Canada's Magic

06 November 2016

David Blaine special on CTV

LOS ANGELES: Electus International has secured deals for the new special David Blaine: Beyond Magic, featuring cameos with Margot Robbie and other celebrities, in the U.K., Australia and Canada.

Electus International sold the finished tapes to Channel 4 in the U.K., Australia’s Network Nine and CTV in Canada. David Blaine: Beyond Magic is slated to air on ABC in the U.S. on November 15.

Read more.

05 November 2016

Toronto: Eric Woolfe in "The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy"

From Owen Anderson's post in the IBM Ring 17 Facebook page:

There is a cool one-man show show running in Toronto until November 13th that features numerous magic routines as part of its narrative of the Klondike gold rush.
Performed by Eric Woolfe who performed at the Browsers Bash two years ago. f.y.i.

From the Eldrich Theatre:

Eric Woolfe and Samara Nicholds formed Eldritch Theatre in 1999 and has since been nominated 15 times for Dora Awards for their outstanding horror productions. Eldritch shows are "Toronto’s Spookiest Stage Shows” (Torontoist) and in “Toronto’s Top 5 Shows To See” (Culture Trip). This fall make Eldritch Theatre a tradition as it’s a “great way to continue the Halloween spirit,” (NOW Magazine).

“An eerie tale of unholy larceny and Klondike gold. Based on the sworn testimony of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal....Strange things loom in the midday moon, where lost men moil for gold.”

The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy is a new play by Eric Woolfe (House at Poe Corner, Doc Wuthergloom’s Haunted Medicine Show)) who uses puppets and close-up magic based on the Faust Legend. Our hero, Brimstone, is caught up in the Canadian Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. An alchemy of historical fact, ancient legend, true stories of Old West grifters and card sharps, the works of HP Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood and Robert Service, and a good deal of heartbreak and whimsy, this epic tale tells the story of a two-bit conman and how he lost his true love to the dark spirits of the North as a result of his greed and lust for gold and “the sure thing” game.

Read more and buy tickets.

04 November 2016

Toronto: Jason Palter and Ken Margoe

From Jason Palter's Facebook page:

03 November 2016

Billy Kidd's episode of The Magicians' Podcast and The Next Great Magician

From The Magician's Podcast:

Canadian born Billy Kidd started life as a child actor and didn't find magic until her twenties. She now lives in Bath and has done it all including street performing, close-up, stage and a ton of television, later this year you will see her on ITV1 attempting to become 'The Next Great Magician' too. In this interview Billy gives us an incredible insight in to what it's like to be a female in our male dominated industry

Read more and listen to podcast.

From Billy Kidd's Twitter feed:

Official like butter...#itv new show #NextGreatMagician starts Sunday's November 6 at 7pm.
I'll be on episode 4. #magic #magicians #itv1 pic.twitter.com/eVaSirhiXS
— Billy Kidd (@Billykiddshow) November 1, 2016

From the ITV Press Centre:

Derren Brown’s Vaudeville Productions and Crook Productions have been commissioned by ITV to co-produce a brand new magic competition show, The Next Great Magician (6 x 60’). Crook Productions is part of Andrew O’Connor and ITV Studios’ Cat’s On The Roof Media, and The Next Great Magician is Crook Productions’ first big entertainment commission since the group’s inception earlier this year.

The series will feature the world’s best magicians performing their greatest tricks, many of them for the first time ever on television, as they compete to be crowned The Next Great Magician.

Read more.

02 November 2016

David Lion on Global News Morning

From Global News:

Now, at 30-years-old, Lion has propelled himself onto the world stage with his brand of magic that he calls Lionism, a blend of arts of astonishment, which includes illusion, mentalism and hypnosis.

“When I was getting into magic, I didn’t want to just be labelled as a magician, because I was also interested in mentalism, which is mind reading and prediction, but I was also interested in hypnosis,” Lion said.

“When I learned all of them, I wanted to combine them into something that didn’t exist already.”

Read more and watch video.

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!