Canada's Magic

01 November 2016

Thank you to our November 2016 Friends!

Thank you to John Smithman, John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, and The Outerbridges, 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 November 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.

31 October 2016

Save the date for ReginAcadabra 2017!

From Roger Boucher's post in the Canadaian Association of Magicans Facebook group:

ReginAcadabra is on July 28 & 29 off 2017!

30 October 2016

Montreal: Steve Beam lecture

A quick reminder that Steve will be lecturing in Toronto on November the 13th.

From the Montreal Magic Jam:

Monday November 14

From Las Vegas to Barcelona and from London to Vienna. Steve Beam has lectured all over North America and Europe. His lectures feature the latest in sleight of hand interwoven with the hottest semi-automatic magic from the guy who coined the term. The magic is designed and presented with the audience in mind – magic that will enthrall and entertain.

You will learn clever principles, witness devious subtleties, and experience eye candy with a purpose. All of this while seeing how these ingredients can form more than just tricks. Beam has created well over a thousand magic effects. In addition to publishing The legendary Trapdoor magazine for 15 years (1983-1998), writing 10 volumes of Semi-Automatic Card Tricks, he has published effects and articles in dozens of other magazines throughout the world. He not only creates and publishes his own magic; he also performs and teaches it. So, pull up a chair, take a card, sit back, and prepare to be amazed.

Read more and buy tickets.

Rounding the Western rings in November 2016

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)	- John “Handsome Jack” Lovick Lecture - TBA.
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- John “Handsome Jack” Lovick Lecture
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- John “Handsome Jack” Lovick Lecture
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring )	- John “Handsome Jack” Lovick Lecture - Christmas banquet - Third Monday Magic.
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- Three of Clubs convention - Christmas dinner and stage competition.
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95 (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- TBA
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Three of Clubs convention - John “Handsome Jack” Lovick Lecture

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

Rounding the Central rings in November 2016

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

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Executives meeting. - Trix R Treats Halloween close-up. - Public magic auction.
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Road trip to Buffalo.
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- Walk around, close-up.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Round-table discussion.
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)	- Browser's Den 41st anniversary party - Outerbridge touring secrets lecture

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in November 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)	- 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

29 October 2016

Shawn Farquhar in Forbes

From Forbes:

“What famous magicians do and what birthday party and local magicians do is, at the heart of it, the same thing,” he says. “The only difference is some have been discovered while the others haven’t.”

Just because these more minor gig mean less elaborate tricks and smaller audiences–whether for children at a school, private parties or corporate events–it can still mean money.

Take Shawn Farquhar, for example, the ex-president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians–a society of about 15,000 magicians, 20% of whom are professionals. He says that a magician’s best-kept secret is usually his unexpectedly high earnings.

“Most can make $100,000, no problem, especially if you’re in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago and doing corporate events” he says of professional magicians. While this six figure salary may be a fraction of the $64 million made by David Copperfield (the world’s highest-paid magician), it is still quite a respectable salary.

In his best years, Farquhar makes about ...

Read more.

28 October 2016

Quantity vs quality

I have to agree with Evelyn Matlin's observation about the sheer volume of magic effects brought to market these days. The selection is far greater than I when I first dipped my toe in, *mumble mumble* years ago. I wonder if the quality of the effects, over all, is higher, the same, or lower than back in the day.

From Perfect Magic:

As a magic dealer, I am overwhelmed by the new magic that comes out on a daily basis. Especially because I do the banners on our home page of Perfect Magic and edit the write-ups for our catalog. There seems to be no end to it.

I remember a time when Albert Goshman (think Sponge Balls – Magic by Gosh) came to Montreal to perform at Magie Montreal when we had our Conventions, back in the 80’s. He stayed in our home and we took him to the Brown Derby in the Van Horne Shopping Centre for dinner one evening. Unfortunately, neither Albert nor the Brown Derby are with us any more.

Read more.

27 October 2016

Dean Gunnarson in the Westman Journal

From the Westman Journal:

Imagine being shackled and chained inside a glass box filled with water. It’s a stunt few people can pull off. Escape Artist Dean Gunnarson is going to attempt just that at this year’s Toastmaster’s Conference.

While being on stage and performing in front of people seems to come natural to Gunnarson, the performer has had to overcome fears of his own.

“He has quite an inspirational story. He’s faced a lot of his fears,” said Ryan Sturgeon.

Gunnarson’s attempt to escape the Russian Death Tank will cap off the conference being held Nov. 11-12 at the Victoria Inn.

Read more.

26 October 2016

Tick, tock

Time is running out to take advantage of our October sale offering 40% off yearly sponsorship rates!

Alternately, get your name listed as a friend to the blog for a donation of only $20 a year.

Pay Pal will be used for funds transfer.

James Alan: Face2Face, Mystic Hallowe'en, and Hillsburgh

From Reality Based Magic:

I sat down recently to have a chat with David Peck, the host of the Face2Face Podcast. As far as I can tell, David is a man who never sleeps. In addition to putting out a prodigious number of podcast interviews (mine is number 222) he also teaches in the International Development Program at Humber College, practices magic and has a family.

Read more and listen to podcast.

Also from Reality Based Magic:

Join the live studio audience at the upcoming “Mystic Halloween” Connected Circle Live Show and Dance Party! as mystic guest mediums, tarot card readers and magicians share insights to help you discover your mystical self. Meet the mystics and dance the night away with other audience members.

