406: MagiCuba with Jon Stetson and John Rose

We are at the beginning of the magic convention season having had a great kickoff in Columbus, Ohio with the MagiFest. There are many conventions occurring around the glove that will attract thousands of attendees including Blackpool, MAGIC Live! and FISM. And there are other notable conventions that will be hosted that have long, rich heritages of being fun. But there is one convention that is planned for late 2018 that will be notable because of its unique location...Havana, Cuba.

In partnership with the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Rose, a global marketing agency led by its founder and MagiCuba creator, John Rose, together with master mentalist Jon Stetson and in close cooperation with Bill Herz of Magicorp, the world's largest talent agency specializing in Magic, brings you the first international festival and conference of magic in Havana.

There are numerous conventions that could use attention and publicity to promote their event. But I feel that this will be a unique opportunity to not only see and learn some great magic, but also to travel to a destination that has literally been off limits to U.S. citizens for decades and to see a country while still in its "pristine" condition before tourism trade is wide open,

Early Bird Registration Rates Extended for Listeners of The Magic Word Podcast

The Early Bird discount ended on January 31st, but we have a special deal for our listeners. When you go through the convention registration process at http://magicuba.org/ be sure to put in the special discount code: themagicwordpodcast and receive a $100 discount now through February 28, 2018. Remember to have your passport information handy when you register.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:09:19 - Jon Stetson talks about mentalism and classes he teaches and the Mystery Lounge in Boston

00:30:20 - John Rose and Jon Stetson talk about MagiCuba

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405: Magi-Fest 2018 - Day Three

Day Three Schedule:

9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.Kids Show Magic with Mario Marchese We say this every year, and we’ll say it again. Do not miss this unique event. We invite 200 young children to attend a magic show by the incredible Mario Marchese, who has appeared on numerous times on national television. Immediately following his innovative kids show, the kids are dismissed and Mario will speak to you about his unique approach to kids magic, which includes electronic magic the likes of which nobody has ever seen!

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Dealers Open Closed for lunch 1pm – 2.30 p.m.

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Saturday Session Josh Janousky: Josh will perform several of his latest inventions, which you may have seen going viral on the net! Timothy Paul: A wildly original close-up magician, Timothy will surprise you with two unpublished card routines, and then explain how they work. Allan Kronzek: To celebrate the release of his book, Allan will present two never-before-seen card effects. Ben Seidman: One of the country’s leading traveling performers gives us his take on some brilliant close-up magic.

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Kieron Johnson In addition to being a world-famous regurgitator, Keiron has invented some wildly original magic, and he will speak to us about this in his exciting lecture.

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Max Maven This is your chance to get to know Max Maven, and learn mentalism from one of the most knowledgeable and experienced minds in our field.

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Mark Shortland Mark has an endearing, engaging style, and his parlor material is as amazing as it is hilarious. He created the bestselling trick of 2016, “AmazeBox,” but he has a great deal more to share in this lecture.

8:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.Gala Show This year we have an absolutely sensational surprise guest on our gala show. Do not miss it. REPEAT: do NOT miss it.

The Great Kaplan comedy, magic, music act. Hear our chat at: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/two-daves

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - Greg Border, Abbott's Magic Company,, talks about this convention plus his upcoming 79th "Get Together" coming August 1-4, 2018

00:07:27 - Troy Hooser has been coming to the MagiFest since he got his driving license, plus he chats about the republication of his OOP book, "DesTROYers" which was (is) a trendsetter.

00: 12:58- Danny Orleans is a dealer and host at one of the events and talks about working birthday parties and how to handle adults in the back of the room who disrupt your show with their conversations.

00:20:54 - Paul Richards was one of the presenters as well as a dealer at the MagiFest and he talks about creating tricks and how he markets to the new generation.

00:31:54 - Guest of Honor, Max Maven, talks about this convention and others he has worked around the world.

00:47:09 - Ben Seidman was one of the highlights for registrants with his comedy evening show with original material that brought multiple gasps throughout the show.

00:57:23 -Jason Ladanye talks about his experience at this convention and his upcoming nationwide lecture tour.

