Toronto: Wonderz @ Whistler's

From Chris Westfall at the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook page:

Excited to announce the debut of "Wonderz @ Whistler's". It's a hilariously elegant and intimate magical experience hosted and performed by yours truly in this unique set up last Monday of the month! It's magical and delicious! Tickets officially for sale so reserve now at: http://www.chriswestfallmagic.com/public-events/whistlers/

Read more.

Remembering Jack Bateman

On February 19th, I reported on the passing of Jack Bateman.  On March 3rd, Ring 17 sent an e-mail with recollections of Jack by Dick Joiner.  I'm republishing them here, with Dick's permission.

Recollections by past president, Dick Joiner:

Jack L. Bateman, 95, of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, died February 17, 2014, in a local hospital. He was a former member of the I.B.M. (1945-1965), and Ring 17 (Toronto).

He became interested in magic as a schoolboy after watching a performance by magician "Laurante," and magic became a passion the rest of his life. He always carried props in his pockets so he could practice wherever he went. In his youth he developed his comedic talents and an illusion show, featuring his own versions of a "sub trunk" and "cut the lady in six." He invented many tricks, some still on the market, such as "Rub-a-dub-dub," featured on a Bill Malone video.

He also was a teacher of magic; one of his pupils was Doug Henning. He was the Technical Supervisor for Outside Broadcasts for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He developed the first mobile television broadcast units for the CBC.

When he died in the hospital, there was a paddle at his bedside, no doubt to entertain the nurses.

Free Trick Friday: Chris Westfall

From Ring 17's Twitter feed:

Check out @westfallmagic on Murphy's Free Trick Friday http://t.co/HvKLqfUTzi
— Hat & Rabbit Club (@IBMring17) March 7, 2014

Breaking Magic 2

From Discovery:

Wednesdays from 12th March, 8.00pm & 8.30pm

BREAKING MAGIC is back for another season of jaw-dropping illusions and mind-blowing tricks.  Performed by an international, all-star cast of the freshest magic talent, including British Ben Hanlin, alongside  Wayne Houchin, Billy Kidd, and newcomer  Nate Staniforth, each week the stellar cast perform phenomenal street magic, across London, New York and Warsaw, baffling bystanders and audiences at home alike.

Read more.

Broken wand: Sandy Gregory

From The New Brunswick Beacon:

Alexander Payson (Sandy) Gregory, former Saint John city councillor, died on Tuesday of natural causes in the Saint John Regional Hospital. He was 91.

Most commonly known as Sandy, he was a man that wore many hats. If he wasn’t serving the city through council he was putting on a magic show, or becoming the founder of a scuba diving club.

Read more.

From Brenan's:

Alexander Payson "Sandy" Gregory of Rothesay, husband of Mildred A. (Monteith) Gregory, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at the Saint John Regional Hospital.  Born in Saint John on March 10, 1923, he was a son of the late Hugh and Elsa (Payson) Gregory. 

Read more.

From In Memoriam:

GREGORY, ALEXANDER “SANDY” – Alexander Payson “Sandy” Gregory of Rothesay, husband of Mildred A. (Monteith) Gregory, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Born in Saint John on March 10, 1923, he was a son of the late Hugh and Elsa (Payson) Gregory. Sandy was a graduate of Rothesay Collegiate School and the University of New Brunswick.

Read more.

[via The Puppet Lady]

Grateful for our March sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support.  We're pleased to have the support of:

• Clive Court - The Fun-da-Mentalist,
• Evelyn & Phil Matlin, owners of Perfect Magic and
• Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic!

The next time you see them, let them know you saw their sponsorship here!

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.

Port Coquitlam: Thursday night magic

Shawn Farquhar presents Thursday Night Magic at Second Storey Theatre with Steve Dickson, Shawn Farquhar, Tony Chris, Henry Tom and Jason Verners.

For more information, see page 9 of the Ring 92 February report.

[Guest post] An open letter from the president of Ring 17

The following is a guest post from the president of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club .

--

Dear Canada's Magic readers,

It is my responsibility as the president of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club  IBM Ring 17 in Toronto, to clarify a point of some controversy based on my comments in the "President's Message" of the March 2014 newsletter.

