Bobby Motta at Crow's Theatre and his American television debut

From Crow's Theatre:

Canada’s most coveted mentalist and mind-reader Bobby Motta retruns to Crow's Theatre with his show Cryptic on February 21st and 22nd.

Hailed by the New York Times as “one of the top mentalists on the planet,” Bobby Motta rides the twists and turns of the human psyche in Cryptic. Bobby sets the stage with tricky mind play, manipulating show-goers with deceptively simple psychology, then he goes deeper, pulling audiences into his mysterious world with his ultra-thrilling style and mesmerizing techniques. He grabs hold and blurs the lines between reality and the paranormal realms as he pulls you in.

Bobby Motta is Canada's own master of the unknown who earns props from celbrities here and abroad, astouding stars like Russell Crowe and Nelly Furtado. His incredible ingenuity and stage effects have also made him one of the industry's most sought after consultants behind the scenes, loaning out his secrets and effect to the consulting teams for worls class magicians lke David Blaine and Criss Angel, and consulting on some of stage and TV's biggest productions.

Read more and buy tickets.

In case you missed it, watch Bobby's American television debut last Fall, as he entertains Steve Harvey.  From Bobby Motta's YouTube channel:

Edmonton: Sheldon Casavant in "Sparks Fly. Magic Happens."

From Fort Edmonton Park:

Join us for an enchanting evening with one of Canada’s most sought-after performers, magician Sheldon Casavant. With sleight of hand and mind-captivating illusions, Sheldon has wowed audiences of all sizes around the world with his contemporary, awe-inspiring style of magic.

Celebrate an early Valentine’s Day with this fast-paced, interactive, and entrancing show (for you history buffs, there’s even some little known historical facts about the legendary magician Harry Houdini).

So grab your sweetheart or friends and make long-lasting memories together as items vanish, inanimate objects come to life, and impossible feats are overcome – right before your very eyes.

Read more and buy tickets.

From the Fort Edmonton Park Twitter feed:

Join us for an enchanting evening with one of Canada’s most sought-after performers, magician @SheldonCasavant. Just like some of the illusions in the show, tickets will disappear fast so get yours today! #yeg #yegevents pic.twitter.com/i6E0V2VVLU

— Fort Edmonton Park (@FortEdPark) January 26, 2018

Alex Seaman, IBM nominee for International President-Elect

It seems like only last year, when we congratulated you on your then new position of Vice President of IBM!

Congratulations again Alex!  And thank you for all of your hard work.

From Alex's Facebook page:

Toronto: Keith Brown at "The Newest Trick in the Book"

From Keith Brown's Twitter feed:
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.

This Tuesday check me out at @torontomagiccompany The Newest Trick where I will debut a new piece!

Show at 8:30 PM. Pay what you can.#AbsoluteMagic #kbmagic #torontomagiccompany #torontomagic #toronto #toevents #openmic #magic #magicshow #magician #en… https://t.co/kbzfLxwsUf pic.twitter.com/4eHPc1Yfq0

— Keith Brown (@KeithHBrown) February 4, 2018

World record holding Canadian magicians

Late to the game, I recently learned that in 2012, Alberta's Carisa Hendrix set a Guinness World Record for “longest duration fire torch teething”, Los Show Dei Record in Rome, Italy!


From Carisa's webstie:

On April 12th in Rome, Italy in front of a live audience I freaked out when I became a Guinness World Record Holder after successfully holding a flaming torch in my mouth for an incredible 2 minutes and 1 second.

Read more.

By my count, that puts the total of Canadian World Record holding magicians to eight! 

• Doug The Great:  Heaviest Stilts Mastered.  [Guinness World Record]
• Scott Hammell:  Highest Suspension Straitjacket Escape. [Guinness World Record]
• Lucas Wilson:  Fastest Suspension Straitjacket Escape. [Guinness World Record - 2011]
• Carisa Hendrix:  Longest duration fire torch teething. [Guinness World Record - 2012]
• Michael Francis:  Most one-handed coin rolls in a minute. [Guinness World Record - 2013]
• Mark Correia:  Longest Amount of Time Wearing a Straitjacket. [World Record - 2014] 
• The Sentimentalists:  (Chris Mysterion and Steffi Kay) Most items transferred from one mentalist to another.  [World Record - 2017] 

Chris Funk to be on this season's "Masters of Illusions"

Filming happened Thursday and Friday!  How exciting!

Any other Canadian magicians I should know about for this season?

