Who's where March 2015

Leave a comment on this post to let us know where you're going to be this month!  (Confirm details with event organizers / venues.)

Leave a comment on this post to let us know where you're going to be this month!

• Magic Mondays with James Jordan in Calgary
   
• From Ben Train's Twitter feed :

  Every Fri & Sat at @DnB_Toronto, come see @bobbymotta and @billabbottlive! 2 shows a night, 8 & 10:15- $20 per show (includes game cards)!
  — Ben Train (@ErdnaseinTO) February 22, 2015 

• From Peter Mennie's Facebook page:
  Post by Peter Mennie - Magician VIP Entertainer.
    
• From Greg Frewin Theatre's Twitter feed:
  

  Don't miss out this #MarchBreak! We're offering matinee and evening performances during March 16-20 at a discounted $ pic.twitter.com/42WQIh1pqp
  — Greg Frewin Theatre (@FrewinTheatre) February 24, 2015

• From Captain Corbin's Twitter feed:
  

  March Break I'm at all the Elgin County Libraries, the Waterloo region, Oshawa, & the St. Thomas Libraries & the Windsor Devonshire Mall!
  — Captain Corbin (@Captain_Corbin) February 18, 2015

Jump to date: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31

1	Brian Roberts at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
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4	From Chris Mayhew's Facebook page: Post by Chris Mayhew.
5	Nicholas Wallace at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
6	Lukas Stark at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic) From the Greg Frewin Theatre's Twitter feed: We're happy to be hosting the Komedy for Kidneys benefit show this year on March 5! http://t.co/4YFbzuOPZG pic.twitter.com/g8AIh8Q2cu — Greg Frewin Theatre (@FrewinTheatre) February 21, 2015
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8	Matt DiSero at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
9	From momondaysLondon's Twitter feed: @KeithHBrown shares his story on March 9. Stacking the Odds! @PaulaMorand @VictoriaLCraig pic.twitter.com/nHIyzWhAnR — momondaysLondon (@momondaysLondon) February 20, 2015
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15	Bobby Motta at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
16	From Peter Mennie's Twitter feed: @canadasmagic And Blue Mountain Village, March 16, 4 pm. Those are the big ones. — Peter Mennie (@petermennie) March 1, 2015
17	Bill Nuvo at Tecumseh Mall
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19	Agri-Magic at Tecumseh Mall   Chris Westfall at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
20	Jayden the Jester at Tecumseh Mall   Chris Westfall at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
21	From Benoit Auger's Twitter feed: Confirmé, @LucLangevin sera présent @exposciences finale régionale de Québec et Chaudière-Appalaches au @ComLevisLauzon le samedi 21 mars! — Benoit Auger (@ben_auger) February 10, 2015   From Peter Mennie's Twitter feed: @canadasmagic Since you're doing it today: Me, Blyth Festival Theatre, March 21, 2pm, $8. http://t.co/RezNlllfTp — Peter Mennie (@petermennie) March 1, 2015
22	Bill Abbott at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)   From Apricity's Twitter feed: Let the magic begin! Huge applause for magician @SheldonCasavant, who will be entertaining us on March 22! http://t.co/C7vbHogGHF — Apricity (@apri_city) February 5, 2015
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26	Brian Roberts at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
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28	From Reveen The Next Generation's Facebook page: Post by Reveen The Next Generation.
29	David Merry at Magic Tonight (50% discount with coupon code cmagic)
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Top 5 posts in February 2015

It's been another busy month for news with over 45posts! Here are the most viewed posts at Canada's Magic this month:

5. Montreal: The McCord Museum magic acquisition - A very big deal! 

4. Thirty seconds with Alex Seaman - Such an accomplished young man. 

3. Thirty seconds with Ben Train - A very good sport. 

2. Thirty seconds with Lisa Close - I could chat with Lisa all day.

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1. Who's where February 2015 - Don't forget to add yourself to next month's list!

