Toronto: Luminato Discount Offer

From Sharing Wonder:

Magic enthusiasts: a special offer* just for you!
We are presenting Mind Over Matter with Luminato and we have just arranged a special  10% discount.

Use this link to BUY and SAVE NOW

Or, call 416-368-4849/4TIX (Password MAGICANA).

Read more.

* This is a limited time offer only. Offer is valid until 11:59PM Sunday May 20, 2012 for online sales only. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 11am – 7pm and Saturdays 11am to 3pm; the offer is only valid until 4pm on Saturday May 19, 2012.

Offer is subject to availability. Offer cannot be applied to previously purchased tickets or combined with any other offers or promotions.

James Randi: The Unsinkable Rubber Duckies

From Wired:

It sometimes seems like there is a huge swath of the general public that will just believe anything — they are immune to skepticism and compelled to accept the most obvious scams. These delusions can be relatively harmless — believe in spoon-bending and perpetual motion if you must. But some fakers are very, very dangerous. At the worst end of the spectrum, in my estimation, are faith healers. They can cause real harm to the victims they parade before the rest of us — and even more to those, as I will show, whom they give false hope and ignore.


Johnny Carson and I shared several illuminating moments on The Tonight Show, the most satisfying one by far being a 1986 episode in which we revealed the blatant cheating and deception of TV evangelist Peter Popoff — the shrieking, frenetic, Bible-flaunting preacher who is still invoking invisible healing from divine sources on TV.

Read more.

[h/t: iTricks]

Montréal: Ben Train and Chris Mayhew

From Grant McSorely:

Ben Train and Chris Mayhew lecture, Playing with your pack:

• When: May 17, 2012, 7pm - 9pm
• Where: Montreal Chinese Community and Cultural Centre
              1088 Clark Street
              H2Z 1K2 
• Price:  $20 before May 13
             $30 after
• Payment: Paypal: Visit www.montrealmagicjam.com (coming soon!) or transfer your payment to gmcsorley@gmail.com
                 Cheque: Please make cheques payable to Grant McSorley and mail to
                              6362 Christophe Colomb
                              Montreal, Qc
                              H2S 2G7

The info will be up on our site shortly, and there is a FB event at http://on.fb.me/JwV3m8

CAM Awards

With thanks to Doug Cuff from MagicInfo.ca for live tweeting the awards presentation at the convention!  (And for live tweeting the rest of the convetion too!)

Bill Abbott is Canadian magician of the year! #hamCAM2012
— Doug C. (@magicinfo_ca) May 5, 2012

This year, the lifetime achievement award (not always given out) was given to Micky Hades. He couldn't be present, alas. #hamCAM2012
— Doug C. (@magicinfo_ca) May 5, 2012

The Sid Lorraine award went to the very deserving Nick Sacco. #hamCAM2012
— Doug C. (@magicinfo_ca) May 5, 2012

Michael Dardant won the close-up and stage competitions! Only other person to win both (in separate years) is @LeclericShow. #hamCAM2012
— Doug C. (@magicinfo_ca) May 5, 2012

Sherwood Park: Magic wands for local kids

From Sherwood Park News:

Salto Gymnastics Club is going to be using the wave of a magic wand to make people disappear with the hope of seeing some money appear in return.

The Sherwood Park gymnastics club, along with Ellerslie School, will be hosting two magic shows on Saturday to raise funds to support the organization and the school. AbracaDazzle! is performed by Richmond, B.C.-based magician John Kaplan, who has been helped community groups across Canada raise money for various projects through his magic shows for more than 25 years.

Read more.

Edmonton: Abra-Kid-Abra!

From Tix on the Square:

May 5, 2012 - 1 p.m.

Presented by Edmonton Magic Club

MAGICALLY CREATING A BETTER TOMORROW! This is what Abra-Kid-Abra is all about. From full time professionals to magic enthusiasts, the members of the Edmonton Magic Club come together each year to produce a magic extravaganza, specifically designed to raise thousands of dollars for local charities and family-based organizations.

This year, the Edmonton Magic Club is privileged to support the Youth Emergency Shelter Society. Since the 1980’s, YESS has worked with more than 20,000 kids and thousands of families. The shelter is a home where kids who have nowhere else to go can seek caring assistance in working through difficult times.

Read more and buy tickets.

Mike D’Urzo: Turning teen obsession into magical career

From York Region:

Sometimes, Mike D’Urzo wonders where he’d be if he hadn’t gone to Canada’s Wonderland that day back in 1998 as a 15-year-old kid looking for fun on a summer afternoon.

What if he hadn’t happened upon that booth where they sold magic kits?

Read more.