31 December 2014

In memoriam 2014

Updated 2015-07 to add Richard Sequens.


Please e-mail additions or corrections to "canadasmagic at gmail dot com" 

30 December 2014

Coupon code for 50% off "Magic Tonight"

James Alan, over at Abracadaberet, has kindly offered the readers of Canada's Magic a coupon code for 50% off tickets to "Magic Tonight!"

Use the coupon code cmagic when you buy your tickets for Magic Tonight to receive your discount*.




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This just in from Chris Mayhew

From Chris Mayhew's Twitter feed:

Thank you for a great 2014!

Thank you to our readers, our fans, our followers, our wonderful guest posters (The Magic Demon,  Erin Thomas, and James Alan), people who have offered up prizes for contests (Orca Book PublishersHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and Abracadabaret), those who sent news our way, and last but not least, thank you to all of this year's sponsors (be sure to support them!):





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 December 2014

It's been another busy month for news with over 50 posts! Here are the most viewed posts at Canada's Magic this month:
5. Dean Gunnarson: coffin escape - It's going to be an exciting TV special!  
3. SOULO: Call for Submissions 
2. Scott Hammell: A Day In The Life (Oct)


and the most viewed post this month  ...


Who's where December 2014  - Keep an eye out for next month's Who's where and be sure to add yourself!

29 December 2014

Darcy Oake's goal: to get Edge of Reality to air in other parts of the world

From the CBC:
A Winnipeg magician who rose to fame this spring is getting a lot of attention overseas again.      

Darcy Oake, who got his start on the stages of Britain’s Got Talent in April, premiered his first-ever television special this weekend.

Edge of Reality aired in the UK this weekend.

Oake said watching the special was surreal and rewarding.

“You get so close to your material that it's kind of hard to look at it as an outsider looking in, seeing it for the first time, but I was really happy with it,” said Oake. “I was really happy with how it turned out and it seemed to be well received, so it was all positive.”

Read more.

Toronto: Dan McLean Jr's residency Swan Song

From Dan McLean Jr's Facebook photo:



Shawn Farquhar interviewed by Kris Sheppard

From Kris Sheppard's Twitter feed:

28 December 2014

Squirrel!

Four years of blogging at this bit of real estate and not one cat video to be seen.

Squirrels, on the other hand....




Richmond: "Celebrate the Child in All of Us"

From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:




27 December 2014

'Baldini' on CP24 Breakfast

From Baldini's Facebook page:




From the archives via Baldini's Facebook page:






26 December 2014

Laval: Luc Langevin

The hard work of Luc Langevin and his team in the preparation of a first great magic show will not have been in vain, since already more than 100 000 people have plunged so far in his unconventional magic numbers.

"I dreamed of this performance for many years, but I did not expect that success occurs as soon entrust one who moved to the Salle André-Mathieu for the holidays. If the scene brings different facets, people found the world they knew me. "

Returning to ground Laval eight evenings from December 26 to January 4, the delights, although this time of year has always been a busy schedule, as in any life magician.

Read more.


And a nice piece of magic from Luc's Twitter feed:

Darcy Oake: Edge of Reality Live Tour Trailer 2015

From Clive Court's Facebook page:


25 December 2014

Toronto: The Conjuror

Updated at 7:20am to include (at the bottom of the post) a link to the Michael Coren interview as well as a link to a new short film. 

More details about the Conjuror!

From Julie Eng's Facebook page:






Also from Julie Eng's Facebook page:





More from Julie Eng's Facebook page:



Even more from Julie's Facebook page:




Interview link from Julie's Facebook page:




From Magicana's Twitter feed:


24 December 2014

Christmas wishes from Aaron Jones

Merry Christmas to you too Aaron!

From Aaron Jones' Twitter feed:

You may also want to check out Aaron's "Inspire Magic" series on YouTube.

Congratulations to Neil Croswell!

From Clive Court's Facebook page:


David Acer on the CBC Debaters

Looking forward to learning more details!