By way of background, the club hosted a special lecture on Thursday, February 6, 2014 which featured the cast of the Mosquitoes Suck Project  an instructional magic download designed to raise money to fight malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and featuring such notable magicians as Bill Abbott, Jay Sankey, Joshua Jay, Bobby Motta, David Peck, Anthony Lindan, Brian Roberts and James Alan*. In attempt at humour in stark violation of John Cleese's Three rules of comedy** we dubbed the event, "The Lecture That Sucks."

In our March 2004 newsletter, I reported that the lecture was a complete success, citing well known member and terror of the Internets, The Great Mark Lewis who posted on the Facebook that the lecture sucked:

According to Mark Lewis' posting on Facebook, the the lecture sucked so it was, in principle, a complete success. And more importantly, through the evening, we raised $400 for the Mosquitoes Suck Tour, which translates to 40 bed-nets, which will protect up to 200 people for up to five years. So we are extremely grateful for your support.

In point of fact, his full commentary (divided into two posts before and after the event) was:

I am in great dread that it may not just be the mosquitos that suck.  

Only half of it sucked. Naturally I am far too tactful to say which half.

While Mr. Lewis feels that his views were misrepresented in the newsletter, I believe my remarks were faithful to his original sentiment. Of course it is now up to the reader to decided whether this is, in fact, so.
What's really at issue here is the applicability of the term "sucks" in an environment with an abundance of puns and a deficit of a well defined sense of humour in people with (clearly) too much time on their hands. Does the act of sucking blood automatically imply "sucks" in the pejorative schoolyard sense? Does it work the other way as well? 

The Ring 17 Philosopher in Residence and Professor Emeritus of Ring Reportage of the P. Howard Lyons Ring, Dr. Sammy Jakubowicz suggested, when reached for comment, "We might consult the writings of Lewis Carroll here. He may have been right when he wrote, 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.' On the other hand, he may have been wrong. It is difficult to say with certainty. Why are you bothering me with this anyway? I was out of the country and nowhere near the lecture."

It's also clear that the actual quality of the lecture plays no part forming Mr. Lewis' opinions and can safely be set aside for the purpose of this discussion.

If you feel the need to weigh in on the matter, please feel free to contact the Ring 17 Goodwill Ambassador, Matt DiSero with your thoughts.

Thank you very much for your kind attention as we attempt to resolve this misunderstanding. We look forward to seeing our members at the next meeting, Thursday, March 6, 2014.

*Present on the DVD but absent from the lecture were Joshua Jay, who was reportedly in the United States working on his six-pack and Brian Roberts who was alphabetizing his sock drawer. Matthew DiSero did turn up, somewhat against his will.

**No puns, no puns and no puns.


--

Thank you, I think, for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

Rounding the Western rings in March

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

City	Club	Event(s)
Calgary, AB	Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring)	- Michael Ammar lecture.
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- n/a
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- Michael Ammar lecture.
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle)	- General Meeting we'll be hosting special guest lecturer Michael Ammar! - Third Monday Magic
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Comedy competitions.
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- n/a
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Michael Ammar lecture.

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

Rounding the Ontario rings in March

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

Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- n/a
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- Dollar store magic.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Possible exchange night with Hamilton & London Clubs.
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Stand-up Magic
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- n/a
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Members' night.

 

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in March

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

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- check out their great new website!
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- n/a

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

Manitoba museum an honour to son

Updated at 2:50pm to add:

• Justin Fraser has shared the news that Philip's father, Gordon, recently passed on February 22nd of this year.  Gordon Hornan's obituary can be read at the Winnipeg Free Press or at the Birchwood Funeral Chapel.

 



Philip's Magical Paradise
"Preserving Canada's Magical Heritage with treasures donated by magicians from around the world."

From the Winnipeg Sun:

It's been operating for 22 years in the RM of Ste. Anne and believed to be the only museum of its kind in Western Canada, but most Manitobans have never heard of it.

"We're a hidden treasure out here," Marilyn Hornan said Wednesday morning.

Philip's Magical Paradise is a magic museum that opened south of Winnipeg in the village of Giroux in 1991. It's a tribute to Marilyn and Gordon Hornan's youngest son, Philip Hornan.

Philip had been a magician since he was a youngster and his love for magic only grew as he got older.

"Unfortunately, cancer took him at the age of 15," Gordon said. "His request was to create a room for everyone to enjoy, to keep the magic in life."

Read more.

The article goes on to discuss how "performers who provided items were Gunnarson, Lance Burton, Doug Henning and Peter Reveen."   In addition they mention a piece on display which includes something once owned by Houdini himself!