From Chris Funk's Twitter feed:

It begins! #tvshow #mastersofillusion #magic #thewonderist #internationalmanofwonder #lifeontheroad https://t.co/PhU2tghAsK pic.twitter.com/uqEncejwUT

— Chris Funk (@chrisfunkmagic) February 2, 2018

Ryan Joyce interviews Joan Caesar

From Magic Masterclass:

Video profile and podcast with Joan Caesar, a retired teacher, magician and internationally recognized influencer in the world of magic.

In the podcast we talk about:

• As a judge for the largest magic conventions in the world, Joan shares her perspective on what makes a great magic act.
• We talk about her life as a magician.
• We talk about women in magic and why it’s hard to be a woman in magic.
• Why Joan founded the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM)
• Which world-famous magician was Joan’s motivation to put Canada on the international stage for FISM (the Olympic’s of Magic)

Read more and listen to interview.

Thank you to our February 2018 friends!

Thank you to John Smithman, John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, The Outerbridges, and Ian Crawford 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 February 2018 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 - Get PR help from a Life Membership Award winner of the Canadian Public Relations Society,
• Evelyn & Phil Matlin, owners of Perfect Magic,
• Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic, and
• Michael Close, author of the new Paradigm Shift ebooks, the Workers series and others.

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 January 2018

Out of the 42 posts at Canada's Magic this month, here are the 5 most viewed posts in the past 30 days:

5. 2017 Readers' Choice award results - Congratulations again to all our nominees (Ryan Brown, Neil Croswell, Caiden Finch, and Murray & Teresa Hatfield)!  Special congratulations to Julie Eng (Editor's Choice) and Benzi Train, winner of the Readers' Choice award!

4. Calgary: The Sixth Annual WowFest Magic Arts Festival - It's coming up fast! Be sure to take good notes (and then send them to me).

3. Top 5 posts in December 2017 - Things are getting a little bit meta.

2. Rounding the Central rings in January 2018 - Anything newsworthy happen at your club meeting?

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1. You Laugh, You Lose, Canadian magician edition - Definitely NSFW.

Mayce Galoni on "What's so funny?"

The following was sent to me by a reader who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon.

Hamilton-born, Vancouver-based 23 year old stand up comic Mayce Galoni was recently the featured guest on Vancouver Co-op Radio's (CFRO) "What's So Funny"? (Live broadcast: Sunday, January 21st, 2018). The very funny and very likable Galoni got his start performing as a strolling restaurant magician while still a very young teenager. A graduate of the Sorcerer's Safari, he transitioned to comedy when he started writing jokes for his magic act.

The podcast of the hour long broadcast will soon be available here:
www.wsf1027fm.blogspot.com and/or at www.coopradio.org. Check it out!

From What's So Funny?:

Our first guest of 2018 makes his semi-debut tonight. It's the New Faces edition of What's So Funny? tonight. Well, Newish Faces. Standup comic Mayce Galoni isn't even 25 but he's making quite a name for himself, even before he moved here last year from Hamilton. He's actually from a place called "Binbrook" that I don't even think is a real place, so we'll just say Hamilton because that's where he started out.

Read more and listen to podcast.

New release: The Paradigm Shift ebooks

From Michael Close:

After more than a decade, Michael Close has finally released his long-awaited ebooks, The Paradigm Shift Volumes One and Two.
They are being released now at an introductory price.   

The Paradigm Shift Volume One features groundbreaking essays that will change the way you think about your magic, beautiful sleights that will deceive both laymen and magicians, and commercial, devious routines you will enjoy performing. Included are ideas and routines from Ariel Frailich, John Carney, Simon Aronson, Bob Farmer, and Michael Weber. As with our previous ebooks, we have used text, photos, and video to provide an optimal learning experience.

The Paradigm Shift Volume Two features groundbreaking essays that will change the way you think about your magic, beautiful sleights that will deceive both laymen and magicians, and commercial, devious routines you will enjoy performing. Included are ideas and routines from Mick Ayres, Roy Walton, Harry Riser, Norman Beck, Michael Weber, Jason England, Aaron Fisher, Joshua Jay, and Ton Onosaka. As with our previous ebooks, we have used text, photos, and video to provide an optimal learning experience.

Read more and buy ebooks!

Sleightly Sketchy: I AM

Welcome to "Sleightly Sketchy!"  This is the first post of a series of sketchy thoughts.  Enjoy!

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.

London: Mahdi Gilbert at "The Vault"

From the Vault Festival:

31 Jan — 04 Feb

MAHDI THE MAGICIAN
AN UTTERLY UNIQUE SLEIGHT OF (NO) HANDS CARD MAGICIAN.
Born without hands or feet, Mahdi Gilbert has struggled through bullying, loneliness and depression to recognition from the greatest magicians of our time.