From David Acer's Twitter feed:


More from the Twitterverse:

23 December 2014

Toronto: The Conjuror extended!

From Magicana's Twitter feed:

Last minute stocking stuffer

Here's a fabulous last minute stocking stuffer for a young magic enthusiast!  (Okay, it's more like a group gift, but how happy would they I they be to get this as a gift?)


From Sorcerers Safari Twitter feed:

Toronto: Save the date!

Whatever could it be?  Think, think, think ....

What do you think Jeff's got up his sleeve?  A 12 hour one-handed cut-a-thon perhaps?  Post your thoughts in the comments below!


From the Browser's Den of Magic Twitter feed:

22 December 2014

Toronto: Ben Train at "Magic Tonight"

Receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic

From the Abracadabaret Facebook page:




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21 December 2014

Scott Hammell: A Day In The Life (Oct)

Feel like you're juggling a lot of things this month?

Watch this YouTube video of Scott Hammell juggling every day in October:


20 December 2014

Toronto: Magic - the science of perception

From the MAGIC: "The Science of Perception" - Holiday Magic Shows Facebook event:




SNLQC: Luc Langevin vs Merlin

I sure wish I knew what was going on here!

From SNL Quebec's Twitter feed:


19 December 2014

Update from Clive Court about the Darcy Oake ITV Christmas special

From Clive Court's Facebook page:


Report: Michael Close lecture

From Perfect Magic's Facebook page:



A reminder that Mike Close will be performing at (20% discount at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic):


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18 December 2014

17 December 2014

Darcy Oake touring in Canada

From Clive Court's Facebook page:




Also from Clive:






16 December 2014

Toronto: Louie Lebetjis lecture

Sunday, January 11, 2015 
Dear Denizens!

We are very pleased to offer you another fine lecture to start off the new year by sleight of hand cardician LOUIE LEBETJIS.

Big Lou as we call him at the shop will be performing and explaining 14 Magic Moves on this day. Of course he will be first performing card routines that utilize these moves and then breaking them down for you for easy understanding and study.

Some of the moves Louie will be covering are: Misdirection Palm, Gamblers Cop, Miracle Card Switch, Hugard/Braue Card Addition, Elmsley Count/Ghost Count, Packet Switches, In-Jog Shuffles, Dribble/dribble -Riffle pass, Illogical Double, Triple, Sidesteal, Flat-Palm, Slip-cut, Slip shuffle, Vernon Add On, Block Push Offs, False Counts, Single Buckle Count, Vernon Strip-Out Addition, Ace Production, False Transfer/take, Multiple Cards Top Palm, One Handed Top Palm.

Read more.

15 December 2014

Toronto: Michael Close and David Peck at "Magic Tonight"

In just over two weeks, on Magic Tonight, we’ll be hosting a special fundraisers for the Centre for Inquiry (www.cficanada.ca). All proceeds from the show will go to support CFI Canada. I’ll be performing on the show along with special guest, Michael Close. After the show we’ll be doing a live taping of David Peck’s Face2Face Podcast where we’ll be discussing the role of magic on a modern secular society
Read more and buy tickets.


Receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic 



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14 December 2014

13 December 2014

Win a pair of tickets to see David Ben in "The Conjuror"

From NOW Promotions Twitter feed:

10 year anniversary for Greg Frewin Theatre

Happy early anniversary Greg!

From the Frewin Theatre Twitter feed:

12 December 2014

Did you enter to win a copy of "Forcing the Ace"?

Just over a month ago, I ran a contest to win a copy of "Forcing the Ace," from the Orca Limelights series.  I'm excited to let you know that the author,  Erin Thomas, has kindly offered me books for everyone who entered!  (I'm looking at you Lee, Roger, Robert and Jay!)

Please send me an e-mail (canadasmagic at gmail dot com) so that I can tell you how to claim your prize!

Thank you very much Erin, for making this possible!

