Mahdi Gilbert: He's Fond of Cards

From Kevin Ho's YouTube channel:

Keith Brown in "Fresh from the Fringe" and at Dave and Busters

Keith Brown's doing a three show run in Collingwood, called "Fresh from the Fringe" November 13 - 15.

He'll also be at Dave and Busters November 27th and 28th.

Learn more about these events at Keith's website, Absolute Magic.

Darcy Oake in the news

Updated at 13:43 EST to add:

• At tomorrow's show in Toronto, there will be a free pre-show conversation with Magic Mike the 2013/2014 Canadian Magician of the Year! The pre-show is approximately 30 minutes in length and will begin at 6:30PM in the lower lobby. Seating is limited and will be available to the first 250 guests. 

A reminder that there's a coupon code you can use to see Darcy's show tomorrow in Toronto.

From the Toronto Sun:

For Darcy Oake, the magic started early. And by accident.

The Winnipeg-born illusionist who vaulted to fame on Britain’s Got Talent last year says his father — veteran sportscaster Scott Oake — inadvertently set him on his career path with a fluke card trick some two decades ago.

“My dad knows zero magic,” explains the 28-year-old Oake. “But there was a deck of cards sitting there and he was just playing with it. He said, ‘Pick one, look at it and put it back in the pack.’ Then he shuffled the cards, reached into the pack, pulled one out and said, ‘That was your card.’ And it was my card!

“I had no idea how he did it. It drove me crazy — until I found out weeks later it was a total accident. He had a one-in-52 chance of getting it right, but played it like he meant to do it. It captivated me — being fooled like that. That’s where it all started for me. Who knows how things would have turned out if that trick hadn’t worked.”

Read more.

From the Globe and Mail:

He’s a Canadian illusionist who appeared – suddenly, right before our eyes – on the world stage. In advance of the upcoming Ontario dates of his cross-country Edge of Reality tour, we spoke to magic man Darcy Oake.

You were a finalist in the 2014 season of Britain’s Got Talent. How did that come about?

They approached me to do the show. I was doing a spot in a variety show in Paris, and I was working a lot on cruise ships. Artistically, it was unsatisfying. But doing Britain’s Got Talent could have been risky. I didn’t want to get there and get buzzed off and ruin everything I’d built up to that point. But they assured me that my style would fit the show perfectly. I went and did it, and it turned out to be the smartest thing I ever did.

But you’re from Winnipeg. Did you pull a British passport out of a hat or something?

Anyone can do any of those talent shows. It’s open. Their show is the biggest one, though. I thought: if I’m going to do one, it’s going to be that one.

Read more.

Toronto: Phil Pivnick at "Magic Tonight"

Confirm details by visiting Abracadabaret.com

Toronto (Sun):  Phil Pivnick








James Alan, over at Abracadaberet, has kindly offered the readers of Canada's Magic a coupon code for 50% off tickets to "Magic Tonight!"  Use the coupon code cmagic when you buy your tickets for Magic Tonight to receive your discount*.



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* Offer is subject to change without notice.  Canada's Magic earns a commission when you use the coupon code cmagic.

Calling all Canadian magicians!

From Clive Court's Facebook page  (originally posted on September 6):

Calling All Canadian magicians! Can you come up with an act, routine or illusion/effect that could be used to mark/celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday? If so you should video it really soon because following the election on October 19, a new Minister of Canadian Heritage will be appointed to look after the planning of the celebrations. The "60s people" they hire to produce the shows will call on the usual selection of singers and musicians across the country. So, as they will be spending your tax dollars...you deserve fair consideration. So I urge Canada's magicians---and all visual entertainers---to pitch the Department of Heritage's "150th Birthday Celebrations" office with your best "patriotic" material. Make them painfully aware that Canada has a really wide range of talented performers not just singers and musicians. They will be finalizing the plans during the next session of Parliament for budget approval October 2016. And money will be distributed across the country to help local celebrations---so be aware of local committees being formed.

Perfect Magic on Magicians and Politicians

From Perfect Magic's blog:

For a brief moment I had a flashback to a Magic Convention.  Dai Vernon, the 80 plus year old legend, with a lot of knowledge and experience. He was a living legend and everyone was trying to get to him, but he wasn’t interested in them. He was only interested in Phil, yes, Phil Matlin, because they were both honky tonk and ragtime piano players and Dai loved that music. even more than magic.

Women were not prominent on the magic scene back then. That’s changing too.

Read more.

Reviews: "The Experts at the Card Table"

From Magicana:

The reviews are starting trickle in on our latest publication, The Experts at the Card Table: 

"This book is a pleasure to page through, and is an important and welcome addition to Erdnasiana." / John Lovick  

"David has made the once-daunting material more accessible than ever. For my first time, I read the text cover to cover, and it all made sense." / Steve Bryant  

"...if you have some card technique under your belt and if you’ve wanted to plunge into the Erdnase pond, this is a great way to experience the material…" / Michael Close

Read more.