Canada's Magic

10 August 2016

From Perfect Magic: Phil Matlin vs Julius Caesar

If you’ve been to the Perfect Magic Facebook site, then you know that Phil has a few gigs playing piano for the Cote St. Luc Library on the first Tuesday of the summer months. A piano had been donated to Cote St Luc and it went to Rembrandt Park and was inaugurated by none other than Oliver Jones. The media was there, as well as the politicians and it was a big deal.

The first Tuesday of June came along. We had our plans but nature had other plans. There was a storm the night before and the tarpaulin didn’t do its job and the piano was ruined. But in the tradition of show business, the show went on. Some folks from the library came to our condo and carried down Phil’s electric keyboard and speaker and whatever else and he played. It was not his best show, a little trouble with equipment, and whatnot, but people came over after and said they enjoyed it thoroughly. The other day in the elevator, a lady said to Phil, “You’re the piano player. It was so wonderful.” and he said “If you enjoyed it I’ll be there again this Tuesday.”

Read more.

09 August 2016

Camrose: Reveen at the Camrose Resort Casino

From the Facebook page of Reveen The Legend Continues:

• Sept. 23 (Friday) Camrose AB - Camrose Resort Casino Buy Tickets Now! http://www.camroseresortcasino.com/entertainment/upcoming-events/item/425-reveen
Posted by Reveen The Legend Continues on Tuesday, 26 July 2016

08 August 2016

Grimsby: Incredibrent at the Grimsby Library

From Grimsby Library's Twitter feed:

@IncrediBrent Comedy & Magic Show will be @GrimsbyLibrary in August! FREE | Drop-in https://t.co/Ygo5dOlYX3 pic.twitter.com/4IrZRkfT9m
— Grimsby Library (@GrimsbyLibrary) July 27, 2016

07 August 2016

Paul Romhany in the PQB News

From the PQB News:

After travelling to more than 120 countries around the world, Paul Romhany has decided Qualicum Beach is where he wants to settle down with his wife and son.

Romhany, who is originally from New Zealand, has spent the past 25 years travelling around the world as a magician and Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

It was when he was eight years old that Romhany said he saw a Charlie Chaplin movie — and he was hooked.

“It’s all I’ve ever really done,” Romhany said of his professional career. “I jokingly say that I wasted the first eight years of my life.”

Read more.

[via iTricks]

06 August 2016

Toronto: David Ben in "Hocus Pocus"

Edited September 27th to add:

From Magicana's website: "Receive a 10% discount for shows from December 10 to 21 by entering the code MAGIC10 (near the top right corner of the Buy Tickets page)."

Show dates from December 10 - 31, 2016.

From Magicana:

Spoken word, cinema, sleight-of-hand; the old, the new, the beautiful and the mysterious: it's all Hocus Pocus.

World-renowned magician David Ben returns to Soulpepper's Family Festival with his ever-evolving exploration of spellbinding illusion and wonder. Ancient mysteries with modern twists for all ages performed in an intimate salon-like setting.

Read more and buy tickets.

05 August 2016

Toronto: August 2016 free magic club meeting

From the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook group:

Just a short and friendly reminder that our (free) Magic Club meets this Saturday, August 6 at Browser's Den.

We meet from 2:30 to 5:30pm. All interested in talking about magic are welcome.

04 August 2016

Lee Asher in the Daily Herald

From the Daily Herald:

"There are thousands of us, my friend, worldwide," says Lee Asher, 40, president of 52 Plus Joker (52PlusJoker.org), the playing-card collectors club coming to the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg Oct. 20-22 for the group's Annual Playing Card Collectors Convention. "We're kind of the Comic-Con for playing cards."

While euchre is believed to have led to the addition of the joker to modern decks, to collectors, cards are so much more than finding a decent euchre deck.

"Most every world event that's ever happened since the dawn of time has been documented on a playing card," says Asher, a professional magician from Toronto. "If you can think of something that happened, it's probably on a playing card."

Read more.

03 August 2016

Edmonton: There's magic at the 2016 fringe

The 35th Annual Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival: August 11-21, 2016.

From Fringe Theatre:

Ta Da!
Morton is a young boy who has always dreamed of being a magician. With the school talent show fast approaching, Morton needs to gain confidence in order to share his magic with an audience for the first time. A charming blend of mask, magic and theatre for all ages!

by: Casavant Productions
www.mortonthemagician.com

Murder at the Magic Emporium
Who killed Henning Lee?! Crack the case at this family-friendly whodunit where magic meets mystery. Venture off-Whyte and step into the most unique BYOV of the festival: the Magic Emporium! Join Henning Lee (Magician Kent Wong) and a cast of characters for a night you won’t soon forget. [Free parking]

by: RJK ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES
magicemporium.ca

6 Quick Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation
“BEST OF FEST: PATRON’S PICK” Edmonton Fringe 2015 ALL NEW! Mind-reading! Shakespeare! Time travel! Join Australia’s favourite comedy psychic detective as he pursues a killer in satirical film-noir mentalist style. From the creator of 2 Ruby Knockers… ★★★★&1/2 “An excellent show.” -Edmonton Journal ★★★★&1/2 “Amazing” -Edmonton Sun

by: Tim Motley
www.dirkdarrow.com

Read more and buy tickets.

