Amherst: Houdini Day

From Wild About Houdini:

Bruce MacNab, author of The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini, has helped arrange a special Houdini Day in Amherst, Nova Scotia, this Sunday, August 3, 2014. The event celebrates Houdini's historic August 3, 1896 performance at the Amherst Academy of Music.

Read more.

Also in the post, it says that "Lucas Wilson will perform Houdini's upside down straitjacket escape from a 100-foot crane."

A special way to mark Houdini's presence in Canada!

Top 5 posts in July 2014

It's been a busy month at Canada's Magic, with 44 posts and over 2000 page loads!  The most popular were:

5. Goodbye to Morrissey Magic -- the end of an era in Toronto - It's been almost a year, but it's still catching people by surprise.

4. Aaron Fisher interviews Chris Mayhew: A Series of Unfortunate Effects 

3. Who's where July 2014 - Keep your eyes open for the August page.

2. Niagara Falls: Mindtrix the Show - Reviews anyone?

and the most viewed (but poorly responded to) post this month  ...

1. How well do you know me? - Never you mind.  I may just inflict the answers on you anyway.

They're all fabulous, of course!

What do the following people have in common, other than the fact that they're all Canadian magicians?

• 2014 FISM North America Champions of Magic Stage, Lorena & Trevor Watters
• 2014 San Diego Comic Con performing Eric Leclerc
• 2014 endurance stunt fundraiser Mark Correia
• Lee Asher who went to Sichuan province this year for their first magic convention 
• Chris Pilsworth  who performed at Magi-Fest this year 
• Greg Frewin, who has recently marked his 9th anniversary in Niagara Falls
• Mike Close, editor of M-U-M and Lisa Close, Graphic Designer for the S.A.M
• 2013 Canadian Magician of the Year, Mike Segal
• Evelyn and Phil Matlin, owners of Perfect Magic

Any idea?

Maybe this will help.  The following magicians also have the same thing in common:

• Anders Fox from Sweden
• Aaron Fisher
• Steven Kline who lectured at IBM/SAM this year
• Asi Wind from New York

They are a fabulous group of people to be sure!   Words can't describe what an opportunity it would be, to be able to be shoulder-to-shoulder in a room with these bright minds and seasoned performers.  What about spending a week with them?

If you're a kid between the ages of 8 and 18, you can!

All of the above folks are scheduled to be at the 2014 season of Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Camp!  (You can read my thoughts on Sorcerers Safari in my post "The secret to Sorcerers Safari's success" or watch the 2013 Magic Camp documentary.)

There will also be many other wonderful and talented people at camp this year.  Too numerous to count.  My apologies if you're going to be there and I neglected to get your name down.

This year Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp runs from Friday August 15^th through to Wednesday August 20^th.  There's still room for a few last-minute registrations.  Register at http://www.sorcererssafari.ca

Reviews: Keith Brown's Exchange

From the CBC:

I’m a brash skeptic who will dismiss any magician’s trick shown to me on video by simply yelling “IT’S VIDEO!” and storming away. I don’t believe in anything supernatural as much as I believe in the human mind’s ability to manipulate and be manipulated, even by itself.

That said, Keith Brown blew my little pumpkin all over the back wall of Venue 5 on Friday night. And not just with his tricks, each of which elicited a reaction from the audience that I suspect would have been the same if we had just seen a shark attack him on stage.

Read more.

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

Baby-faced London, Ont., magician Keith Brown wants to make your fringe experience a magical one, and his one-man, hour-long Exchange hits the mark. Featuring straight-up magic — with playing cards, cellphones and neckties — and an impressive use of a memory palace to memorize a deck of cards, Brown’s sweetness and talent charm the audience. And when he brings out some curious and pointy props for his finale, he brings the show home with stomach-churning impressiveness.

Read more. 

Collingwood: The Young Faust by Sawyer Bullock

From Simcoe:

Local magician Sawyer Bullock will present a new show Aug. 8-9 at Collingwood’s New Life Brethren in Christ Church.

The 19-year-old Wasaga Beach resident, who lived in Stayner growing up, said the show is called Sawyer Bullock Presents The Young Faust.

“It’s an evening of magic, comedy and mentalism,” Bullock said.

He started writing the show about a year ago but said it only started to really come together in the last couple months.

Read more.

You may remember Sawyer was the recipient of the 2012 Tony Eng Youth Fund bursary.

Well done Sawyer!


From Sawyer Bullock's Facebook page:

Post by Sawyer Bullock Magic.

Scott Hood, Executive Committee Member of the I.B.M.

Shawn Farquhar isn't the only Canadian with a new position among the I.B.M. officers this year.  Congratulations to Scott Hood, who was sworn in as an Executive Committee Member!

It's also worth noting that Scott is also the president of the Canadian Association of Magicians.  Thank you Scott for taking on that important role!

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

Eric Leclerc introduced by Kal Penn at Comic Con

Yesterday, Eric Leclerc presented at Comic Con in San Diego. From Zap2It: 

Game Your Brain to Superhero Status will feature Tony Gonzalez (CBS Sports’ “THE NFL TODAY” analyst, You Can’t Lick Your Elbow), Dr. Armand Dorian (ER physician, You Can’t Lick Your Elbow), David Rees (Going Deep with David Rees) and Eric Leclerc (illusionist, Brain Games). Together, the panelists will take attendees through a series of interactive experiments that will mess with your mind and show you that what may seem superhuman is actually within your reach. The panel will take place Friday, July 25, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center, Room 24ABC.

Read more.

Post by Eric Leclerc.

Apparently at Comic Con, they know how to treat volunteers!

Post by Eric Leclerc.