Happy 2021!

Wishing you and yours a year filled with health, joy, and wonder.

Starting the New Year with some of our favourite faces!

From Brent and Sarah's YouTube channel:

 

In memoriam 2020

Remembering those who have passed this year.  Through your passion and spirit you have helped shape the magic community in Canada and around the world.  Thank you.

• Baxter, Thomas
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dickson, Steve (1959 - 2020) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Hofman, Maarten (Martin)  (1931.05.12 - 2020.01.25)
   
  
   
  
• Lang, Robert (Bob)  (1930 - 2020)
  
  
  
  
• Lauk, Leonard Edward (Len) (1932.11.05 - 2020.10.30)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Manchild, Isreal
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Matlin, Evelyn (1940 - 2020)
  
  
  
  
   
  

 

• Murdoch, David (1941.09.16 - 2020.10.26)
  
  
  
  
  
• Nelson, Wayne
   
  
  
  
  
• Randi, James (1928 - 2020) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Staats, Herb
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Wildbaum, Paul (1957 - 2020) 
  
  
  
  
  

Please email additions or corrections to "canadasmagic at gmail dot com" 

Top 5 posts in December 2020

There were 30+ posts at Canada's Magic this month.  Here are the 5 most viewed posts in the past 30 days: 

5. Who are the top 10 Canadian magicians of all time? - This is an OLD post.  I wonder if the submissions would be different today?  

4. Shawn Farquhar: Hidden Wonders, Session with, and Cabaret of Wonders! - Shawn's a busy guy! 

3. Mail as Medicine: Request for Katie (The Great) Hunt - I hope Katie and Doug got lots of mail!

2. 2020 Readers' Choice award results - Congratulations everyone!

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1.  Vote now for the 2020 Readers' Choice Award  - Thank you everyone for participating!  Results here.

Thank you for your support in 2020!

We couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to our readers, our fans, our followers, our wonderful guest posters, Michael Close and The Browser's Den of Magic who offered up prizes for contests, those who sent news our way, and last but not least, thank you to all of this year's friends (John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, Ian Crawford, Matt DiSero, James Renoire, Gwyn Auger, Jason Maiuri, Doug Hunt, John Smithman, Richard Hough, Robin Dawes, Eric Bedard, Loran, Peter Mennie, and David Johnson and all of our 2020 sponsors (be sure to support them!):

 

For more information about purchasing Sponsored Posts or about our Platinum, Gold, or Silver level sponsorships, please visit our Sponsorship page.

Or you can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year! 

Donations of any size are always welcome.

A lifetime of achievement: Romaine (Roman Szydlowski)

Prompted by Luiz Castro, we're here to remind you of the contributions of the wonderful talents of Romaine. 

From Luiz:

He has been one of Canada's hidden talent for too long.  He shared stage with the best magicians, has been a mentor to many famous magicians and inspiration to thousands.  If you ever had a chance to sit down with him you know that you always learned something new from him.
 
One of the best Manipulators from Canada. 

In August of 2019, Jeff Pinsky hosted an event at The Browser's Den of Magic  to honour the life and magic of Romaine.  Jeff wrote:

Every once in a while we should remember that we have hidden treasures of magic in our own backyard, and we'd like to remind you of one now.

He performed for 17 years with Canadair (which is the Canadian equivalent of the U.S.O.) and has performed all over the world, including in Spain, France, Switzerland and Belgium. 

He's been featured in movies such as "Agency" (with Robert Mitchum and Lee Major) and he performed at the Bermuda Festival with Victor Borge.

In the world of magic, Romaine was a secret source of knowledge for many of the top acts in the world. Frank Garcia even published some of Romaine's close-up miracles in his (now hard to get) books.

In the April 2005 Genii magazine there was full feature article about Romaine written by David Acer. 

In the article, Acer reminds Romaine of something that took place at the CAM Convention in 2003. Romaine gave the introduction for Jeff McBride's lecture. McBride, who has long been a vocal fan of Romaine, dropped to his knees during the introduction and proclaimed "my guru, my guru!" 

Magicpedia has a wonderful article about Romaine which includes videos of his card and ball manipulation and his impossible card trick, Double Kicker.

Photos of the August 2019 event have been shared on Facebook by A FA Pika:

 

 

2020 Readers' Choice award results

 Thank you all for participating in the spirit in which the awards were intended:

a fun way to recognize and celebrate all of the wonderful things being done by the fabulous talent in our country.

