818: Blackpool Magic Convention 2024 - Day Two Report

Saturday 17th February 2024

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Dealers’ Hall Open

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Michael O’Brien Lecture (Arena)

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Paul Richards Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Kyle Purnell Lecture (Foyer Hall)

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Family Entertainment Competition (Opera House)

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. David Regal Lecture (Arena) and David Kaye Lecture (Derham Lounge)

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Montreal Trio Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Bear Pit Close-Up (Foyer Hall)

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Axel Adler Lecture (Arena) and Mat O’Neill Parlour Show (Derham Lounge)

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Remy Lasvenes Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Tom Wright Show (Foyer Hall)

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Shoot Ogawa Lecture (Arena) and Jozo Bozo Lecture (Derham Lounge)

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Raymond Crowe Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Steve Faulkner Lecture (Foyer Hall)

6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Gala Show featuring Mac King (Opera House)

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Magical Bones Black Magic (Arena) and Ben Hart Jadoo (Circle Hall)

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Shoot Ogawa Show (Arena)

8:45 p.m. - 10:15 p.m. Gala Show with Mac King (Opera House)

8:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. Mike Caveney and Friends Show (Circle Hall)

9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Magical Bones Black Magic (Arena) and Ben Hart Jadoo (Circle Hall)

11:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. Jack Gleadow Mr. Saturday Night (Foyer Hall)

11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Harrison Greenbaum Late Night Roast (Arena and limited to audiences of 18+) and Battle Magic Cabaret (Old Victoria Bar and limited to audiences of 18+)

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - Alain Iannone, from Roma, Italy, tells us why he loves to attend the Blackpool Magic Convention (BMC) plus what he has seen or bought here on the first day of activities.

00:08:52 - Richard Steele, from the U.S., is a dealer for ProMystic, and tells us what it’s like to be a dealer in the huge exhibit hall.

00:14:19 - Before the International Close-Up Show began, we spoke with the father/son team of Lennard and Andy Charlton, from the U.K. who tell us why they come together to BMC year after year.

00:19:35 - Craig Mitchell often reviews big conventions like FISM and BMC. He is known for his “no holds barred” style of journalism and he talks a bit about what he’s seen so far.

00:31:11 - Ian Kendall, from Scotland, took the train over to Blackpool for attending just a couple of days using day passes which means not seeing the evening shows.

00:44:08 - Mandy Davis was manning (womanning?) the Magic Circle stall as she is soliciting membership into the prestigious organization.

00:51:58 - Creator, author, performer and producer, Nick Einhorn, from the U.K., tells us what he’s been up to in the past several years since we last met.

00:59:03 - Richard Young, from the U.K., is half of the Strange & Young team that performs on their own plus with the Champions of Magic. Richard also co-hosts “The Magicians Podcast Network” Here we have a lively discussion about us both hosting a podcast with Murray Sawchuck about exposure in magic.

01:09:54 - Mike Caveney hosted “Mike Caveney and Friends” as one of the alternate shows to the Day One gala. We catch up with him who tells us how he selected this year’s line-up of “friends.”

01:15:00 - Kyle Purnell, from the U.S., is a first time attendee at BMC and was also a performer/lecturer. He tells us about his experience.

01:23:03 - No report from BMC would be complete without a chat with John Archer, one of the funniest guys in Great Britain.

01:29:13 - Rebecca and Allan Taylor, from the U.K., tell us about their escapology club in England and the conventions they sponsor.

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773: S.A.M. 2023 Convention in New Orleans - Day Three Report

Tuesday, July 25th

9:00 AM SAM EVENT 2: S.A.M. Life Members Reception: The Magic Castle 60 Years “Matinkas Back Room”

10:00 AM EXHIBITORS Open “Kellar Exhibitor Hall”

10:00 AM Registration Open Vieux Carre Foyer

10:30 AM SHOW 4: International Pro Close-Up Show: R. Paul Wilson and Friends. Featuring Jason England (USA), Paul Nardini (Scotland), Giancarlo Scalia (Spain/Italy), R. Paul Wilson (Scotland), and more - “Thurston Lecture Hall”

1:30 PM SAM EVENT 3: Convention Honoree: Tina and Friends – panel discussion “Matinkas Back Room”

2:00 PM Registration Close Vieux Carre Foyer

3:30 PM SAM EVENT 4: Magic in America: The Story of the Society of American Magicians by David Goodsell – discussion by Editor David Charvet “Matinkas Back Room”

5:00 PM Dealers Close “Kellar Exhibitor Hall” 6:00 PM PARTY 3: Cocktail Hour & Magic in the USA Book Release - Vieux Carre Foyer

7:30 PM SAM EVENT 5: SAM Banquet and Comedy Magic Show 5 “Thurston Lecture Hall”

10:30 PM SHOW 6: SAM LATE NITE: Masquerade Magic: magic by Michael Dardant and Dante; Minx Burlesque with Trixie Minx, Madame Mystere, and Mamie Dame; guest starring : Meadow Perry

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 – Past International President, Shawn Farquhar, tells us a bit about the I.B.M. convention last week and a preview of where it will be next year. But he talks extensively about his theater in Vancouver, Hidden Wonders.

00:11:09 – Past National President of the S.A.M., Vinnie Grosso, is the Contest Chairman for the convention and talks a bit about how that all came together.

00:25:52 – Harry Allen tells us what’s new and what’s hot in magic as we visit with him in the Dealer’s Room.

00:36:03 - Owner of the TrickSupply.com, Wolfgang Wollet, tells us what conventions he attended this year. He also shares with us what is new and hot in his shop.

00:38:53 - David Charvet is the author of the S.A.M. history book and tells us about completing the book after being handed down to him by David Goodsell.

00:43:53 – Arden James checks in with us and we also chats with the convention’s Guest of Honor, Tina Lennert.

00:47:00 – Christopher Hart and Mike Caveney talk a bit about their upcoming performances

767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.