Toronto: Buster Canfield and His Amazing Fleas

Playing various dates in July and August.

From Brown Paper Tickets:

Ladies & Gentlemen Boys and Girls of all ages!
Step right up and behold the most miraculous manifestation of mite-sized marvelosity ever to appear on any stage!

Buster Canfield's Circus of Industrious Fleas!

Come one, come all!
Be stunned!
Be astounded!
Scratch your skin with delight at our microscopic, entomic entertainment!
"Little creatures can do Marvelous Things."

Buster Canfield & His Industrious Fleas is a TYA play for solo actor, puppets, masks, parlour magic, and the Greatest Humbug Flea Circus ever seen on any stage!

Buster is a small boy, growing up in Port Hope, Ontario in the late 1800s. He is small for his age, shy, bullied, and feels overwhelmed by the world around him. His life changes when meets a mysterious old man from Europe by the name of Louis Bertolotto.

Read more and purchase tickets.

Welcoming a new patron: Perfect Magic!

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Evelyn and Phil Matlin from Perfect Magic!

In Montreal in 1976, Perfect Magic was founded as a mail-order company run out of a basement, selling their own original products.  In short time, they grew out of their basement and into a retail property of their own.  They expanded their catalogue with more original products.  In 1979, they collaborated wtih C.W. Vermeys to launch the very first Magie Montréal convention!  Magie Montréal ran annually until 1998.

In the words of David Acer, "Today, Perfect Magic continues to be a highly respected manufacturer, distributor and retail outlet, supplying tricks and accessories to magicians around the world."

If you haven't already, check out their blog, Perfect Magic Then and Now, where Evelyn shares wonderful stories from her 30+ years of experience in the magic business.  If you keep tabs on their Facebook page or Twitter feed, you will be notified when new blog posts are up.

Did you know that Phil is also a professional ragtime piano player?  Browse through his YouTube channel! I enjoy both of his CD's, Ragtime Daze and Ragtime Magic.

I had the pleasure of meeting both Evelyn and Phil at this year's Spring CAM-JAM.  They are warm, and wonderful people!

Thank you Evelyn and Phil, for your constant support of the Canadian magic scene and your sponsorship of this website!

Toronto: Mark Lewis Hypnosis Show

From Ticketwise:

Date: Saturday - July 6, 2013
Location: The LOT - Toronto - Cabaret 

Mark Lewis in his new show displays the incredible hypnotic powers of the mind in ways often hilarious... sometimes spine-chilling...but always fascinating.

The show consists of volunteers being hypnotized on stage and participating in various comedy situations.

Read more and buy tickets.

Reviews: Luminato 2013

From Musical Toronto:

Luminato failed to show its hand with the first of its magic-themed shows, which opened at Mazzoleni Hall on Friday night. The title is Concerto for Piano and Pasteboards. It’s a fine show.  But it has almost nothing to do with pianos and everything to do with card tricks.

It’s a short, sweet magic show where the assistant doesn’t mutely stand at the magician’s side in a sequined suit but plays a grand piano instead.

Read more.

From Torontoist:

When Miguel Puga first spoke after performing a couple of introductory card tricks, it was in part to apologize for his broken English. The Spaniard, known also as MagoMigue (yes, that’s pretty much Spanish for Magic Mike), may not have the greatest command of the language, but he then proceeded to prove his assertion, as trite as it may sound, that magic possesses a universal power that can transcend ordinary communication. Blessed with a naturally funny presence and an undeniable gift for showmanship, Puga’s expert card manipulations were every bit as impressive as the apparent telepathic abilities he put to good effect on more than one occasion.

Read more.

From The Star:

By Miguel Puga & Miguel Aparicio. Presented by Luminato. To June 16. Mazzoleni Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-368-4849 (luminatofestival.com) 

The piano gets equal billing in Miguel Puga and Miguel Aparicio’s show Concerto for Piano & Pasteboards, being presented in the opening days of Luminato. But this is really all about 90 minutes of Puga’s magic tricks, not the art of the keyboard.

Read more.

[via Sharing Wonder]

The secret's out!

From the Sorcerers Safari Facebook page:

Many parents & friends who do not attend camp are left wondering just how/why/what makes camp so awesome that their kids actually get a job so they can come back the next year. Here is a GREAT article written by Nicole Lee that outlines just what we do in the woods of Ontario for a week every summer and why it works!

Get it FREE at www.vanishmagazine.com
You'll want to click on 'Edition 8' and head to page 98 for the goods.

The article in Vanish Magazine has some awesome photos taken by Carey Lauder that summer, which really add to the text that you may have previously seen.

Murray Sawchuck on Hallmark and TLC in June

From iTricks:

Murray Sawchuck will be popping up on your television a few times in the next few weeks. As you see above, he will be cooking and doing magic for Marie Osmond on her Hallmark Channel talk show June 17th.

Read more.

The Dave Attwood Show

Check out the Dave Attwood Show, where Dave interviews folks like Murray Hatfield, Jason Verners, Rafael Benetar, Michael Machek, Shawn Farquhar, Dirk Losander, JC Sum, Richard Turner and Matthew Johnson.