Over 190 votes were cast in this "bragging rights" only contest.  You all have a lot of devoted fans!

Here are the results of our fifth annual "Readers' Choice Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award!

 

Some general comments were submitted:

• "Regardless of who wins, I hope they are all considered for Allan Slaight awards."
   
  Excellent observation, I hope that our readers respond accordingly when Allan Slaight Award nominations open in the New Year!
    
  
• "They were all Fantastic," "Everyone is great!"
   
  
• "Thanks again for doing this... "
   
  You are very welcome!  Thank you for helping spread the word about Canada's wonderful talent!
  
  

 

 

Beacons of Inspiration (in alphabetical order by surname)

Gwyn Auger (aka The Magic Assistant)

Nominated by Jonathan I. who wrote:
"The bigger the magic, the more important all of the team players are, and when it comes to a magic community, the same definitely applies. For me, personally, when I returned to magic about 10 years ago, Gwyn kindly befriended me (not knowing who I was) and it’s been an important part of my ongoing journey through the art of magic. She’s been quite an ambassador for the art and is one of those glues that holds a community together—which is especially important during a time like this. So, I humbly nominate Gwyn for this recognition."

Editor's note:

• Gwyn was interviewed by Bruce Kalver last month, as part of the Backstage SAM Podcast series.
  

Website: Magician.org/member/magicassistant.

 

Comments from Gwyn's fans include:
- Gwyn Rocks!

Ryan Joyce and Graeme Reed (aka Graemazing)

Nominated by Ryan P. who wrote:
"They have been producing a ton of stuff, podcasts, tv shows, pizza parties and more all giving an opportunity for other Canadian magicians to perform and connect. The high quality standards of their production are certainly inspiring to me!"

Additionally, Graeme was nominated by Doug H. who wrote:
"He has not let COVID 19 interfere with his ability to present his magic. He has and continues to perform his excellent Magic in awesome creative ways - online. He is not only the most entertaining guy I know, he's Graemazing!"

Editor's note:

• In the early days of The Great Pause, Ryan and Graeme hosted Magicians Pizza Party events to help the community feel less isolated.
  
• Ryan started The Elora Fergus Podcast to foster a sense of community in that area.
  
• Graeme hosted a free virtual magic show over the summer.
  
• Since March, Ryan and Graeme have produced over 50 Magicians Talking Magic podcasts, including a series devoted to skills development during lockdown. 
  (Yesterday they released their 100th episode!)
  
• They had their first ever virtual OWOW Magic Festival, which boasted a Hallowe'en special featuring Nicholas Wallace, Joan Caesar, Graeme Reed, Mark Clearview, and Scott Hammell.
  

 

Website:  RyanJoyce.com and GraemeReedMagic.com.

Comments from Ryan and Graeme's fans include:
- These guys are amazing. Entertaining and creative.
- Graeme is great, but that Ryan guy is ...
  [Editor's note:  Ryan, cut that out!]

Magicana (David Ben and Julie Eng)
Nominated by Ben T. who wrote:
"My nomination this year is Magicana. Not only did they start the year off by helping curate the Art of Illusion exhibit at the AGO - which created all sorts of new magic fans - but they also mobilized quickly to set up the "Allan Slaight Magicians Relief Fund" to help magicians across Canada deal with the pandemic."
"Because of all that they've done for the community this year, I nominate Magicana!"

Editor's note:

• The Illusions: The Art of Magic exhibit at the AGO featured more than 55 colourful vintage posters from the Allan Slaight Collection, in addition to employing many local magicians.
• They handled the implementation and administration of the Allan Slaight Relief Fund, which helped to defray cost-of-living expenses incurred by professional Canadian magicians early in The Great Pause.
  
• Magicana also runs the annual Allan Slaight Awards which recognize excellence in magic.
  

 

Website:  Magicana.com

Comments from Magicana's fans include:
- The work this team puts together is essential to our magic community. They are truly keeping the spirit alive.
- that AGO thing was awesome for bringing magic to a multitude of muggles

Phil Pivnick (aka WonderPhil)
Nominated by Ian C. who wrote:

"Phil is already Toronto’s best family and children’s entertainer (A1 media) and has a 5 star rating on Google and YELP.  But apart from that he is truly a really nice guy. He’s recently started creating magic for sale to the magic community demonstrating his creativity.  He’s really helpful to anyone who asks.  Sitting down for a session with Phil is a roller coaster of ideas.  What if we do this, how about this or that move.  I’ve always been impressed with his business sense and it shows in his marketing and shows."