Throughout his childhood in Toronto, Mahdi was tormented for his physical differences and constantly wondered what would become of his life. Captivated by sleight of hand and card magic, he dreamt of becoming a professional magician – but as he began to study he came across a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: every magic book ever published has been written for performers with two hands.

Read more and buy tickets.

Calgary: "Make Magic" produced by Carisa Hendrix

From Make Magic:

Let’s make some magic together every Tuesday!
This intimate, close-up magic show
features a new magician every week.
You and your guests will experience miracles at your fingertips.

Let us charm you with the very best magic Calgary has to offer.
   
Make Magic with Benton Price - February 6
Make Magic with Yeats -  February 13
Make Magic with Ryan Pilling - February 20
Make Magic with Chris Visser - February 27

Read more and buy tickets.

Murray Hatfield at the Magic Castle

From the Magic Castle:

Feb 26 - Mar 4

PALACE OF MYSTERY
Murray Hatfield & Teresa

MAGICIAN LECTURE
Murray Hatfield

Read more.

Montreal: Caleb Wiles

From Montreal Magic Jam:

Tuesday Feb 6th

The Knockout Magic of Caleb Wiles

Get ready to step into the ring with one of magic’s heavy hitters. Caleb’s new lecture is full of incredible close-up routines designed for the real world. You won’t find any pipe dreams here. Every effect has been highly acclaimed by the most important critics in magic… real live audiences!

Caleb’s original tricks are performed by magicians all over the world, including on international television specials. In fact, he was a featured performer on the popular network show Penn & Teller’s Fool Us.

What you’ll learn…

– A brand-new, never-before-taught staple of Caleb’s close-up show. Jack Carpenter calls this routine “a masterpiece!”

– A self-working miracle that DESTROYS magicians! So powerful, it was used on an international television special!

– A practical, birthday-themed card effect for the working pro.

– Every detail of the blockbuster, self-working trick Caleb performed on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us!

– New plots, new presentations, and new principles.

This lecture is jam-packed with more than a dozen effects. Plus, stick around after the lecture to session into the night. It’s going to be a magic super party!

What others are saying…

“You are so [expletive] good!”
– Penn Jillette

“Caleb Wiles is the real deal. His methods are devious, his presentations are clever and fun, and he’s got loads of natural ability.”
– David Williamson

“I unreservedly urge any group out there to book him. You will be very happy.”
– Steve Bryant

“Caleb Wiles is a clever, logical creator of magic effects. His approach is fresh yet practical. I’m a huge fan!”
– Joshua Jay

“Caleb Wiles is a new star on the magic horizon!”
– Paul Lelekis (Linking Ring Magazine)


Read more and buy tickets.

Rounding the Western rings in February 2018

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)	- TBA - Make Magic (Benton Price, Yeatland Wong, Ryan Pilling, Chris Visser)
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- TBA
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- TBA
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring)	- General meeting - Third Monday Magic.
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- "Love, Magic and Dinner" starring Chris Funk
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- TBA
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- TBA

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

Rounding the Central rings in February 2018

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

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Free form first Fridaze - Executive meeting - Second Saturday night special - Meetup Mensuel - Sunday brunch - Instagram Tuesday
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- TBA.
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- TBA.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Ken McCreedy lecture.
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)	- Caleb Wiles lecture.

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

Rounding the Eastern rings in February 2018

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.

Canadians on AGT 2018

The next season of America's Got Talent is right around the corner.  How many Canadians will we be seeing this season?


From Alex Kazam's blog:

In due time, for now, let me begin at the beginning. It was December 7th, 2017. I was performing at my usual Thursday night spot, St.Louis Bar and Grill in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was one of the first really cold nights, the evening was just starting up. The restaurant was still fairly quiet, and slowly starting to fill with patrons anticipating dinner service. I moved to my usual spot in the back corner of the space, hung up my coat, and prepared what I needed to perform. I noticed my client Jim Reaman (the owner) standing near the bar chatting with some staff.

Since I had a few minutes to spare, and genuinely enjoy catching up with Jim, checking-in and so forth, I headed towards him. We quickly moved from talking about personal affairs, to talking about what I’d been working on, my aspirations, and so on. I mentioned an idea that had been floating around my head, like an annoying little balloon. Sometimes it was filled with helium, sometimes with Sulfur Hexaflouride. The idea was light, in that it was clever, fun, inspiring, educational and full of potential for awesome. It was heavy in that it was terrifying, risky, draining, and full of potential for embarrassment, failure and rejection.

Read more.

