Thank you to our May 2019 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.

Michael Close webinars

In addition to Friday night's Palming with Confidence* webinar, Michael has two more webinars scheduled this month.

From Michael Close's webiste:

MAY 3, 2109 -  PALMING WITH CONFIDENCE*  

This sixty-minute webinar will provide strategies that will help you overcome your fear of palming.

Palming is one of the cornerstones of card magic. But many magicians, even experienced practitioners, shy away from tricks that require palming.  As part of this training, you’ll learn FOUR commercial routines you can immediately add to your repertoire.

We will also discuss important techniques that are applicable to any type of “holding out,” including coins, balls, or any small object.

We feel this information will be useful to magicians of all skill levels, so we are offering it at a very low price. Our webinars require no special software; you participate through your browser, and you can ask questions during the presentation. Registrants will be able to replay this webinar as often as they want.

Please Note: This is not a webinar on how to correctly palm cards.

MAY 5, 2019 - DEMYSTIFYING THE MEMORIZED DECK 

Memorized deck work continues to be a hot topic. However, with the growing number of stacks available and the staggering amount of bad information available on the Internet, it can be challenging for a memdeck newbie to even know how to begin.

On Sunday May 5, 2019 at 4pm, I will present a new webinar, “Demystifying the Memorized Deck,” in which I will offer clear, no-nonsense information on how to add this powerful tool to your performing repertoire.

MAY 12, 2019 - HOW TO DESIGN A THREE-TRICK SET

After studying magic for a few years, most enthusiasts acquire some repertoire – effects they can perform competently. While we spend a great deal of effort learning new tricks, we rarely take the time to organize our tricks into an effective act or “set.”

In this webinar, Michael Close will suggest several strategies that will start you on the path to developing a strong, effective, three-trick set. Using material from his own repertoire, Michael will explain his thought process in assembling several different acts designed for various venues. He will also offer suggestions for further study and analysis.

This webinar is designed for magicians of all skill levels; everyone can benefit from this information.

* A special note about Friday night's Palming with Confidence webinar:

(Note: If you attended the Palming with Confidence Webinar on March 10, 2019 you are invited to join us on this webinar for free. Just email Lisa at lisa AT michaelclose DOT com for your personal registration link.)

Programmation du 9e Festival de magie de Québec

Scroll to the bottom of the post for  a pro-tip from Loran, regarding the conference of Eberhard Riese, author of the book “Foundations - The Art of Stage Magic."

A great video to get you in the spirit of the 9th edition of the Festival de magie de Québec coming up May 2nd to 5th!  It is full of reminders of some of the extraordinary promotions from previous years.  (I don't remember seeing the gag at 1:06 before.  What fun!)

If you're attending, please share the event's social media hashtag so that we can all follow along!


From the YouTube channel of Le Soleil, le quotidien de Quebec:

The top 5 posts in April 2019

There were 45+ posts at Canada's Magic this month.  (Can you tell it was a live-blogging month?)  Here are the 5 most viewed posts in the past 30 days:

5. London: Magic at the Marienbad - A monthly event with a different line-up every month!

4. Chris Ramsay and Xavier Caffrey in the National Post - Nice to see magic in the main stream press.

3. Browser's Magic Bash 2019 recap  - Another fabulous event in the books!

2. Video: Shawn Farquhar Fool Us REVEALED - The people want to know!

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1. Toronto: The Carnival of Wonders - This sounded like quite the event!

Rounding the Western rings in May 2019

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)	- Club meeting.
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- N/A
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- N/A
Fraser Valley, BC	IBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring)	- General meeting - Originality competition
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- N/A
Vancouver, BC	SAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)	- N/A
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- Eric Bedard lecture - BBQ and garage sale - Mirth and Magic

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