Rounding the Central rings in January 2016

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

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Rocco lecture. - Eric Jones lecture. - Monthly meetup.
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	-TBA
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- TBA
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- TBA
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- TBA
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- TBA
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Auction.

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in January 2016

Does anybody have current information to share about the Magic Circle of St. John?


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

Halifax, NS	Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)	- Party! - Visit their Facebook page.
St. John, NB	Magic Circle of St. John	- TBA

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

Who was the most watched illusionist of 2015?

The folks over at iTricks have been looking at back at the 2015 magic video stats.  They searched "for the most viewed YouTube video on 2015 featuring the keyword ILLUSIONIST."

The results?  A "video of Darcy Oake on the BBC that gathered about a million and a half views."  (Unfortunately, I could not find a link to the video to which they are referring.)

Way to go Darcy!

Speaking of Darcy, the CBC has video footage of his "'most death-defying' act to date at London's New Year's Day parade."

From the CBC:

Oake, who was born and raised in Winnipeg, pulled off what he calls "literally the most death-defying escape that I've ever done or ever attempted" at the end of the 30th annual parade, performing for hundreds of thousands of spectators in the U.K.

Before bringing to life the parade's theme — 30 years of magic — Oake explained how he would escape and avoid drowning.

Read more and watch video.

[via Clive Court]

 CNN has video of Darcy talking about the stunt.

And here's a great photo taken by Carey Lauder of Darcy doing the same stunt in Winnipeg!

From Carey's Facebook page:

Fiona Gourlay has added me to the landscape and nature challenge, I will work on that right away. But for now here is a shot from Darcy Oake's Edge of Reality tour that finished in Winnipeg this last Friday.
Posted by James Carey Lauder on Sunday, 6 December 2015

Toronto: David Merry at "Magic Tonight"

Confirm details by visiting Abracadabaret.com

Toronto (Sun):  David Merry








James Alan, over at Abracadaberet, has kindly offered the readers of Canada's Magic a coupon code for 50% off tickets to "Magic Tonight!"  Use the coupon code cmagic when you buy your tickets for Magic Tonight to receive your discount*.



--
* Offer is subject to change without notice.  Canada's Magic earns a commission when you use the coupon code cmagic.

Toronto: Free magic club

From the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook page:

This Saturday, January 2nd at Browsers' Den is our next Free Magic Club meeting from 2:30pm to 5:00pm. All interested in talking magic are welcome.

Chris Westfall's "15 second miracles"

Join Chris Westfall as he begins his Project 365 (+1) on Instagram!

From the Chris Westfall Magic Facebook page:

On January 1st I will begin a 365 day + 1 leap year day project of 15 second Instagram videos of Magic Tricks, Sketches, flourishes & skits. The project is called #15secondmiracles and you can follow this adventure on Instagram @ChrisWestfallMagic

Happy 2016!

Wishing you and yours a year filled with awe and wonder!

To start things off, here's a video from Murray Sawchuck's YouTube channel:

A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.


[via iTricks]

In memoriam 2015

Updated 2016-01 to include Paul Bradshaw.

Bradshaw, Paul ( - 2015)

Chervin, Alexander ( - 2015)

Lenz, Eric (1935 - 2015)

Silverman, Larry ( - 2015)

Ward, Joe (1932 - 2015)

Please e-mail additions or corrections to "canadasmagic at gmail dot com"

Thank you for a great 2015!

We couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to our readers, our fans, our followers, our wonderful guest posters (The Magic Demon and Kidlet), people who have offered up prizes for contests (the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Gwyn Auger, Sheldon Casavant, Marion and Ted Outerbridge, and the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema), those who sent news our way, and last but not least, thank you to all of this year's friends (John Smithman, John Harrison, Richard Lyn, and Joan Caesar) and 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.

Top 5 posts in December 2015

Here are the most viewed posts at Canada's Magic this month:

5. Murray's escape from being dragged behind a car -- Here's hoping 2015 didn't feel like Murray must have felt doing this.

4. Darcy Oake's TV special -- What did you think of it?

3. Toronto: Save the date for Magicana -- April 2016  is a busy month for magic in Canada.

2. Shriners' Holiday Magic Shows -- A lot of folks looked you up before going to the show!

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1.  Searching for military paramedic Nathan -- Does anyone have leads for finding Pick Pocket James' guardian angel?

Five deadly magic tricks

From Metro (Toronto):

Scott Hammell did the unthinkable. He asked someone to load a gun, point it at him and pull the trigger. He doesn’t have a death wish, he’s a magician and the subject of a new documentary, The Trick with the Gun, that details the planning and performing of the most dangerous illusion ever devised, the Bullet Catch.

Fourteen magicians have died attempting it and the most famous conjurer of all time, Houdini, never even tried it. Hammell says the trick is risky but, “there are safe ways of doing things that are seemingly extremely dangerous.”

He adds, “obviously things can go wrong and that can have a catastrophic chain reaction.”

There is always room for error and sometimes magicians get hurt or even killed on stage.

Hammell gave Metro an exclusive list of the five most dangerous — and potentially fatal — tricks ever performed on stage.

Read more.

Vancouver: Magic Dinner Show Live 2016

From Event Brite:

Fri, 22 Jan 2016

Your MC is the Award Winning Jeff Christensen. Featuring the North American FISM Champions of Stage Magic Trevor & Lorena Watters and their Comedy Magic Variety Act - Steve The Pretty Good! Pre-dinner Close-Up Magic by the Society of American Magicians #95! Fabulous 9 course Delicious Chinese Banquet Dinner!

Read more and buy tickets.

Darcy Oake at London's New Year’s Day Parade

The lucky audience in Winnipeg got to see this stunt performed!

From the Evening Standard:

Escapologist Darcy Oake is set to attempt the “pinnacle of his career” at the New Year’s Day Parade in London.