Luc Langevin interview with Renaud-Bray

From Renaud-Bray's YouTube channel:
Invité : Luc Langevin
Animatrice : Émilie Laguerre
Réalisation : Martin Bertrand
Caméras : Martin Bertrand, Bernard Neault
Montage : Alexis Fortier Gauthier
Maquillage : Chloé Lefebvre

11 December 2014

Shawn Farquhar raising money for Paul Green

Updated Dec 12 to add:

  • Dollar amounts are in USD.
  • After you pay, if you aren't redirected to the download site, check your e-mail for the download link.



From Palmer Magic:
This is a digital download video that was shot at Chateau Farquhar with iPhones.  No this is not a high quality video production.  However the tips and instructions on how to do the Classic Force are high quality and will help you to learn Shawn Farquhar’s version of this amazing technique.  If you have ever seen Shawn perform, the chances are you saw him Classic Force a card.

This project was created because so many people asked Shawn for advice on his handling of the Classic Force.  Shawn felt that most of the information he shared was given to him by mentors such as Tony Eng and John Gilliland and did not want to charge for something given to him freely.

So why are we charging you anything?  Well a wonderful magician and friend, Paul Green is facing some health challenges and Shawn felt this would be a great way to raise some needed funds.  If you know Paul Green, you know he is a master of the Classic Force and even has his own DVD.  We recommend you purchasing this too, as it approaches the technique in a different way.  All funds raised by this project will go directly to Paul Green.

Read more.


From the International Brotherhood of Magicians Facebook page:


10 December 2014

Darcy Oake: Edge of Reality

From the Blackpool Gazette:
After wowing the nation in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent – making it all the way to the final – illusionist Darcy Oake is back on our TV screens later this month with his very own one hour magic special filmed in Blackpool. 

Darcy Oake: Edge of Reality is hosted by Christine Bleakley and shot on stage at the historic Opera House.

The Canadian took to the stage on Saturday night to thrill the crowd as he performed some jaw-dropping illusions.

Billed as an “evening of breath-taking, logic-bending illusions in the grand old tradition of stage magic fused with Darcy’s modern twist”, it certainly did not disappoint.

Read more.

From Clive Court's Facebook page:


Post by Clive Court.


Also from Clive Court's Facebook page:





From Clive Court's Facebook page:

09 December 2014

NBC Today Show (on Wednesday)

From George Schindler via Phil Matlin:
NBC TODAY SHOW    (DECEMBER 10- 8;30 AM)  is  scheduled to  run an  S.A.M. segment filmed at the Edison Magic Table with interviews, magic and nonsense  - Set your Tivo   and alarm clocks to catch this.  
George Schindler



Thanks for sending this in Phil!

Dean Gunnarson update

Here's an update from Clive Court's Facebook page about Dean Gunnarson's coffin escape:

08 December 2014

Our sincere condolences to Paul Pacific and his family

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the recent passing of Paul Pacific's father.

For those of you who wish to attend the visitation or the service, here is the information from Paul.

From Paul Pacific's Facebook page:

  

From the Ward Funeral Home:
Early morning on Saturday, December 6, 2014, Ronald Pacific passed away peacefully as he wished at home surrounded by the love and support of his family. Survived by his loving wife Ruth (nee Donald). Ron was a loving father to Paul Pacific, and Sharon Miedema (Mike), and was a proud Granddad to Lauren. Dear brother of Dolores Ellis (nee Pacific), last surviving sibling. He will also be missed by extended family and friends. A special thanks to Doctor John Denby and CCAC Nurse Liliya for providing such loving care and support during his final weeks. Funeral Service was held on Wednesday, December 10th, at the Ward Funeral Home, 109 Reynolds Street, Oakville, followed by burial at Trafalgar Lawn Cemetery. In his memory, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family.  
Read more.


Our sincere condolences go out to Paul and his family at this difficult time.


Toronto: Mayhew Mayhem at "Magic Tonight"

Receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic

From Chris Mayhew's Facebook page:





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07 December 2014

Make-A-Wish® Canada: Wishes from the Heart

Updated Dec 8th to add (with permission) that the magical child is Ava, daughter of Lisa and Michael Close.  Ava appears at about 00:24.

