.

Read the complete obituary or visit the online guestbook.

Rounding the Western rings in June

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)	- Doc Eason lecture - Jr. Magic Club - Garden Variety Show (Arc Fire, Kinkonauts, Top Secret Bluegrass Band)
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- MasterMind private workshop - James Biss lecture TBD
Saskatoon, SK		- Bill Abbott lecture
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- N/A
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Children's Magician of the Year public show at the Shadbolt Theatre in Burnaby - Doc Eason lecture - Special General Meeting
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Doc Eason lecture - Business Mtg - Teach a Trick: Alex Day - Refreshments: Eric Bedard - Mini Lecture: Shayne King - Showtime Activity(SA): Rob Brown

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

Rounding the Ontario rings in June

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

Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Awards Night: Winner reprise performance
London, ON	London Magician's Guild	- Jay Sankey lecture
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- annual BBQ / picnic
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Year End Party - Magician of the Year Award Presentation - New Member(s) Induction - Games and Magic Trivia (09-10 Champ Doug R.) - Bring your magic too!
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Aldo & Rachel Colombini Farewell Tour lecture - Year end banquet
Woodstock, ON	CAM 1 (Friendly City Mystics)	- N/A

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

Toronto: L.A.S.T Fundraiser – A Gala of Comedy and Magic

From the Abracadabaret website:

Friday, June 24 and Saturday June 25, 2011 at 8pm
Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley St., Toronto
Price: $20.00 Adults / $15.00 Child

Starring:James Alan, Jeff Hinchliffe, Nicholas Reynoldson and Chris Westfall

Headliners:Mike D’Urzo (Friday)
Dan Trommater (Saturday)

Hosted by: Shawnathan
Presented by Lost At Sea Theatre

To purchase tickets or learn more about this event, visit the Abracadabaret website.

29 May 2011

In April, James Munton launched The Magic Bistro. According to James, most of the members are working professional and semi-professional magicians. There is very little moderation. For the most part, people are free to post whatever (and however) they like. Mark Lewis is the moderator of the Pitch section and Paul Pacific is the moderator of the Mentalism section.

There is even a permanent "Ask Mark" section should you have a burning question for Mark. Have a read of his "Drawing a crowd" thread from the Pitch section. There's lots of good stuff in there.

This online community has some Facebook-like features which will become more important as the site grows. James plans to expand the Articles & Routines section and he invites contributions.

What are you waiting for? Have a look around. Everyone is welcome at The Magic Bistro!

[h/t: John Pellatt, Paul Pacific]