Oake, 28, will be suspended with a box locked on his head filled with water. With his hands tied and on one gulp of air he will try and pick locks to escape. 

Writing on his Facebook wall, Oake said the stunt, which he performed for the first time at the end of his 2015 tour on December 5, was "Single handedly the most dangerous thing I've ever done in my life".

Read more.

And now for something completely different

Not magic, but magical in its own way.  Sorry.

From JB's YouTube channel:

A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.


[via Shawn Farquhar]

Benevolence of Magic part 3

Dennis Schick's third annual Benevolence of Magic (in the December "Linking Ring" (v95,12)) features two Canadian projects.  From Dennis:

The first is magician Jeff Christensen from Vancouver. Each year he and his wife and daughter produce “A Magical Evening” in honor and memory of their son, Jonah, to raise money for their Celebrate the Child Foundation, which supports numerous worthy causes.


The other is John Kaplan, also from Vancouver, whose Fundraising Magic program raises money for organizations and communities across Canada.

Well done Jeff and John for your hard work to help others.

Thank you Dennis for sending this information my way!  


Previously featured "Benevolence of Magic" Canadian projects:

• Magicana: Sharing Wonder
• Mosquitoes Suck Tour
• Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp

Canadians at Magi-Fest 2016

Who'd I miss?

From the Magi-Fest website:

Magi-Fest 2016 
Jan 28 - 31 2016, Columbus, Ohio

• Shin Lim
• Eric Leclerc 

 Read more and register.

More "Tricks" to be had

From Magicana:

We've been having a wonderful week full of magic with Tricks at Soulpepper in Toronto. In fact, Sunday's matinée is now sold out.

To accommodate the demand, we've added one more performance to the schedule on Saturday, January 2 at 8:00 PM. Tickets just went on sale, so there are some excellent seats still available so you can be right up close to the action. Don't forget, we have special discounted family packs for groups of four or more (with at least one child).

Read more.

Read this review from Toronto Stage:

As a youngster, I remember my father once cautioning me to watch out for people who ask you to share a secret, used car salesmen of any kind and smooth talkers who want to show you a good card trick.

Falling into the latter category, of course, is David Ben.

That’s because he’s the kind of guy who could make a lot of money hanging out at Union Station mingling with stop over travelers with a little extra time on their side. He may not have anything up his sleeve but he’s definitely got something, somewhere.

The return of Tricks, is anti-pomp and pageantry. The stripped down production relies on basic furnishings to accomplish what great all tricksters need to put on a smoking good show.

Read more.

Watch Luc Langevin baffle Jean-Marc Généreux

A reminder of Luc's upcoming performance dates in France:

Spectacle "Créateur d'illusions" dès le 10 Février 2016 au CASINO DE PARIS
Réservez vite vos places ici : http://bit.ly/Langevin_CDP2016

Et en tournée à travers la France en Mars 2016 :
08 & 09/03/2016 : RUEIL-MALMAISON (92) Théâtre André Malraux
11/03/2016 : LYON (69) Le Radiant
12/03/2016 : MORGES (CH) Théâtre Beausobre
15/03/2016 : TOULOUSE (31) Théâtre Casino Barrière
16/03/2016 : MERIGNAC (33) Le Pin Galant
17/03/2016 : NANTES (44) Cité des Congrès
18/03/2016 : ROUBAIX (59) Le Colisée

From Luc Langevin's YouTube channel:

Anne-Lovely Etienne and Adrien Fichelle interview Luc Lanagevin

From le journal de Montréal:

Il nous fascine. À la télévision comme sur la scène, sa magie est hypnotisante.

L’illusionniste Luc Langevin, originaire de Québec, considère maintenant Montréal comme son chez soi. Il se rappelle d’ailleurs, comme si c’était hier, sa première fois dans la grande métropole lorsqu’il avait visité une boutique de magie. Il nous dévoile maintenant ses adresses chouchous de la ville.

Le restaurant favori ?

Il y en a plusieurs, mais l’un qui me vient spontanément à l’esprit est le Bistro Lustucru. Il est situé sur l’avenue du Parc. Je suis un amateur de tartares et ils en concoctent de très bons, dont les tartares au cerf ou au canard. En fait, leur spécialité est leur bar à cru. Sinon, j’aime le Geppetto, pour leurs pizzas vraiment délicieuses.

Read more (en français).

From Web Mag TV:

Luc Langevin a reçu l'equipe de WebmagTV dans son hotel pour nous parler de son univers et de ses différentes expériences. Il sera du 10 au 21 février 2016 au Casino de Paris. 

Read more and watch video (en français).

Searching for military paramedic Nathan

On August 23rd at approximately 9:30pm, "Pick Pocket" James Harrison was in a bad car accident driving northbound on the 400, just past Hwy 9.  As he swerved to avoid hitting an out of place construction pylon, his tires caught the shoulder causing his black Mazda 5 to roll over.  Twice.

James experienced the best side of humanity that day.  Several people stopped their car to offer help and make sure James was safe.  One gentleman, Nathan, is a military paramedic.  Nathan asked permission and then entered the back passenger section of the car.  He then talked James through the idea that he was going to hold his hands around James' neck to prevent possible spinal cord injuries.

Nathan kept James company, kept him calm, and kept his neck stable until the paramedics arrived.  During this time James learned that Nathan is stationed at Base Borden, effective August 24th.  From the ambulance stretcher, James had a brief moment to shake Nathan's hand and say thank you.  And then Nathan disappeared before James could get any more information about him.

We're very grateful that James only received minor injuries and is recovering well.

Nathan, if this message gets to you, please contact me or contact James directly through his website (http://www.pickpocketmagic.com/).  James would very much like to give you a proper and well deserved "thank you."