It’s been really busy …

In June, in partnership with Luminato, Magicana presented Juan Tamariz, Mac King, Max Maven and Bob Sheets in Toronto. We also presented three My Magic Hands programs which were timed to conclude to have Luminato guest performer, Bob Sheets close “The Big Show” – a magic show recital by students.

During July we delivered special one-on-one versions of  My Magic Hands at Holland Bloorview, and scheduled an additional summer session to coincide with another visiting guest magician, Rafael Benatar of Spain.

In August, we partnered with Montreal Magic Jam to produce Gaëtan Bloom and Rafael Benatar in an international double-header lecture for both Montreal and  Toronto, which also included intensive card workshops by Rafael Benatar.

We were also thrilled to also produce Jim Steinmeyer’s “Gee 20” Lecture for Torontonians in August. Jim rarely lectures, so having this creative genius present was an added bonus to Magicana’s summer lecture series.

Steve Forte presenting at 31FN

In addition to these lectures and workshops, Magicana also hosted the eighth, and final instalment, of 31 Faces North – an intimate gathering of 31 (which swelled to more than 40) magicians from around the globe. For four wonderful days, we were treated to first-class lecture presentations, magic performances and, of course, generous sharing. A huge highlight for the group was having Steve Forte come and present something special for the group.

To round off an excellent summer, we just received notice that our latest publication, A Grand Exposé has finally been delivered! As soon as the books arrive to our fulfillment facility in the USA, advance orders will be processed and mailed out – we anticipate September 15 shipping.

This 1860s reprint is truly, a gem of a read. The Advance Order Offer expires at midnight September 10, so if you haven’t already done so, order now before the price goes up!

We now will turn our attentions back to online exhibitions, blogs, another publication (it’s another secret!) and our beloved community  projects with My Magic Hands and Senior Sorcery. We have a full scheduled planned with our community programs and hope to squeeze in one more surprise before the year’s end.

31 Faces North 2010

This past week from August 19 to 22, Magicana – in association with Allan Slaight – hosted the eighth, and final, 31 Faces North Conference.

For four amazing days (and nights) magicians from around the globe gathered to share, explore and collaborate on all things magic. The conference was originally limited to 31 attendees, hence its name. However, this year, the group swelled to 43 participants marking not only our largest group, but also one of our most successful gatherings to date.

We were thrilled to have Jim Steinmeyer and Gaëtan Bloom as our 2010  guests of honour. Jim provided an amazing and in-depth historical research presentation, which clearly outlined his passion and commitment to discovering the past. His engaging, methodical and systematic approach demonstrated Jim’s success as a creative consultant, magician and guest speaker. Gaëtan Bloom gave a jam-packed, non-stop, two-hour presentation! He energetically shared his prolific ideas and revealed his unorthodox methods of solving classic problems. An eye-opening experience to say the least.

Jim Steinmeyer: Guest of Honour

Steve Forte Lecturing at 31FN

Gaëtan Bloom: Guest of Honour

Steve Forte accepts the Marshall Award

And, thanks to the 31FN gathering, Magicana was able to present both guests of honour to the greater magic community by producing two separate lectures, which bookended the 31 Faces North weekend.

An additional highlight for this year’s event was the participation of card-handling expert and gambling consultant, Steve Forte. Steve gave an intensive and in-depth look into gaming and gambling, and provided some (almost unbelievable) insights into this mysterious world. His expertise resonated strongly with the group  – a group which holds Steve in high regard as one of the finest sleight-of-hand experts in the world. Beyond all of his knowledge and sharing, we also found Steve to be an extraordinary generous individual, always giving his time freely to others.

At the end of formal programming at 31, participants are asked to cast their vote for the “Marshall Award” (named in honour of the Dean of Magic, Jay Marshall) – an award given to the individual who participants believe contributed the most to making the conference a success. It was no surprise when Steve Forte was named as this year’s recipient. Congratulations, Steve!

While the 31 Faces North tradition has come to a natural conclusion, its spirit of sharing, brokering knowledge, building relationships, and contributing to the art of magic certainly lives on. We are seeing more and more of this at gathering such as Magic-Con and the Essential Magic Conference.

So what’s next  for us? Well, stay tuned as we move on to our next adventure in the exploration of magic as a performing art.

31 Faces North

Our sixth 31 Faces North conference – produced in association with Allan Slaight – was held August 14 to 17, 2008. Participants generate programming and this year, we saw unprecedented levels of sharing and collaboration in the art of magic. Honoured guests were Herb Zarrow and Ton Onosaka.

David Ben gave a tribute lecture in honour of Herb and Herb’s tremendous contribution to magic. David also highlighted Herb’s vast body of work, sharing some wonderful touches, thoughts and subtleties of Herb’s trademark style. David also commented on his research for the forthcoming volume, Zarrow: A Lifetime of Magic. For our second guest of honour, Max Maven interviewed Ton Onosaka, and drew out (bilingually) highlights of Ton’s fascinating life for participants to discover. Most interesting was Ton’s lifetime commitment of bridging magic communities between the Eastern and Western worlds.

Another time-honoured tradition at 31 is the presentation of the Marshall Award, (in honour of Jay Marshall). Attendees voted Jim Steinmeyer as the 31er who contributed the most towards the conference’s success. Past winners of the Marshall Award are: Tommy Wonder (2003), Michael Close (2004), Billy McComb (2005), William Goodwin (2006), and David Ben (2007).

Also, thanks to the gathering of 31, Magicana as able to produce two special lectures for the greater Toronto magic community by Roberto Giobbi and Eric Mead. (See our previous post on the seminars and the Tony Eng Youth Challenge.) As promised, Eric brought friends to his lecture and had an all-star magic team, including Jason England, Michael Weber and Jamy Ian Swiss share pet secrets with the enthusiastic audience.

As a surprise for all our participants, Magicana released two new publications, How Gamblers Win and Spins & Needles: The Magic of Allan Slaight. Even as the co-host of this event, we were able to surprise Allan at our Farewell Dinner with the presentation of his collected work. Both volumes are now available from our website or from your favourite magic shop.