[via Owen Anderson]

Christopher Hart, Lee Asher et al at the Atlanta Harvest of Magic

From Lee Asher:

#Fun Will you join me, @Kranzo, @cardjon, Harry Anderson, and many others for one of the best kept secrets in magic? http://t.co/ai1l2qjj3K
— Lee Asher (@LeeAsherMagic) February 20, 2014

This year's Atlanta Harvest of Magic runs from September 11-13, 2014.

Also scheduled to appear are friends of Sorcerers Safari: Nathan Kranzo and Steven Kline!

Ken McCreedy at MAWNY

Ken McCreedy from Niagara Falls, is scheduled to perform at this year's MAWNY on Sunday April 27th.  Other performers names listed include: Shaun Robison Glenn Brooks, Brian Miller, David Wu, Pierric, Ouka, Mike Chao, Jay Scott Berry and Rian Lehman. 

Visit the MAWNY website for more information and to register.

Ryan Pilling in Calgary is Awesome

From Calgary is Awesome:

To describe his world would take a novella. “Magic is always moving forward. There’s monthly magazines where everyone is submitting their ideas and tricks [for peer review] like a research papers. A hobbyist would develop a trick, and the professionals would find a way to bring it to the audience.” He continues to describe the magic world as a world-wide community united by the pursuit of the Impossible. “I can be anywhere in the world, and grab the phone book and call a magician. There’s always a sofa somewhere for me to sleep in.”

Read more.

Go over to Demotix to see some photos of Ryan Pilling from this year's WowFest!

James Alan's appearance on CP 24

From Reality Based Magic:

Review: David Acer, John Carney, Michel Huot and Rafael DiCaprio at the Comedy Nest.

From Perfect Magic:

As I wrote on the Perfect Magic Facebook, too bad for you if you didn’t go to the Comedy Nest in Montreal last Sunday night. For us, Phil and I, it was like old home week and brought back warm and pleasant memories of Magie Montréal. We had tried to phone Mephisto, aka Wym Vermeys, who was our partner in that venture but couldn’t reach him. He called the day after the show and said he was in Florida. He was heartbroken that he missed it.

David was terrific as the MC. He did many funny bits, which I know all who were there will use, magicians or not! He didn’t do any magic but some good comic mind reading stuff.

Read more.

Winnipeg: A Family Day of Magic

From the Magic Club of Winnipeg's Facebook page:

The Magic Club of Winnipeg presents, "A Family Day of Magic".
Sunday, April 27, 2014 

Two shows in support of M.T.Y.P. ( Manitoba Theatre For Young People

Read more.

Magically benevolent Canadians

In this month's issue of the Linking Ring (Vol 94, #2, February 2014, pages 30-34), five Canadians were featured in the article "Still Giving:  The Benevolence of Magic Continues, part 3."  They are:

• Marien Hopman and "Busking for Hunger"
• Mike D'Urzo fundraising for "Dental Volunteers for Israel" and volunteering at functions for children with developmental challenges
• Magic Mike Segal for benevolence born out of Sorcerers Safari Magic and Performance Camp

and last but not least

• Matt DiSero and David Peck in their effort to reduce the incidence of malaria via "Mosquitos Suck"

If you recall, Canada also had an entry in the article that started it all in The Linking Ring (v92, #12), Dennis Schick wrote "The Benevolence of Magic" (page 56) which had a lovely mention of Magicana for it's My Magic Hands, Senior Sorcery and Tony Eng Youth Fund initiatives.

Broken wand: W. Doug Hobbs

From The Star:

DOUG HOBBS Peacefully with his family by his side at the Hamilton General Hospital on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at the age of 68 years. Loving husband and best friend of Nannette (Bambi) for 47 years. Devoted father of Shari and her husband Ben Diamond of Winnipeg and Tammi and Tim Tyler of St. Catharines. He will be greatly missed by his grandchildren Laurie, Jessica, Megan, Ethan and Madison. He is survived by his sister Ginny Huebsch. He is predeceased by his daughter Laurie (1976). Doug was a broadcaster/sport director for many years for CKTB Radio, the voice of the Baby Blue Jays, Official Scorekeeper for the Toronto Blue Jays for many years, a lifetime member for the Order of Magicians, as well as an avid swimmer and a collector and lover of music.

Read more.

[via The Linking Ring, Vol 94, #2, February 2014]