Showing posts with label Ian Crawford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ian Crawford. Show all posts

23 December 2023

03 December 2020

Ring 17 is Conjuring for a Cure

Updated to add links to Tweets:

 

If all goes according to plan, we'll be live Tweeting the event.  Join us by following the hashtag #Ring17Cure

 

From The Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club:

The Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club is getting together (virtually) to put on a show to raise money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Over a dozen magicians will be performing from home. It's going to be a great time. 

To see the show go to www.ibmring17.com/show on Thursday, December 3 at 8PM Eastern. The show is free to watch and all donations, big and small, are very much appreciated. If you like, you can head there now and donate early. 

Come and join us and together, let's make cancer disappear!

 

 

 

 

 

06 March 2020

Peterborough: Curiosities of the Mind

Friday March 27th with Ian Crawford and John Roldan in support of the Alzheimer Society of Canada.


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09 November 2017

Welcoming a new Friend: Ian Crawford

Welcoming our newest Friend, Ian Crawford!

I first met Ian at a Ring 17 meeting back in the day. (If I recall correctly, we pledged in the same year. This may have been when the club was meeting at a venue close to a Pickle Barrel, but I digress.)

Performing a literacy based show as "Magic Ian," he has shared his love of magic with thousands of children over the years.  By day Ian is a partner in an Executive Development and Human Resources Company.  A few years back, he kindly wrote us a guest post about Steve Cohen's performance at Luminto. Ian currently sits on the Ring 17 executive as the Sergeant at Arms.

Thank you Ian, for befriending Canada's Magic!




19 June 2013

[Guest post] Steve Cohen Performs at Luminato

The following is a guest post from Ian Crawford.

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For years I have wondered what it would be like to attend one of Robert-Houdins' Soirée Fantastic.  Steve Cohen brought the essence of Robert-Houdin to life last night at his Luminato performance in historic George Brown House in Toronto.  First you must understand the setting.  George Brown House is a national historic site, the home of a father of confederation and founder of the Globe newspaper.  The Edwardian house has been perfectly restored to its former glory and is the ideal setting for a performance that celebrates parlour magic.  And Steve Cohen is one of the few magicians with the presence, experience and passion to bring the parlour magic experience to near perfection.

Steve performed a mix of classic magic and mentalism that honoured past masters while acknowledging a twenty first century sensibility.  A lifetime of study, 16 years of performances combined with an engaging intelligence and perfect diction makes Cohens' performances ideal for the Luminato audience.  He expected an intelligent audience, and the tickets even suggested that suitable dress was "cocktail attire".  In return Cohen performed 90 minutes of witty, engaging magic.  He was also suitably attired in a modern morning suit with yellow waistcoat and aqua tie.

Cohen's magic was direct, simple, elegant and completely fried many of the magicians and all of the rest of the audience of more than 60.  Beginning with a multiple card selection, he immediately engaged his audience.  He invited the back rows to stand and others to come and surround him while he performed some coin vanishes culminating in a solid, real brick appearing under his hat.  Appropriately, it was a reclaimed brick.  He performed a classic linking finger rings with style and grace and engaged the audience with some predictions about the inscriptions inside the rings.

One of Cohen's trademark tricks is based on Hoffman's Think a Drink.  While performed part way through the show, this could have easily been the closer.  Five different drinks were predicted, poured and enjoyed by audience members, the last being poured by a volunteer.  Cohen went out of his way to acknowledge and thank the volunteer for dressing appropriately, nice touch.  His message was clear that an evening out should be an experience for all, in keeping with the setting.

Cohen finished his set with a map prediction and then went into some mentalism using billets and an unusually large journal.  The mix of magic and mentalism was clearly a salute to Robert-Houdin, and Cohan engaged his audience constantly.

For his finalé, Cohen asked the audience to come closer and gather round to watch as he performed what I can only describe as a a two deck Triumph.

If you missed Cohen, you can always catch him in New York at the Waldorf Astoria in Chamber Magic.

Toronto is blessed to have a magic benefactor in the Slaight family who sponsored the evening.  And David Ben and Julie Eng of Magicana should be thanked for bringing some of the best magic to Luminato year after year.  Together they have elevated magic to a respectable place.  Robert-Houdin would have been proud.

Ian Crawford

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Thank you Ian for guest posting at Canada's Magic!