London: Keith Brown at the 2017 Fringe (and Rogers TV)

Congratulations Keith, on getting one of the early bird spots for the London Fringe!

From Absolute Magic:

Keith Brown will be performing 6 shows at the London Fringe between May 30 - June 10

 

And if you wonder what he is all about, you can watch him on this clip from Keith's September appearance on Rogers TV.

Toronto: Daniel Steep at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

It's been a while since I was at the RAWF.  If I recall correctly, it was for one of Kidlet's school field trips.  We would have had so much fun if The Agri-Magic show had been playing when we went!


From the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair:

Visit Ag-Tivity Central and join Canadian magician Daniel Steep as he introduces families to the magical world of Canadian farming and agriculture. This high-energy, educational and interactive show is dedicated to creating a positive image of the Canadian Farmer and Ag Awareness. 

From the Twitter feed of The Agri-Magic Show:

Matilda and Dan met @rickvaive22 today at @THERAWF - see our daily @agrimagicshow in AgTivity Central! #RAWF16 #RoyalWinterFair #rawf pic.twitter.com/0ng7JlbScA

— The Agri-Magic Show (@agrimagicshow) November 6, 2016

Random thoughts from the Browser's Den of Magic 41st anniversary party

I had the pleasure of spending some time at the Browser's Den of Magic 41st anniversary party on Sunday.  A great time, appeared to be had by all!  Here are a few random thoughts:

• I missed the auction, but heard it was absolutely packed, with a lot of great deals to be had.
• There are lots of a amazing finds and deals in the Back Room.

• Found something unexpected for sale @theBrowsersDen back room. Also had a great price on H. Anderson's jumbo cards. pic.twitter.com/NrZl9IyqL6

  — Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) November 6, 2016

• The trivia segment was great fun, as always.  Jeff has a lot of very knowledgeable patrons!
• Among other things, trivia question answers included: Jeff Hinchliffe, Abdurrahman Ahmed, and 1995.

• The back room find @theBrowsersDen foreshadowed the answer to an impromptu trivia question! pic.twitter.com/mdGQTbkspW

  — Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) November 6, 2016

• Jeff never stopped working the whole day @theBrowsersDen anniversary party! pic.twitter.com/47uvFAgcII

  — Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) November 6, 2016

• Congratulations to Ryan Murray, the year's recipient of @theBrowsersDen Len Cooper Memorial Award! pic.twitter.com/a39GWQjeD2

  — Canada's Magic (@canadasmagic) November 6, 2016

•  Congratulations on another great anniversary event, Jeff et al!

Welcoming new Friends: The Outerbridges

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friends, The Outerbridges!

I first met Ted and Marion Outerbridge at Sorcerers Safari a couple of summers back.  You may have seen them at the IBM convention in Jacksonville in 2015, or this past year in the Grand Gala performance at the CAMaraderie Convention/Festival de magie de Québec, or at at SAM New York's "2016 Salute to Magic."

I had the pleasure of seeing their full stage show earlier this year, and attending their recent lecture at IBM Ring 17.  They are truly a talented and delightful duo!  (As an aside, it's worth the price of admission to see Ted sporting the "mirror ball" jacket hand crafted by Marion.  Photos do not do it justice.  It is absolutely eye-popping and dazzling!)

Thank you Marion and Ted, for becoming official Friends of Canada's Magic!

David Blaine special on CTV

From World Screen TV Real:

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.

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.

Toronto: Jason Palter and Ken Margoe

From Jason Palter's Facebook page:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Top 5 posts in October 2016

Out of the 35+ posts at Canada's Magic this month, here are the 5 most viewed posts in the past 30 days:

5. Ty Reveen in the Calgary Herald - Making news, where ever he goes.

4.  Edmonton: Outerbridge lecture - I'm looking forward to seeing them lecture in Toronto later this week.

3.  University of Toronto magic club 2016 - 2017 - Making university more magical.

2.  Vote for Murray SawChuck to co-host "Live with Kelly and You" - Murray is always up to something interesting!

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1.  2016 Shriners' "Holiday Magic Show" and Firefighters' Fundraising - Great people raising money for a great cause!

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!

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

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.

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.

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.