Halloween costumes optional but encouraged.

The show’s live filming will take place on Friday, October 28th from 5:30pm onwards at Maezo Restaurant + Bar (formerly The Rum Exchange) in downtown Toronto.

Read more and buy tickets.

From Magic and Martini:

Saturday, November 19 & 26

Come enjoy the magic of James Alan at the NEW restaurant of Chopped Canada winner Chef Pam Fanjoy in the Village of Hillsburgh.

Read more and buy tickets.

25 October 2016

Luc Langevin in a show benefiting la Fondation Leuco dystrophie

Get your tickets for the November 3rd benefit show here.

From Luc Langevin's Twitter feed:

Je vous convie au spectacle bénéfice que je donnerai au profit de la Fondation Leuco dystrophie le 3 novembre ! https://t.co/0MIYljFHHj pic.twitter.com/c1vMAaTBow
— Luc Langevin (@LucLangevin) October 3, 2016

24 October 2016

Names announced for Browser's Bash 2017

From the Facebook group for the Browser's Den of Magic:

What do Michael Ammar, David Kaye, Chris Mysterion & Steffi Kay all have in common?

All of them will be at the 2017 Browser's Magic Bash on Saturday, April 1st, 2017!

Plus, card guys, mentalists, stand-up magicians, children's entertainers, jam sessions, close-up, stage performers, great stuff for sale, and everything in-between! If you love magic, the Browser's Magic

Bash 2017 is designed for you!

We hope you will join us for all the fun. Book your ticket today!

Browser's Magic Bash 2017
http://www.browsersden.com/bash

See you at the Bash!

23 October 2016

Magicana invites you to enter the Lyons Den

From Magicana:

Mr. Swiss will now be providing online content on a regular basis for Magicana which can be found here www.magicana.com/lyonsden. His first review will be released this Friday, October 21, featuring the new book The Performance Pieces & Divertissements of the Famous Handsome Jack etc. by Handsome Jack and annotated by John Lovick.

Funding for this project is provided by an endowment to Magicana by the late Pat Lyons. Pat was an accomplished commercial artist, pulled into the world of magic by her husband, P. Howard Lyons. Together they created Ibidem, combining Pat’s individually silkscreened covers and interior illustrations with Howard’s curatorial eye for creative approaches to magic. The Lyons Den, named in honour of Pat and Howard, is just the first of a variety of initiatives being developed by Magicana thanks to the generosity and vision of Pat Lyons.

Read more.

22 October 2016

The Outerbridges in PEI (and Toronto)

Check out the newspaper article, front page photo and two part radio segment with Marion and Ted Outerbridge!

(And if you're in Toronto on November 3rd be sure to to catch the Outerbridges' lecture.)

From the Journal Pioneer:

When Ted Outerbridge was seven years old, a man walked up to him as he was eating in a restaurant and pulled an egg out from behind his ear.

“He blew my mind,” laughed Ted, a native of Montreal.

That slight of hand had a profound impact on Ted’s life, eventually becoming his career as he invented himself as a magician and illusionist.

Joined by his co-star and wife Marion Outerbridge, Ted has been touring North America and Europe for nearly two decades.

The couple’s latest show, “Outerbridge: Clockwork Mysteries” is coming to Summerside’s Harbourfront Theatre on Oct. 22. Tickets are available at the box office and at www.harbourfronttheatre.com.

Read more.

From the Facebook page of Ted and Marion Outerbridge:

Listen to part one of the interview on the Facebook page of Ocean 100:

Listen to part two of the interview on the Facebook page of Ocean 100:

21 October 2016

Vaughan: David Merry at Dave and Busters

From David Merry's Twitter feed:

Filling in this saturday for my pal @bobbymotta at his popular show "Gray Matter" in Vaughan https://t.co/KvoSJAbBdW
— David Merry (@davidmerry) October 18, 2016

20 October 2016

Ray Anderson and Richard Forget in the Northumberland News

From the Northumberland News:

PORT HOPE -- Ray Anderson’s eyes were covered with half-dollar coins and duct tape when he positioned himself behind the wheel of new 2016 Hyundai Tucson.

The Toronto-based magician -- accompanied by Lauria Hyundai’s leasing and sales manager Les Grimshaw in the passenger seat -- buckled his seat belt and sent a prayer to the magic gods that he didn’t destroy any precious merchandise on Saturday, Oct. 15.

“I had Les pretty quiet on the second lap,” Anderson laughed after he successfully drove the SUV blindfolded around the dealership.

“We thought it would be a good way to do something unique and promote our upcoming show.”

On Friday, Oct. 21, Anderson can be seen on stage at the Capitol Theatre battling for the title of best magician during Anderson’s two-man family comedy magic show, ‘The Battle of Magicians: New Show, New Foe Tour’.

The show pits Anderson against world-renown illusionist and winner of Canadian Magician of the Year, Richard Forget, in a performance brawl for your entertainment.

Read more.

19 October 2016

Vote for your favourite ReginAcadabra logo

From the ReginAcadabra Twitter feed:

Help us choose @ReginAcadabra #magicfestival logo. Go to https://t.co/G3f4xEMANq and vote on our final three. #yqr #eventofevents
— ReginAcadabra (@ReginAcadabra) October 18, 2016