01:03:16 - We wrap up with a quick review of the evening gala show that closed with David Kaplan, Woody Aragon, "The Alchemist" (FISM 2015 General Magic Award winner) and concluding with surprise guest, Mac King.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

404: Magi-Fest 2018 - Day Two

Day Two Schedule:

10:00 am - 11:30 a.m. Friday Session

Doug Isenberg: Doug is an internationally recognized lawyer, and he will discuss intellectual property as it applies to magic. The Memory Arts: Sarah and David Trustman will show us how to vastly improve our memories, and specifically how to memorize a deck of cards. Rick Smith Jr.: A Guinness World Record Holder for card throwing, and the undisputed world expert on the subject. He’ll speak to us about his storied career throwing cards, and give us an onstage demonstration. The Hope of Magic: Last year there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when a group of students presented some magic in the face of adversity. Onstage, we promised to gift them with some new magic props if they would come back to perform for us. We can’t wait to see what they do!

10:30 am - 5:00 p.m.Dealers Open Closed for lunch between 1pm – 2.30pm

12:30 pm - 1:30 p.m. Woody Aragon There is only one Woody. If you have never seen Woody Aragon before, you will be astounded by his original approach to close-up magic.

2:30 pm - 3:30 p.m.Magic in the Marketplace Talk Why is there so much bad magic? How many magic tricks are sold around the world? Is the internet good or bad for magic? This unusual panel discussion will feature several luminaries in the magic retail world, in a frank discussion about the innovations, problems, and solutions that are worth discussing when it comes to making magic better.

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Shawn Farquhar He won FISM. He won IBM. He won SAM. He tours the world more than perhaps any magician on the scene today. Come see why Shawn Farquhar is one of the most acclaimed magicians on Earth.

7:30 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. Max Maven It’s rare to see a living legend live onstage, and we’re beyond honored to welcome the inimitable Max Maven to our gathering. Max will astound with the mentalism that has taken him to stages all over the world.

9:00 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.Ben Seidman Show Ben Seidman is an amazing artist: funny, technically brilliant, and a wonderful storyteller. See why he has won College Entertainer of the Year in this exciting, hilarious show.

10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Kieron Johnson It isn’t magic, but it’s amazing! Keiron is the world’s leading regurgitator, and Josh and Andi will host him in this zany, over-the-top event. (Not suitable for young children)

11:59 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Rick Smith Jr. Want to throw cards at targets? Want to win amazing magic? Want to learn card scaling from the undisputed best card thrower in history? Want to learn how to defend yourself and torment your enemies with playing cards? Then don’t miss this late-night contest, in which we’ll crown a Magi-Fest card throwing champion!

WARNING: This video may be too disgusting for some viewers. It contains regurgitation. This was recorded during a podcast interview with Kieron Johnson who is a professional magician and regurgitator and water spouter.

To hear our entire chat, visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/292-kieron-johnson

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - Joshua Jay with an "elevator talk" to start off the day.

00:01:00 - Allan Kronzek chats about his participation as talent at this convention

00:12:20 - Bruce Young has been attending the MagiFest since Josh and Andi have been organizing this event.

00:17:02 - Steve McDonagh has been attending for 20+ years and compares past MagiFest conventions with this "new era" of this event.

00:24:01 - we chat with four young attendees who tell us why they are here and how they have been influenced by others and seeing some of their magic "heroes" here.

00:29:52 David and Sarah Trustman (and their son, Cooper) were part of the morning session and summarize their method of memorization of stacked decks.

00:33:48 - Ken Weber shares a secret with us about an update of his book, "Maximum Entertainment"

00:43:05 - Steven Brundage tells us that he plans to move from New York to Los Angles while keeping busy performing his Rubik's Cube magic internationally

00:51:28 - Scott Robinson was a presenter who discusses his "Sleight Club" and the rules of "Sleight Club"

00:57:06 - Another presenter, Woody Aragon, tells us the "muse" for his creations.

01:03:58- Andi Gladwin, co-organizer of the MagiFest, talks about this convention and piracy of intellectual property.

01:18:29 - We give a wrap of the day with an update on Gregory Wilson's health condition and delay of some lecture dates.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.