From Eric Leclerc's Facebook page:

Toronto: Scott Hammell's "Don't Look Down"

From Scott Hammell:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
THURSDAY, MARCH 1
FRIDAY, MARCH 2

Scott explores his motivations, inspirations and many MANY setbacks performing some of the most dangerous stunts in the world. Hanging upside down from a hot air balloon while locked in a straitjacket, performing a card trick while skydiving, skydiving while blindfolded and handcuffed, juggling live explosives and the bullet catch. So where does one go from there? How about an intimate theatrical experience with never before told stories and brand new magic!

Read more and buy tickets.

From Scott Hammell's YouTube channel:

Toronto: Garrett Thomas announced for Browser's Bash 2018

  

From the Browser's Den of Magic Facebook group:

Dear Denizens,

We are very happy to announce that Garrett Thomas will be joining us at this year's Browser's Bash.

You read that right! Magician Garrett Thomas Thomas will be at this year's 'Browser's Magic Bash'.

Mr. Thomas is known for being an innovator as well as one of the top card, coin, and ring sleight of hand men in the world. His numerous releases include Imagination Coins, Banded, Stand-Up Monte, Speedreader Deck and Ring Thing.

His original effects, extreme technical skills and keen understanding of human psychology culminate in highly visual, entertaining and enlightening routines. Garrett was a stand-out artist in the close-up show at the last Magic Live!

Garrett's dedication to the art of magic manifests not only in his performances but also in his strong commitment to teaching the science and psychology of magic to other magicians.

Garrett Thomas is joining Jay Sankey, Dick Joiner, Pop Haydn, Michael Close, Chris Pilsworth, James Alan, Nicholas Wallace and many others to help make Browser’s Magic Bash 4 the best Bash yet!

Hard to believe, but The 'Browser's 2018 Magic Bash' is now only three months away.

Tickets are still available. And we would love to have you join us for the day.

For full details on Browser's Magic Bash 2018 or to Buy Tickets please visit http://www.browsersden.com/bash/

Thank you for your kind support
Old Jeff, Young Jeff, John Talbot & The Browser's Den Team

Read more and buy tickets.

Niagara Falls: "Magique" starring Kevin & Caruso featuring Madame Houdini

From Niagara Falls Tourism:

A stage spectacular of epic proportions, at Fallsview Casino Resort. Kevin & Caruso joined by Madame Houdini fascinate audiences with their award winning production “Magique” featuring the excitement of the grand art of illusion, glamorous costumes and special effects!

MARCH 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18 - 3:00 PM
MARCH 11, 18 - 7:00 PM
MARCH 8, 15 - 8:30 PM
MARCH 9, 10, 16, 17 - 9:00 PM

Read more and buy tickets.

Toronto: John Carney Lecture and Workshop

From the Browser's Den of Magic:

LECTURE: Sunday, February 18, 2018
WORKSHOP: Monday, February 19, 2018

Dear Denizens,

Please, please do not miss this rare opportunity to learn from a true living master of magic.

Master of Magic is used far too much in our current digital age where there are no filters.  But make no mistake about it Mr. John Carney is a master. A living master of sleight of hand who makes everything look like magic!

It has been about fifteen years since John Carney last lectured and gave a workshop at our store.

Many of you know that we do not usually sell tickets to workshop. But John Carney is exceptional.

For some of you who may be new to 'magic' here is a little bit about John Carney:

* Has won Hollywood’s Magic Castle award for Magician of the Year seven times
* Two -Time Award Winner World FISM magic championships  
* Last true and real student of Dai Vernon
* Many TV performances
* The author of books including: Carneycopia, Book of Secrets *

In both his lecture and workshop Mr. Carney explains the how and the why of everything he does, which serves to teach much more than a few secrets or stratagems. If you pay close attention he will teach you the real secrets of how to grow in magic and to grow yourself through magic.

Read more and buy tickets.

Toronto: Caleb Wiles - Super Nerd

From Eventbrite:

Wed, 7 February 2018

Caleb Wiles is a modern day wizard who performs magic designed for intelligent audiences. Instead of rabbits or wands he uses ordinary objects such as cards, Rubik’s cubes, and dollar bills… and you won’t believe what he can do with them.

Even fellow magicians recognize Caleb as a leader in the field. He is a highly respected creator of new magic effects and his work has been featured in leading magic magazines, books, and DVDs around the world. That’s why we’re bringing him to Toronto to be part of the International Mystery Series - we want to share his incredible magic with you.

You may have seen him perform on Penn and Teller’s Fool Us or on FOX TV, but now you can witness the impossible live and in person at this one-night-only special show.

Get your tickets now before they disappear forever!

Read more and buy tickets.