Rounding the Western rings in March 2015

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)	- TBA
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- TBA
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- TBA
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring)	- Third Monday Magic
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Jay Scott Berry lecture
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- Chris Westfall lecture
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- TBA

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

Rounding the Central rings in March 2015

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

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Stage work
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Members' Favourite
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- TBA
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- a possible exchange night with Hamilton & London Clubs
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Stand-up Magic
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- n/a
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Browser's Den visit

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in March 2015

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

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- TBA - Visit their Facebook page.
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- TBA

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

Jay Olson and Amir Raz in Consciousness and Cognition

From UBC News:

Magicians have astonished audiences for centuries by subtly, yet powerfully, influencing their decisions. But there has been little systematic study of the psychological factors that make magic tricks work.

Now, a team of researchers from McGill University and UBC has combined the art of conjuring and the science of psychology to demonstrate how certain contextual factors can sway the decisions people make, even though they may feel that they are choosing freely – a finding with potential implications even for daily decision-making.

“We began with a principle of magic that we didn’t fully understand: how magicians influence audiences to choose a particular card without their awareness,” explains Jay Olson, lead author of a new study published in Consciousness and Cognition. “We found that people tend to choose options that are more salient or attention-grabbing, but they don’t know why they chose them,” says Olson, a graduate student in psychiatry in McGill University’s Raz Lab, which investigates psychological phenomena such as attention and consciousness. 

Read more.

This article was also picked up at:

• the Medical Xpress 
• the Science of Us and
• Science 2.0 

Fun Family Day at Dave and Busters

Ontario's Family Day long weekend was just over a week ago.  (As a bonus for the kids it was an extra long, long weekend because of a school Professional Activities day tacked onto the Friday before.)  Going into the weekend, I had high hopes for a low key, low stress relaxing weekend that would include outdoor activities such as skating and tobogganing.

The Universe had other ideas.  To be fair, there was lots of sleeping in and it was very low key and low stress.  (Thank you to the public library for letting us borrow from your DVD collection.)  The weather outside, however, was close to minus 400 degrees with the windchill and I am not a fan of doing anything in that kind of cold.

On the weekend a Tweet from Bill Abbott caught my attention:

"CHICO IS BACK!!! 2 shows only. This Monday 2pm and 4pm"

How could I resist?

We arrived at Dave and Busters an hour before showtime and were warmly greeted at the door by Ben Train.  After we bought our tickets (bring cash), we went into the theatre to find our seats and settle in.  I was very impressed to find that the theatre was almost half full already.  We ordered some yummy food and passed the time by teaching Kidlet how to do a Bruce Posgate knot with the table decor.

Some notes on the show:

• About 10 minutes before showtime, the room was completely sold out.  
• Bobby Motta did a great job of warming up the crowd.
• Bill Abbott was in fine form.
• Kidlet has seen an effect created by Bill, performed a number of times by people who have purchased his product.  It was very educational for Kidlet to see Bill perform it himself!  (And it's always entertaining.)
• It was a delight for me to finally see Bill live, performing someThing I had only seen him do on video.  (And it looks great live!)
• After all these years, Chico is just as precocious as ever.
• Some magical items were on sale after the show ... parents bring some extra cash.
• The show was very entertaining and well worth the ticket price!

As a bonus, on your way out after the show everyone receives a game card which gives you unlimited play on all the non-ticketed games in The Midway.  Needless to say we spent a good chunk of time exploring all the offerings!  (And got some virtual snowboarding and skiing in to boot.)

Thank you Ben, Bill, Bobby and Dave & Busters for being a part of such a fabulous Family Day outing!


From Ben Train's Twitter feed:

Every Fri & Sat at @DnB_Toronto, come see @bobbymotta and @billabbottlive! 2 shows a night, 8 & 10:15- $20 per show (includes game cards)!
— Ben Train (@ErdnaseinTO) February 22, 2015