Editor's note:

• Phil is offering a free livestream magic show on December 13th.
  

Website: MagicInToronto.com

Romaine (aka Roman Szydlowski)

Nominated by Luiz C. who wrote:
"I nominate Romaine ( Roman Szydlowski).  He has been one of Canada's hidden talent for too long.  He shared stage with the best magicians, has been a mentor to many famous magicians and inspiration to thousands.  If you ever had a chance to sit down with him you know that you always learned something new from him."

Editor's note:

• To get a full appreciation for what Luiz hints at above, visit Romaine's biography at Genii Magazine.
  

Comments from Romaine's fans include:
- Best Canadian manipulator of all times.
- While Romaine is not as active in magic these days, and in poor health, this man deserves credit for his longevity and talent.

Editor's Choice

Alex Zander

Nominated by Shawn F. who wrote:
"I would like to nominate Alex Zander, who during this year has united magicians, not only in Canada but around the world by using the IBM JAM online to bring magic into the homes of all of us at no cost. For the first thirty days of the lock down we had a lecture every single day and now, eight months later the IBM JAM continues on a weekly basis to offer all magicians a way to connect. He gained nothing personally from doing this task and it taxed his free time greatly. It's inspiring to see the selfless acts of another in support of the greater good."

 

Editor's note:

• Alex, the youngest IBM President, finished his term with tough decisions to make about the IBM Convention.
  
• He was part of the organizing committee for this year's virtual PCAM.
  

 
Website: GottaBeMagic.com

Comments from Alex's fans include:
- Hope he wins! He’s worked so hard this whole year and has had many sleepless nights from working out all the tech issues and he deserves this!
- I have attended many of the IBM JAMs (lectured at one too) so I know the great value they've been in keeping the magic community connected when we can't connect in person. Alex even took time to virtually attend my magic club's first digital meeting back in April. He is a tireless worker for the greater good of magicians everywhere and I can't think of a more worthy recipient of the 2020 "Readers' Choice Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award!
- He’s a kind a generous guy...helped me (a total stranger) get tix to the Magic Castle for my 50th for my best friend, mom and husband. It was so special. Thank you Alex!
- Amazing leadership at such a young age!
- A huge thank you for Alex organizing all the IBM JAMs!! Loved them, a great distraction from all the craziness.

 

Readers' Choice

Carisa Hendrix, Miranda Allen, and Richard Lee (aka Team Lucy Darling, The Star Ship Quarantine)
 
Nominated by Anonymous.

Congratulations to Carisa, Miranda, and Richard for winning the 2020 "Readers' Choice Inspirational Canadian Magician of the Year" award!

Keep up the great work!

Website: CarisaHendrix.com, MirandaAllen.ca, and NorthernLightTheatre.com/richard-lee-hsi/.

 

Comments from Carisa, Miranda, and Richard's fans include:
- To go from regularly performing all over the world to a consistent string of high quality online shows (with some runs lasting for months) is a phenomenal effort in these unprecedented times.
- They are absolutely wonderful!!!!
- I am beyond inspired by how these three built an amazing remote show while quarantined together, including building pieces of their set. I'm grateful for their existence!
- Sparkle and joy were in short supply till Lucy did her online show
- All nominees sound outstanding, but the level of professionalism, innovation, dedication, and prestidigitation that Team Lucy Darling puts into their performances is outstanding to say the least. They are the clear winners of this competition and I'd award it to them, not just for the great country of Canada, but arguably for the world as well.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspirational Canadian preschooler(s) of 2020

A first this year.  We've opened up a "preschool category."  No voting.  Just a post featuring enchanting progeny doing their thing!  

Thank you Brooklyn Westfall for being so adorably inspiring!

 

 

 

- Brooklyn Westfall's dad has accepted her nomination from Gwyn A. who wrote:
"I would like to nominate Brooklyn Westfall - she's bringing a fresh young perspective to magic, and showing magicians and people everywhere that magic has no limits. She's inspiring, and breaking down barriers of age, gender and language. She's been an absolute delight to watch which is such a fun treat during these crazy times. Way to go Brooklyn."