01 November 2013

Chris Westfall on M-U-M cover

Read James Alan's article, "Magic Saved My Life," about Chris Westfall in the November issue of M-U-M!

From The Society of American Magicians:
A magician stands at a fork in the road. One path leads to magic; the other path leads to dangerous behavior, possible incarceration, and possible death. (So, let the reader be warned.) Chris Westfall is a remarkable magician in more ways than one. On the surface, he seems fairly ordinary; an arsenal of card tricks, rubber bands around his wrist, a mildly goofy, slightly off-Sankey sense of humor. None of that seems to explain how busy he is. He currently juggles four restaurant gigs in Toronto in addition to professional close-up gigs. In the summer he adds a series of kids’ day-camp workshops that fuels weekends full of children’s shows. Of course, he’s not organized enough to give me an exact figure, but a back-of-an-envelope estimate has him doing about six hundred dates a year.

Read more.

31 October 2013

John Cox is live blogging the Official Houdini Seance in Halifax



You can also, follow @HoudiniWild on Twitter!

The Herald News is also live blogging the event.



Update from John Cox about Halifax Houdini seance


Storytime with The Professor

From John Cox at Wild About Houdini:
The October 2013 Magic Castle Newsletter has launched a new column, "Storytime with The Professor", featuring memorable tales told by the late Dai Vernon. The inaugural story is about, what else, Houdini, and in it Vernon recounts how S.A.M. members once "tricked" Houdini into going into a closest at the New York Hippodrome and locked him inside. "We pulled this trick on him because he was such a terrible egotist," said the man who's own ego was pretty well developed.

Read more.

30 October 2013

Toronto: Browser's Den 38th Anniversary Party

From the Browser's Den of Magic:
BROWSER’S DEN OF MAGIC
38th Anniversary Party
Date: Sunday, November 17, 2013
Cost to Attend: FREE!!

FREE PRIZES * DISCOUNT ON ALL MAGIC ALL DAY LONG * MINI MAGIC AUCTION * * SANDWICHES * COFFEE *SNACKS * MAGIC TRIVIA QUIZ WITH BIG PRIZES * LEN COOPER MEMORIAL AWARD * * SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD * CAKE *

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29 October 2013

WowFest Magic Festival's Young Magician Showcase

From WowFest Magic:
At the upcoming WowFest Magic Festival, happening in February 2014, we want to hand a whole show over to the next generation of magicians! The Young Magician Showcase will feature amazing performers under the age of 20. This is an open invitation to all those young whipper-snappers who want to be a part of WowFest.

Read more.

28 October 2013

Cool couple: Evelyn and Phil Matlin

Happy (upcoming) 55th wedding anniversary Evelyn and Phil!  And happy birthday Evelyn!


From The Canadian Jewish News, "Montreal Weddings" supplement (pg 12 and 13):
When Evelyn and Phil Matlin’s eldest daughter, Ronna, was playing in the basement, she discovered her father’s long forsaken magician’s suitcase. The year was 1964 and the curious 6-year-old begged him to perform magic at her birthday party.

This event sparked the revival of an inherent skill that Phil had honed in his youth, and to this day the world of magic plays an integral role in the family’s life.

Read more.