Canada's Magic

30 June 2024

Broken wand: John Buitendyk (Arkello the Magician)

Our sincere condolences to John's wife Johanna, his family, and his friends at this difficult time.

Buitendyk, Johannes (John)
With many interests, his longest and deepest interest was magic. For many years, as a side hobby, John performed as “Arkello” the Magician, for kids birthday parties, Corporate family events, at Magic conventions, and as a Guelph Shriner in his earlier years he performed magic and as a clown making balloon animals. John was a longstanding member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians for over 40 years, and as a member of the Guelph Masonic Lodge and the Kitchener and Hamilton Magic Clubs.

Thank you to the support and efforts of Dr. Madani, Dr. Glick, Dr. Molckovsky and all the support staff and nurses at Grand River Cancer Center, St. Mary’s and Guelph General Hospitals.

Forever in our hearts, he will be dearly missed.

Cremation has taken place, with a memorial service being held on Friday, July 26, 2024
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29 June 2024

ICYMI: David Ben awarded Order of Canada

From the June 27th article "Appointment to the Order of Canada -- David Ben" at Magicana:

Congratulations to Magicana’s founder and artistic director, David Ben, on his appointment to the Order of Canada!

The Order of Canada recognizes individuals—trailblazers—who have enriched the lives of others; who have made a difference to Canada.

David Ben is one of those special individuals.

David is a unique individual who has made significant and lasting contributions to the Canadian arts community, specifically in performance art. As a leading figure in the world of magic, David Ben has spent forty-five years exploring, developing, performing, preserving and sharing magic—its repertoire, technique and history—across Canada, and internationally.
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