Share this YouTube video (with the daughter of a Canadian magician in it) to raise money for Make-A-Wish® Canada.
"Help us spread more joy this season - each time you share this video from the Barbie™ YouTube Channel, $1 will be donated to Make-A-Wish® Canada*. Spread the joy using #BarbieWishes."

The Evasons at University of Ottawa

From the astound4 YouTube channel:

06 December 2014

Greg Frewin supports Project Share

From the Greg Frewin Theatre Facebook page:


SOULO: Call for Submissions

We are now accepting submissions for the 2015 SOULO Theatre Festival. Now in its third year, the festival is a four-day intensive of performances, panel discussions and workshops where every event is one-performance-only.

We are looking for recently-performed finished work, 45-60 minute one-person shows. The festival will be May 21-24, 2015 at the Red Sandcastle Theatre in Toronto. For the full details and the submission form, please visit soulo.ca/submissions

Read more.

05 December 2014

Toronto: FREE Magic Club Meeting

From the Browser Den of Magic Facebook page:
Hi There Browser's Denizens, 
Why not get out of the cold and come this Saturday, December 6th to Browser's Den of Magic and join in on our FREE Magic Club Meeting? 
We meet here at the shop from 2:30pm until about 5:00pm. 
All those welcome to talk about magic are welcome. 
Yours truly-Jeff Pinsky.

Matt DiSero on The Anglophile Channel

Watch this video see Matt DiSero on episode one of The Anglophile Channel's TAC 4 Kids.

04 December 2014

Dean Gunnarson: coffin escape

Does anyone have any updates to share about this event?

From Dean Gunnarson's Facebook page:




[via Clive Court]

Boomer beats cancer

Niagara’s newest cancer survivor is hoping to get back to his regular weight soon. About 500 pounds or so.

Six and a half months ago, Niagara Falls magician Greg Frewin noticed his nine-year-old Siberian tiger Boomer acting a bit strange. Something on his right side was bugging him.
Closer inspection revealed a lesion which seemed to grow over the next week. Boomer, one of four tigers performing in his nightly magic show, was clearly agitated.

“We could tell he was licking it,” says Frewin. “He was trying to keep it clean. Something was not right.”

After a check with the vet, Boomer was sedated and the lesion cut open, which revealed “signs of a tumour.” A sample was analyzed and the bad news arrived shortly after – Boomer had cancer.

Read more.

From CHCH:
We all know that wild tigers face extinction every single day from poaching and habitat loss. But what you may not realize is they can also get cancer. And there’s one cancer-stricken tiger in Niagara Falls that’s living a much healthier life than he would have in the wild thanks to his handlers.

In the wild, tigers live for about fourteen years. That number is doubled in captivity. Despite not being in a zoo, Boomer the tiger is one of those big cats who’s life was preserved thanks to the help of the people around him.

Read more.


From 610 CKTB:
A tiger in Niagara Falls has survived cancer, and now we are hearing his story.

A few months ago Greg Frewin's nine year old tiger started acting strange.
The International Grand Champion of Magic, and Niagara Falls Magician took Boomer to the vet.

Read more

From the Greg Frewin Theatre YouTube channel:




From the Greg Frewin Theatre Facebook page:





03 December 2014

Randi in Australia

From Think Inc:
THE AMAZING JAMES RANDI is a magician and scientific skeptic best known for his challenges to paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the co-founder of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He began his career as a magician named The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls “woo-woo.” 
Held in five cities, An evening with James Randi will feature a discussion with Richard Saunders (Australian skeptic, podcaster, and professional origamist) or Lawrence Leung (comedian, writer and director), a Q&A session with the audience and a meet and greet with selected guests. 
Adelaide: Monday 1 December 2014, 6pm  The Science Exchange, 55 Exchange Place, Adelaide 
Perth: Wednesday 3 December 2014, 6pm  Octagon Theatre, UWA, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley 
Brisbane: Thursday 4 December 2014, 6pm  Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Southbank, Brisbane.
Melbourne: Friday 5 December 2014, 6pmMelbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Southwharf, Melbourne 
Sydney: Sunday 7 December 2014, 6pmThe Metro Theatre, Sydney.
Read more and buy tickets.


