26 April 2018

Browser's Magic Bash 2018 recap

I'm delighted I was asked to live-Tweet and live-blog the 2018 Browser's Magic Bash last Saturday!  

I enjoyed catching up with the friends I've made at previous Bashes (hi Adam, Sonny, Noah, and Nicole) and making new friends too (I'm looking at you Maria, Tara, Mark, Carter, and Carter's brother).

Here's the traditional consolidation of the posts and Tweets. (For the complete list of Tweets and photos check out this Twitter link to Tweets tagged with #BrowsersBash2018 or #BrowsersBash.) 
It's a very long post.  Click "read more" below to view it.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did!




DEALERS' AREA:

After registering and grabbing something to eat, there was lots of time to investigate the dealers.  There were super secret secrets being sold by Michael Close, deals to be had from Chris Pilsworth, a table for Garrett Thomas, and a beautiful display of extraordinary products from Eric Hansen:



And of course, the mini-Den was there too!


The room filled quickly and before you know it the lights were down for the start of the event.



IT BEGINS!

While reflecting on all of the wonderful things that happened in 1975, you know the focus was going to be the opening of The Browser's Den of Magic!






Jeff, John, and Jeff took to the stage to offer thanks to everyone who came ... we're all part of the Browser's Den family!

We were happy to have Dick Joiner returning as The Bash emcee for the day!  He started things off with great enthusiasm and high-energy!



GARRET THOMAS LECTURE
  • Great opening lecture by Garrett Thomas
  • Touched on mine, juggling, imagination, and coins.
  • Discusses "Problem People" in depth on his DVD




MICHAEL CLOSE LECTURE


  • It's always a treat to listen to Michael Close. 
  • Briefly touched on magic theory and the definition of magic.
  • Importance of a mentor.
  • Things you can do to better your act until you've found a mentor.
  • Thinking fast and slow.
  • Chaos, action, and repose (rest).
  • Q & A.



CHRIS PILSWORTH MINI-TALK



And then it was time for lunch!

We had four first timers at my table.  All four of whom had already decided at this point, that they are going to come next year!



AFTER THE LUNCH BREAK
  • Jeff took the stage to bring us back to order after the break.
  • He mentioned that Robert Presswood recommended EJ Entertainment, who were doing an excellent job of providing tech for the day.
  • He also mentioned that Bernice Cooper who (with her late husband Len Cooper) opened The Browser's Den of Magic, was able to spend some time with us this morning with her son Jack!  (Spoiler alert, Bernice's daughter -- Sandy, I think -- came in the afternoon to spend some time with Bernice at The Bash!)


THE CLOSE-UP SHOW

The close-up show was fabulous (and over far too soon)!  We were thoroughly entertained by:


  










JAY SANKEY LECTURE





DANIEL ZUCKERBROT MINI-TALK





POP HAYDN LECTURE
  • Touched on character development and story.
  • And cards.
  • Trevor was a great volunteer! 
  • Have you ever considered borrowing a glass eye from a member of the audience?
  • Fun Q&A.

On to dinner!

During the break there was time to snag autographs, mix & mingle, and even entertain your favourite entertainer!  Do you remember Noah, who showed us his mad juggling skills in 2016?  He was back!





AFTER THE DINNER BREAK
  • Jeff took the stage.
  • And in the spirit of thinking of others we will be donating on behalf of all you Bashers out there $500.00 to the Sick Kids Foundation.
  • Thank yous to those involved in making The Bash possible:
    - Everyone who bought tickets.
    - All the helpers: Ahmed, Jon Sy, Andres Gil, Roxanne Talbot, Nicole Winters, Rosemary Reid, Nicole Lee, Eric Simmatis, John Cardella, John Michalson, Lisa Close, Luiz Castro, John Morgan, Cam Dix, Simon Rotstein, Mark Chan, Michael Gillis, Chris Mayhew, and Annie Pinsky.
    - Elliot and his crew from EJ Entertainment.
    - A big thanks to the staff at the Montecassino.
    - Special recognition to Dick Joiner for adding so much fun to the day!
    • It's worth noting here that Dick received a well deserved standing ovation for his outstanding entertainment!  Unfortunately the video is very dark and the audio is somewhat, urm, questionable.  You'll just have to take my word for it.





THE STAGE SHOW

Super fantastic stage show with:








  • James Alan 
    - I never knew James did bartending on the side.
    - Brian Roberts helped James get ready.
    - I've seen James perform this effect a number of times (and love watching it every time). 
    - Imagine my delight, when I discovered he added a new twist!


  • Michael Close
    - A show based on sleight of mouth.
    - Remembering Harry Anderson (trigger words: chemotherapy and Cleftons (sp?) -- My memory is fuzzy and my phone's auto-correct made my notes look like I was taking them in a foreign language!)
    - Hat tip to Jay Marshall (mmmm... banjo sandwiches)





  • Pop Haydn 
    - Card trick based on math!
    - The math works differently in different parts of the room.
    - It's always a good idea to have a back-up plan.







And some final words from Jeff ...





It will come as a surprise to no one that the magic continued after the scheduled events were over.











Congratulations Jeff, John, and Jeff on a fabulous fourth Bash!



HERE'S WHAT OTHERS HAD TO SAY:






A post shared by Michael Francis (@michaelfrancismagic) on






















Search Twitter for #BrowsersBash or #BrowsersBash2018.
Search Instagram for #BrowsersBash2018.



Posted by Canada's Magic at 12:07 AM
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