Diary of a Sorcerers Safari newbie - part 12

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A camper's notebook.

Day 6: Wednesday August 19th*

So sad.  This is the last time we’re going to be in the Mess Hall.  One last round of table banging and cheering.  I hate today.  I wish camp could go on forever.

I better finish packing.

6pm
We got our stuff out of the cabins and sorted our bags on the same field where we arrived.  Everybody was a happy kind of sad.  People were signing name tags and arms and books and stuff.  I overheard Daryl say that he was amazed that he learned stuff starting at the very first day of camp.  He said he “came here expecting to teach, but (he) didn’t expect to learn.”  That’s cool!

I wish camp were longer.

Everyone was saying that this was the “Best Year Ever.”  Even though it was my first year, I’d have to agree.  There’s no way they could make camp any better than this! 

Loading the bus.

Dad came and got me just as the bus was leaving.  I kind of wish I’d taken the bus, just to be together with my new friends for a a little bit longer.  But I can sleep in the car when Dad drives.  He doesn’t ask me nearly as many questions as Mom.  And I was so tired. 

It’s good to be home, but In the words of one of my new BFFs,

"I wish I could sleep for 360 days. So I could miss the school year and when I wake up it would be time for camp again."

--
A question to the reader:  Was Alex a girl or a boy?  What lead you to that conclusion?



A special thank you to the campers who let me interview them for this article (in no particular order):

• Ryan from Mississauga, ON
• Astrid from Grimsby, ON
• Landon from Toronto, ON
• Thomas from Montreal, QC
• Serena from Toronto, ON
• Angelique from Grimsby, ON
• Stephanie from Bermuda
• Peter from Toronto, ON
• Cathy from Toronto, ON
• Paolo from Toronto, ON
• Brad from Orillia, ON

and to all the other campers (and staff) that let me ask them questions throughout their stay!

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The 2016 season of Sorcerers Safari will run from Sunday August 7th through Friday August 12th, 2016. For more information, or to register, please visit SorcerersSafari.ca

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* The “Diary of a Sorcerers Safari Newbie” is primarily based on the 2015 camp season.  It is an aggregate of many perspectives, and at times includes events from previous years.

Winnipeg: There's magic at the Fringe

The Winnipeg Fringe runs from July 13 to 24.

From the Winnipeg Fringe:

• 6 Quick Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation by Tim Motley

• Absolute Magic by Keith Brown

• Charlatan! by Travis Bernhardt

• David Eliot Presents EVOLUTION - A Journey Through Magic by Eliot Entertainment

• The Magic of Kindness by Comedy Illusions of Greg Wood, directed by James Carey Lauder

Read more and buy tickets.

Television magicians from decades long gone

Two Canadians in the top 8!

From Me TV Chicago's article "8 Magicians Who Dazzled Us on TV as Children":

1. DOUG HENNING

With his bedazzled overalls and beaming smile, Henning was the perfect man to introduce children to the world of magic, a lovable character akin to Gallagher or Slim Goodbody. The Canadian first broke in this country on Broadway, earning a Tony nom for his 1974 production, The Magic Show. A year after that opening, 50 million viewers tuned in for the TV special Doug Henning's World of Magic. The escape artist and lover of Houdini went on to create stage tricks for Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson tours.

2. THE AMAZING RANDI

James Randi is as well known for his skepticism as his illusions. The performer famously offered $1,000 (then $10,000, then $1,000,000) to anyone who could prove the existence of the supernatural. He's still waiting to pay out. Randi, seen here on the cover of Dynamite magazine, had a mission to expose charlatans posing as naturally gifted psychics. He would especially work to debunk the following man, his nemesis…

 Read more.

Catching up with David Peck's "Face 2 Face"

Edited at 10:15am to add a list of magicians David's interviewed over the years:

• Matthew Disero - episode 3
• Jay Sankey - episode 5
• David Merry - episode 27
• Anthony Lindan - episode 45
• Gabe Fajuri - episode 48
• Tom Ogden - episode 102
• David Ben - episode 145
• James Alan and Mike Close - episode 79
• Lawrence Hass - episode 150
• Viveka Melki - 177 - On the Circus
• Marcie Hume - filmmaker - about the movie "Magicians" - episode 187
• Jeff McBride - episode 188
• Mac King - episode 189

Coming soon:

• Lawrence Hass (Part 2)
• Bobby Motta 
• Jeff and Tessa Evason
• Matthew Disero (Part 2) 

David's got a long list of interesting guests on his "Face 2 Face" podcasts this year.  Check out his interviewees, then click through to his site and have a listen!  (I'm hoping to get a chance to listen to the Mac King and Jeff McBride interviews soon.)

From David Peck Live:

• Greg Paul – Episode 193

• Brian McKenna  – Ep. 192

• Alex Hinton – Episode 191

• Jay Whitelaw – Episode 190

• Mac King – Episode 189

• Jeff McBride – Episode 188

• Marcie Hume – Episode 187

• Michael Coren – Episode 186

• Mitch Abrams – Episode 185

• Nicholas Greco – Episode 184

• Susanne Regina Meures – Episode 183

• Peter Stockland – Episode 182

• Christal Earle – Episode 181

• Alethea Arnaquq – Episode 180

• Todd & Jedd Wider – Episode 179

• Anjali Nayar – Episode 178

• Viveka Melki – Episode 177

• “Best and Most Beautiful Things” – Ep. 176

Read more and listen to podcasts.

Mike Fisher on being a magician

From Mike Fisher's Facebook note*:

To be a magician it seems to me,
you have to get good at things others can’t see.
Practice for hours when you’d rather go out,
Explain to the client what your shows all about.
Create a performance to fit a challenging budget,
Perform for a crowd that can’t help but judge it.

To be a magician performing shows can be tough,
some times your best just isn’t enough.
Arrive at a venue with no sound system inside her,
Argue with the client it was on the rider.
Set up your show and learn most of it won’t fit,
weeks of rehearsals all gone to sh*t. 

To be a magician and perform for the public,
often does terrible things to ones stomach.
Unruly children and parents who don’t care,
heads tilted downward into phones they stare.
Volunteers from the audience who’d rather not join you,
disrupt your act and often upstage you. 

To be a magician running a business is hard,
no one is begging for my contact card.
Facebook adds are expensive, Newspaper’s dead,
I’m never sure if my twitter feed’s read.
Cleaning my suit and repairing an old prop,
buying new magic spending won’t stop.

To be a magician and have a great show,
is a powerful drug that many can’t know.
The feeling you get when an effect goes right,
smiles from the audience -- a beautiful sight.
Line ups for autographs, people asking for more,
Inquiring about your next stop on the tour.

To be a magician is a wonderful thing, sometimes you cry, sometimes you sing.

--
* Reprinted with permission from Mike.