153: Day One - F.F.F.F. 2014

We're shuffling off to Buffalo for the first day of this four day and night close-up magic bacchanal. The number "four" has significance this year because it is also the 44th annual Four F convention.

This year's attendees are coming from 17 different countries on five continents. Twenty are from Canada, 12 from France, eight each from England and Japan; three each from Argentina, Germany, Italy and Taiwan; two each from Australia, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland; one each from China, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, and Scotland; and about 156 from the U.S.A. We have 43 contest winners from conventions around the world including 12 FISM winners, (three Grand Prix winners), the nine past International Presidents from the I.B.M. plus its current International President and the eight past Presidents of the S.A.M.  along with 22 magicians attending the F.F.F.F. for the first time.

An free eBook of the program is available Here.

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Made by Matt Episcopo for the Guest of Honor, Shawn Farquhar featuring some of the attendees at this year's F.F.F.F. convention.

Here are the time codes for this podcast:

00:00:15 - Scott Wells talks about what to expect in this and the next few podcasts as we post daily updates from the F.F.F.F. convention

00:05:41 - Gary Plants talks about his experience at the recent Magic Con in San Diego where he was one of the presenters.

00:16:10 - Dan Garrett talks about his recent lecture tour of Japan and his upcoming online lecture to be presented on Penguin Magic. on June 1, 2014

00:23:03 - Chief "Forker", Obie O'Brien, talks about some of the history of the F.F.F.F. convention, some stories about Jay Marshall, Eddie Fechter and others plus some advice on how to get an invitation to this private event.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

130: Greg Bordner - Las Vegas Comes to Mayberry

The Andy Griffith Show aired on TV in the 1960's set in the fictional rural town of Mayberry, South Carolina, a friendly, close-knit community that clung to the 1930's...a time gone by.  Colon, Michigan is not dissimilar in that it has a rich tradition where many come back to relax and to enjoy a simpler time.

With a population of 1,161 people and one flashing traffic light, Colon nearly doubles in size each year for the annual Get Together as magicians from around the world convene to enjoy each others' company and share magic. It is truly a "Brigadoon" type of event that has the entire community turning out to celebrate the craft of magic then disappears afterwards with no trace that anything ever happened.

Greg Bordner wishes everyone a Happy Holiday from the showroom of Abbott's Magic Company.

Greg Bordner gives an after hours tour of the Abbotts Magic Factory. See where the magic begins before making it to the shelf!

Magic is a big house with many rooms. We have a rich history of magic that is filled with many people contributing to give us the texture that makes up the fabric of our craft. Greg Bordner, proprietor of Abbott's Magic Company, is one of dealers who continues the tradition started 80 years ago in the small village of Colon, Michigan.

Greg Bordner joins me on this podcast to talk about the history of Abbott's Magic Company, the transition of a brick-and-mortar magic shop to a successful online store, popular tricks sold through Abbott's, how Colon, Michigan came into being starting with Harry Blackstone, Sr., the many magicians who have moved to Colon, what there is to do in and around the Get Together (i.e. garage sales, Amish dinners, Curly's close-up contest, American Museum of Magic, Colon Museum) and so much more.

This is an interesting chat with some funny stories along the way about Blackstone, Sr. and others. For more information on Abbott's Magic Company, the  annual Get Together or the Close-Up Convention, visit their website at: http://AbbottMagic.com/

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here.

As mentioned in the chat, many magicians are buried in the Colon cemetery. Thanks to Al the Only, here is an alphabetical list of those buried there (as of this writing):

Don Alan, Arthur Glen Babbs "Arturo", Bill Baird, Jack Barrows, Harry Blackstone Jr., Harry Blackstone Sr., John Nicholls Booth, Recil Bordner, Peter Bouton, Jerry Conklin, Shirley Conklin, Ted Coppin "Ted Banks", Della Coppin "Sally Banks", Ricki Dunn, Vince Fabek "Quincy the Clown", Karrell Fox, Anne Gwynne, Jack Gwynne, Kenneth Husted "Roy Huston", "Little Johnny" Jones, Skippy Lamore, Elaine Lund, Robert Lund, Fred R. Merrill, Hank Moorehouse, Jack Rench, Duke Stern, Marx Edward Straw, Jesse Thornton, Donald "Monk" Watson. You can learn more about each of these past magicians and see their grave sites by Clicking Here.

Karrell Fox gives a friendly tribute to his old friend Duke Stern in the Colon Cemetery. Also seen in this 1993 video is Bibik and Al the Only..

Magic & Martinis Thursday

Well, 'tis the season and everyone is working and partying hard. Our tree is appropriately festive with the right mix of...well, Magic & Martinis, what else? Cheers!