Phil Matlin's ragtime tour

Phil Matlin - owner of Montréal's magic shop Perfect Magic, will be playing ragtime and touring through Ontario (Cambridge, Elmira and Waterloo) at the end of December.

His detailed schedule can be found at the CAM website.

[h/t: CAM]

If you missed our previous post about the many talents of Phil, have a look at him playing Carolina in the Morning below:

Derren Brown's Apocalypse on SPACE

From Canada Newswire:

Before the Mayan calendar flips to Doomsday, SPACE asks viewers "what if the world ended tomorrow?" From BAFTA Award-winning psychological illusionist Derren Brown, DERREN BROWN: APOCALYPSE uses a compelling blend of suggestion, psychological tricks, and experiments to construct an elaborate and shocking stunt to convince one person that the planet has been devastated by a catastrophic meteor strike. The subject at the centre of the experiment is left to believe that he is one of a mere handful of survivors. The gripping two-part special airs back-to-back on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on SPACE.

Read more.

[h/t: iTricks]

Wishing Wayne Houchin a speedy recovery

Updated November 30th to add:

I have just learned from Wayne Kawamoto that Paul Harris has set up a Magical Arts Fund for Wayne Houchin to help Wayne with his finances during his recovery.

Read Paul's message to learn about how you can contribute.

Last evening, I was stunned to find this tweet in Wayne Houchin's Twitter feed:

WAYNE HOUCHIN SEVERELY BURNED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.A statement from Wayne: ...
— Wayne Houchin (@WayneHouchin) November 28, 2012

The Daily Deception has a summary of what transpired and why.


Wayne's most recent tweet, shows his character and goodwill is still shining through:

Our mission has not changed: to spread joy, wonder & love through magic #Curiosidades This pic was taken this evening: img.ly/qhh7
— Wayne Houchin (@WayneHouchin) November 29, 2012

Please join me in wishing Wayne the speediest of recoveries from this horrific incident.

Senior Living on Location: Ray Roch

Watch Ray Roch's appearance on "Senior Living on Location":




The full episode will be aired on February 3rd, 2013.  Read the episode description at Senior Living.


[h/t: SAM 95]

SOMA wearing pie

And now, for no particular reason, a video of SOMA getting pies in his face at Sorcerers Safari 2012.

Go to the Facebook Page to watch the video at full size.

X-elent Lecture Series: The end of the road

From the X-elent Lecture Series website:

For the past 9 years, we've had some of the greatest lecturers come through the region and share their hard-earned knowledge with us.

This has been no small feat, nor something easily accomplished. Without the dedicated help of each city, we would have never lasted as long as we have.

Under the X-elent Series banner, the region has seen 47 of the best lectures possible. But as they say, ...all good things must come to an end. It's with a sad heart that I make the following announcement.

Season 9 was the final season of the X-elent Lecture Series.

Read more.
 

Read what Calgarian Yeats Wong had to say about his experience with the X-elent series and it's creator, Lee Asher.

Thank you Lee, for all you've done to bring more magic to Canada!

Welcoming a new patron: Ryan Pilling

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Ryan Pilling!

Based out of Calgary, Ryan is not only a comedy magician, but he is also: a blogger, a designer, and an author!  Check out:

Playing Big -- Making magic out of tricks:

Ryan blogs about peformance observations and tips. He recently posted about "The Importance of Being Bad" and his post "If You Can't Say Anything Nice" is a topic that really resonates with me.

The Magic Assistant -- Gwyn Auger:

From Gwyn's website:

Gwyn Auger is a vivacious, creative woman who brings dedication and enthusiasm to every project she embarks on. Gwyn’s primary goal is to be a full time magician’s assistant, and as a trained dancer and professional model, she brings beauty and grace to any stage.  

Gwyn is an integral part of tongue-in-cheek horror show "A Brush With Death," which has taken Calgary by storm!

In my experience, Gwyn definitely has her finger on the pulse of the magical happenings in Calgary!

WowFest:

Back in October we first heard the news about Ryan's idea for Wowfest -- a Magic Arts Festival that he'd like to launch in Calgary.  In November he shared the exciting news that he received funding for the project!  Listen to Ryan interviewed on CBC's The Homestretch, talking about WowFest.

If you haven't already, go and "like" the WowFest Facebook page and then go to the WowFest website to subscribe to the project's newsletter.

Finding the Funny --  A Professional Entertainer's Guide to Improvisation, Ad-Libs, and Audience Interaction:

"Learn the techniques to creating inspired moments of comedy, and getting the best out of your audience volunteers."

"This guidebook will help the practiced magician, juggler, clown and other entertainers add the sparkle of spontaneity to their performances."
 

Thank you Ryan, for your efforts towards raising the profile of magic in Calgary, and for your sponsorship!