30 September 2013

Broken wand: Ray Parker

From the Times Colonist:
PARKER, Raymond May 25, 1929 - July 15, 2013 Ray passed away peacefully at the Royal Jubilee Hospice, surrounded by his family. Born in Wolverhampton, England, Ray, a noted entertainer, performed his first show at the age of eleven as a puppeteer. He soon expanded his skills to include acting, clowning, mime, dance, singing, and stand-up comedy. At the age of eighteen, while in the British armed forces, he performed in East Africa, while serving as a Royal Engineer. During this time, he developed an impersonation act, which led to theatre, BBC television, and radio engagements. In 1965, Ray and his young family immigrated to Canada, where his career continued to flourish. Ray's acts included his children as a family of clowns, performing vaudevillian slapstick comedy. At the age of 50, Ray fell in love with magic, and thrilled his audiences with yet another dazzling talent.


Read more.



29 September 2013

Rounding the Western rings in October

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.  

CityClubEvent(s)
Calgary, ABRing 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring)- n/a
Edmonton, ABEdmonton Magic Club- n/a
Winnipeg, MBThe Magic Club of Winnipeg- n/a
Vancouver, BCRing 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)- n/a
Vancouver, BCSAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)- n/a
Victoria, BCRing 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - n/a
 

Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Ontario rings in October

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Hamilton, ONRing 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club) - cards and coins
London, ONRing 265 (London Magician's Guild)- schemes, swindles and scams
Kitchener, ONRing 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)- Shane Cobalt lecture
Ottawa, ONRing 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians) - n/a
Ottawa, ONOttawa / Gatineau magicians- n/a
Toronto, ONRing 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club) Tyler Wilson lecture
 

Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Eastern rings in October

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.


Halifax, NSRing 316 (Conjourer's Court) -  Halloween Magic
St. John, NBMagic Circle of St. John- n/a


Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

28 September 2013

Ray Chance: cameo in Shawn Desman's Stuck video

Go over to Much Music and watch Toronto magician Ray Chance's cameo in Shawn Desman's new video, "Stuck".  Ray appears at about the 1:30 mark.

To see more of Ray's magic, visit his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/chancemagic which includes his appearances on Much Music, Breakfast Television and stage show clips.

27 September 2013

Fundraiser: Stop the Sucking

From Ring 17:
The Mosquitoes Suck Project, organized by SoChange, has released an instructional download including tricks from:
  • Bill Abbott
  • James Alan
  • Joshua Jay
  • Anthony Lindan
  • Bobby Motta
  • David Peck
  • Brian Roberts
  • Jay Sankey
For $10, you get a 106-minute, 3gb download of original magic. The download is available from dontbiteme.ca. $10 is the cost of an insecticide treated bed net, including delivery, which protects a family for up to ten years. These nets are distributed in Africa by Spread The Net. So download your copy today!

Read more and buy a download to Stop the Sucking.

26 September 2013

A second season of Breaking Magic

From The Futon Critic:
(Silver Spring, MD)-Discovery Networks International (DNI) today announced the return of original series BREAKING MAGIC. Behind every trick is science, and this 14x30 series from Objective Productions brings back its international cast of magicians,  Ben Hanlin, Billy Kidd, Wayne Houchin, along with newcomer, Nate Staniforth, for even more mesmerizing stunts and street magic. BREAKING MAGIC will premiere on Discovery Channel in 224 countries across Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America beginning February 2014. 
Read more.