307: 2016 Abbott's Get Together - Day One

Day One - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3rd 2016
9:00AM ABBOTT'S COLON GOLF CLASSIC (more info) with Al the Only
9:00AM ABBOTT'S REGISTRATION OPENS at the Abbott Plant
10:00AM ABBOTT'S DEALERS ROOM OPENS (more info) at Elementary School
10:30AM SUPER SHOWROOM SPECIALS (more info) at Elementary
10:30AM SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR DISCOUNT BOOK SALE (more info) at Elementary
11:00AM LECTURE - Clemens ILgner at the High School
12:00PM COLON STREET PERFORMERS - outside M&M Grill featuring Joe Bennett
1:00PM COLON HISTORICAL MUSEUM OPEN TILL 4PM (more info)
1:00PM BALLOON SCULPTING WORKSHOP - at Sterlini's Magic Shop (more info)
1:30PM MAGIC SHOW at Abbott Plant with BJ Mallen or Gordon Miller
3:00PM LECTURE - Martin Cox at the High School
3:00PM MAGIC SHOW at Abbott Plant with BJ Mallen or Gordon Miller
3:00PM - 6:00PM FACE PAINTING outside 5 Star Pizza by Carol Hendrix
5:30PM RIVER LAKE INN’S MAGIC SHOW & DINNER with Ron Carnell
8:00PM ABBOTT'S STAGE SHOW at the High School (Preshow Live Organ Music)
Featuring Ice McDonald MC, Sir Patrick, Brenda Hahne, Clemens ILgner, Seebach Illusions
(view seating chart)
10:00PM ABBOTT'S DEALERS ROOM OPENS at Grade School after show

00:00:13 - Mike Conklin, son of "The Amazing Conklins" grew up in Colon and reared by a magical family. He tells what it was like growing up in a small village that blossomed into the Magic Capitol every year.

00:07:19 - Al the Only talks about organizing the "Colon Open Golf Classic" for the past 27 years plus his cemetery tours that he conduct every year and his book

00:16:27 - Antony Gerard is one of the "street dealers" that makes the Get Together unique from other conventions.

00:35:32 - Gave Fajuri talks about the recent Potter & Potter Auction that featured the Norm Neilsen poster collection, part one, plus other upcoming auctions and book projects including John Bannon and Handsome Jack's newest books.

00:44:42 - David Linsell celebrates his 50th attendance at Abbott's Get Together with a coffee table book entitled "The Spirit of Magic" which is a beautiful photo gallery of about 150 images of performance images. This is an absolutely phenomenal book and I hope to offer this in the Magic Store soon or through Amazon.

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306: On The Road To Colon 2016

On the way to the 79th Abbott's Get Together in Colon, Michigan, we depart Houston, Texas for Chicago, Illinois. Our first stop is at the new headquarters for Magic, Inc. and a visit with the Manager, Pedro Nieves. He gives a delightful tour of their new space plus a couple magic demos for some customers. From there we're off to the Chicago Magic Lounge, the bi-weekly hot spot for Live magic in Chicago. They have stage and close-up shows each Thursday and Saturday evenings. Be sure to check out both Magic, Inc. and the Chicago Magic Lounge when you are in Chi-Town.

Then after a couple days in Chicago with friends, we travel to Michigan and check into the motel but immediately take a drive to an Amish community in northern Indiana where we meet up with other magicians to have dinner and entertain several Amish families. Then later that night, it's on to Colon for a party with David Seebach and many more friends who arrived early for the Get Together. All of this is prior to getting our registration packet for the Get Together.

Pedro Nieves Bosque demonstrates "Klaus the Mouse", one of the best selling tricks at Magic, Inc. in Chicago.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:10 - After a cup of coffee and a couple Dunkin' Donuts, we take off from Houston, Texas for Chicago.

00:05:36 - First stop: Magic, Inc.'s new store in Chicago which opened last April after having over 50 years at their old location on Lincoln Avenue. We chat with Pedro Nieves Bosque about some of the shop's history.

00:19:36 - Later that night we visit the Chicago Magic Lounge and chat with the Creative Director, John Sturk. The Lounge opened about a year and a half ago and we first posted a podcast just a week before opening. So in this interview, John brings us up to date on how they have progressed and expanded. This is a marvelous venue and a "must visit" destination for magicians and public alike.

00:29:53 - Mike Miller talks about the China tour for close-up and stage magicians and how you can get booked to perform on the tour.

00:39:22 - Michael Mode, creator of the Napkin Rose, tells about the genesis of the "night before" party featuring a chicken dinner and performing for the Amish in Shipshewana, Indiana.

Time stamps for product reviews:

00:43:56 - At The Table Experience (June 2016) with Danny Archer features many commercial ideas for the strolling and restaurant performer.

00:48:48 - Oddylisiou5 - five routines and one bonus effect for "Red Hot Mama" or "Chicago Opener"

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305: Lance Burton - Second Act

Lance Burton has retired and he's almost ready to return to his old Kentucky home back on the farm. But first, he has some "fish to fry". Lance completed a lifelong dream of producing, directing and starring in an independent film which he titled, "Billy Topit". He no longer performs magic nor travels far from his Las Vegas home but prefers his time with "more important needs" of abandoned pets.

While this podcast was being recorded, we tried a new Facebook feature of LIVE broadcasting. This allows viewers to ask questions in real time and be part of the podcast. This was the first time Lance had used this function and you can sense his childlike wonder and fun of trying something new. This was a really fun chat. Part way through the podcast/recording, my iPad battery died so we switched to Lance's iPhone and broadcast through his Facebook page. Needless to say, he has tons more fans of his Facebook page than we do. As a result, within a few minutes we had about 150 people online and quickly saying "hi" and asking questions. Over then next week, there were over 5,000 views of that video. If you would like to watch the video, it is included here in the blog, but the entirety of the audio portion is in this podcast.

A Las Vegas magician who performs at children's birthday parties convinces the woman of his dreams to be his assistant, while the local Mob guys try to make him disappear permanently! -BILLY TOPIT MASTER MAGICIAN billytopit.com

Here is a short video of Lance Burton's adventure in late May 2016 at The Wild Rose Independent Film Festival. Congratulations to the cast and crew of Billy Topit Master Magician!

Lance edited this travelogue and posted it on his Facebook page and discussed it on The Magic Word Podcast

On July 3, 2016, while attending the 88th I.B.M. convention in San Antonio, Texas, Lance Burton joined Scott Wells on the microphone to record a podcast for The Magic Word. This video was recorded on Facebook using their Live Streaming feature.

Lance talks about working with youth who want to learn magic, the development of his own Gold Medal winning act for the I.B.M. competition in 1980, working in Las Vegas, his work with pet adoptions, and his retirement from magic. But he talks mostly about his newest project, "Billy Topit" and trying to get this independent film into wide distribution.

Click on the graphic above for more information on Lance Burton's movie, "Billy Topit"

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