Kickstart Mahdi Gilbert's new deck, "Hidden Leaves"

From the "Hidden Leaves" Kickstarter page:

The cards are made from the same Premium Bee Stock used in world class casinos for durability & flexibility. This premium stock has been Crushed Thin so that they can be used for superior and fine card manipulation by card experts worldwide. Finally they have been enveloped in a Smooth Finish so that they are long lasting and glide effortlessly in any environment.

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Every single card in every pack of Hidden Leaves playing cards has been drawn by Mahdi to evoke a nostalgic feel. Crafted with love, this deck is inspired by & a homage to the legendary card artist who in 1885 designed cards for Andrew Dougherty including Tally-Ho.

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Many of Hofzinser's finest deceptions were only possible because of the playing cards of the era. Hidden Leaves playing cards feature no indexes just like playing cards used to be made. This unique feature allows you to explore all sorts of forgotten card transformations, hypnotize your audiences with hallucinations of duplicates, renders well-known prearranged stacks completely invisible (even to magicians).

These are only a sliver of the secrets you will find in Hidden Leaves.

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I have also found through performing with Hidden Leaves that the audience is able to concentrate more on the plot of the card effect you are performing. I believe the reason for this is that there is less information for the spectators to process (they are not seeing a bunch of numbers & letters all the time) which allows them to focus on their cards and the magic that you are presenting.


Read more and back this project.

Fort Macleod: Ben Price's "Rabbit Stew"

From the April 18th article "Empress Theatre to host magic show" by admin in the Macleod Gazette Online:

The Empress Theatre Society plans to pull a rabbit out of its hat with a new fund-raiser on Saturday, April 28.

Magician Ben Price brings his new show Rabbit Stew to the Empress stage at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is by donation and proceeds from the show go to the Empress Theatre Society.

“My new show, Rabbit Stew, is set to hit the stages of festivals around Canada this summer and I thought what better place to premier the show than right close to home?” Price said.

Read more.

Remembering Harry Anderson

By now you have likely heard the news that Harry Anderson passed away last Monday at the age of 65.

Mr. Anderson was kind to me.  Back in 2003 he gave me permission to market an effect of mine that is based on one of his better known routines.  I'm grateful that I was able to thank him in person and see him perform live and lecture, when he came to Ontario in 2012.

Little known fact: David Merry and Harry Anderson are tangentially responsible for the start of this blog!

Our condolences to his family and friends.


Here's what others have to say...

From Matt DiSero's Facebook post:




From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook post:



Some thoughts from John Larroquette on Twitter:

Harry Anderson. He was wicked smart. He was wicked funny. He had a big laugh. He had a big heart. He delighted in legerdemain especially when he caused someone to scratch their head and proclaim; How the hell did you do that? And he could eat a hamster like no one I ever knew.

— John B. Larroquette (@johnlarroquette) April 17, 2018

Markie, Charlie, Marsha, Richard, me and the N.C.gang were on a carnival fun ride with Harry. It was a blast. Out in the cosmos tonight, with his fedora at a rakish angle and a 'Watch this' wink to us, he’s coaxing whoever might be out there with him; Pick a card. Any card.

— John B. Larroquette (@johnlarroquette) April 17, 2018

And from his son, Dash's Facebook post:

Final words from Jeff P:  Thank you again for your kind support of this day.

He asked: Should we do another one? 

What do you think the crowd said?

Super fantastic stage show with:

- Emcee - Dick Joiner  [ http://dickjoiner.com ]

- Nicholas Wallace [ https://www.nickwallace.com ]

- James Alan (bartending on the side?)  [ http://www.jamesalan.ca ]

- Michael Close [ https://www.michaelclose.com ]

- Chris Pilsworth  [ http://www.borntoamaze.com ]

- Pop Haydn  [ http://www.pophaydn.com/ ]

Thank yous to those involved in making The Bash possible:

- Everyone who bought tickets.

- Ahmed, Jon Sy, Andres Gil, Roxanne Talbot, Nicole Winters, Rosemary Reid, Nicole Lee, Eric Simmatis, John Cardella, John Michalson, Shawna Ross York, Lisa Close, Luiz Castro, John Morgan, Cam Dix, Simon Rotstein, Chris Mayhew, and Annie Pinsky.

- Elliot and his crew from EJ Entertainment.

- A big thanks to the staff at the Montecassino.

- Special recognition to Dick Joiner for adding so much fun to the day!

 

Jeff P:

- Took a moment to remember two dear friends we lost.

- A toast in memory of Mr. Nick Sacco and Mr. Bruce Fricker.

 

And in the spirit of thinking of others we will be donating on behalf of all you Bashers out there $500.00 to the Sick Kids Foundation [ https://www.sickkidsfoundation.com ].