For more Randi goodness, watch this YouTube video of his post-show Q&A and performance after the screening of his film "An Honest Liar" at the  Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival:



[video via iTricks]


Vancouver: IBM presents Just About Magic

Get ready to JAM IBM style.

From the IBM Facebook page:

02 December 2014

James Alan on Rogers TV

Watch James Alan talking about "Magic Tonight" on Rogers TV Toronto with Val Cole, tomorrow (Wed) at 10am, 3pm and midnight. Watch for James at the 10-minute mark.

A reminder that readers of Canada's Magic receive a 20% discount* by using the coupon code cmagic



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A question from the floor

Updated at 16:00 the consensus so far:

  • The Browser's Den of Magic: oldest existing magic shop
  • Perfect Magic: oldest existing magic shop under single owner (the people that opened it are still running it)
  • IBM Ring 17 - since 1941
  • IBM - co-founded by a Canadian in 1923



What is Canada's oldest magic institution?

From Lee Asher's Twitter feed:

01 December 2014

David Merry on "Too Much Information"




From Toronto is Awesome:
Too Much Information pits two panels of… well, panelists I guess… against each other. Riffing on the topic of the day – Politics. Sex. Religion. You know, the classic non-starters. Each team of panelists waxes on the subject at hand, vying to outwit, out-banter, out-shock and generally out-clever their foes across the isle. Moderated by the affable Norm Sousa (Discovery Channel’s Never Do This at Home) who at times looks like a mischievous kid who stole his Dad’s suit and set out to host a late show. His boyish face lights up when someone says something truly off-key and really lays into an opposing panelist. After all, that’s the beauty of a show that airs at night and the majority of your guests are comedians – there will be some sh*t said.

Sousa kicks things off with a monologue of sorts, testing the electricity in the water. He does a few setups on the theme of the show, to get the crowd warm & loose. It’s definitely not the daytime audience they’re looking to draw. The crowd in these seats comes ready for comedy. Familiar faces saying very naughty things, almost as if the camera isn’t even there

Read more.

Grateful for our December 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:

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.




Who's where December 2014

Leave a comment on this post to let us know where you're going to be this month!

Jump to date: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
1
2
3
4
5
6 From the Amazing Corbin's Twitter feed:


7 From the Abracadabaret Facebook page:




8 From Keith Brown's Facebook page:




9
10
11
12
13
14 From Chris Mayhew's Facebook page (reminder receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic):


15

16
17
18 From the Amazing Corbin's Twitter feed:


19
20 From Oakville Kids Twitter feed:


21 Receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic

From James Alan's Facebook page:




From Falls Avenue Resort Twitter feed:


22
23
24
25
26
27

28 Receive a 20% discount* at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic



29
30
31
From Incredibrent's Facebook page:


 From Bill Abbott's Twitter feed:


From the Amazing Corbin's Twitter feed:

From David Merry's Twitter feed:


From Peter Mennie's Twitter feed:




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30 November 2014

Rounding the Western rings in December

From Carey Lauder's Facebook page:




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


CityClubEvent(s)
Calgary, ABRing 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring)- No meeting.
Edmonton, ABEdmonton Magic Club- n/a
Winnipeg, MBThe Magic Club of Winnipeg- n/a
Fraser Valley, BCIBM Ring 387 (Fraser Valley Magic Circle, Celeste Evans Ring)- Third Monday Magic
Vancouver, BCRing 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)- n/a
Vancouver, BCSAM 95  (Carl Hemeon Assembly)- n/a
Victoria, BCRing 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)   - n/a
 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.