02 August 2016

Thank you to our August 2016 Friends!

Thank you to John Smithman, John Harrison, Richard Lyn and Joan Caesar for being Friends of Canada's Magic!

It's good to have friends like you.

You too can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year!

Donations of any size are always welcome.

Thank you to our August 2016 sponsors!

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support.

This site would not be possible without their backing.

We're grateful 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.

01 August 2016

Calgary: David Merry at The Laugh Shop

From the Twitter feed of The Laugh Shop Calgary:

@davidmerry headlines Aug 4-6! Thur $12.95, Fri/Sat $19.95 8pm nightly. https://t.co/koV60M0iVR #yyc #yyccomedy pic.twitter.com/IWwtZYm0PZ
— Laugh Shop Calgary (@LaughShopYYC) July 31, 2016

31 July 2016

30 July 2016

Murray SawChuck on Masters of Illusion

From Murray SawChuck's YouTube channel:

[via iTricks]

29 July 2016

Mahdi Gilbert on "Penn and Teller Fool Us" Season 3

A third Canadian magician on Penn and Teller's Fool Us!

Well done Mahdi! You are truly an inspiration.

Watch on Mahdi Gilbert's YouTube channel:

28 July 2016

Shawn Farquhar RVP for SAM Canada

Congratulations Shawn!

From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:

I am happy and honored to announce I am the new RVP for the SAM for Canada. As the founder of SAM #95, a thirty year member, Dean of my Assembly and life time member #363 I look forward to working to make the SAM's presence in Canada bigger and better.

Read more and have your say.

27 July 2016

Did you catch the Magic Master Summit*?

Did you catch any of the presentations in last week's Magic Master Summit? Try as I might, I didn't get to see them all. (A big shout out to Kidlet and KOP for their patience with me as I gorged on magic videos.)

If you missed some or all of the free event last week, fear not! You can purchase a "LIFETIME PASS," and watch the entire event, from beginning to end, over and over, as many times as you like, for less than $6.57 per lecture! (Dave Womach's even offering up a 100% Money Back Guarantee.)

Get Your LIFETIME ACCESS before August 1, 2016 and Save $100!

All 30+ Lectures, $197 USD.

(After Aug 1, 2016 Price is $297)

Some of the videos I watched:

Rick Thomas (Performance and Personality): I could have used some of his advice back in my high school days.
Bill Gladwell (How to make $380,000 / year by "2-walling"): Interesting contract advice.
Dr. Joe Vitale (Easy and OUtrageous Marketing Techniques): Enough said.
Shawn Farquhar (Making Magic More Memorable): Are you a tuxedo person, or a coverall person?)
Chris Randall (Magic and Street Busking): The video includes instructions on two effects.
Greg Frewin (The Creative Process): Greg shared his interesting tactic to get creative time during his cruise performance days.
Murray SawChuck (Marketing and PR for Entertainers): Do you agree with Murray's "random call" theory?
Glen Foster (How to build a HUGE Fanbase): Don't for get to take advantage of his discount for people who have seen this talk.
Robert Stephens (Secrets to Six-Figure Strolling Magic): Fun listening to him describe when things literally hit the fan.
David Farr and Brad Ross (Internet Marketing and Lead Generation): Giving away to Magic Master Summit attendees, for FREE, an information package valued at close to $200!)
Theresa McLean (Secrets to Costuming): Fun stories and great costuming advice.

Purchase your lifetime access today, before prices go up!

--
* Disclosure: I am a Magic Master Summit Affiliate and I am eligible to make a commission with every sale made using the links posted on this site.

26 July 2016

Review: Keith Brown's "Absolute Magic"

From the CBC:

Hotter than Potter!

That's how short, suited, 20-something magician Keith Brown bills himself. He even hawks buttons with that overconfident slogan. It definitely becomes him, though — this guy performs like a motivational speaker on Red Bull.

Read more.

25 July 2016

Does magic have a future on Canadian television?

Of importance, in the last paragraph of Clive's message, he states:

"I want to encourage Canadian magicians who appear on international tv shows to produce an 8-minute video for showing to the people who will be meeting across Canada during the next year to discuss the future of Canadian television. It is our opportunity to change the lousy management of our entertainment resources....particularly television."

From Clive Court's Facebook page:

24 July 2016

The magic of Pokémon Go

From Discourse in Magic:

Unless you’ve been living under the worlds largest rock, I’m sure you’re aware of the hype and excitement of the launch of Pokémon Go.

Whether you feel good about it and you’re excited that nerds are getting out of their dens, and losing some weight. Or you feel bad about it, because people are crowding public places, while still staring at their phones. You cannot deny that it’s launch is one of the most viral launches of anything that we’ve ever seen.

Since magic is a unique art, it’s always interesting when new art forms, games, or technologies come to light, that help us get a better view of what were doing.

So what does magic and Pokémon Go have in common AND WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?

Read more.

23 July 2016

Ryan Joyce on "Penn and Teller Fool Us" Season 3

The US networks are doing a great job of CanCon!

Watch Ryan's outstanding performance on the Penn & Teller Fool Us Season 3 YouTube channel:

Also watch Ryan's video Behind the Scenes EP 1: