735: Magifest 2023 - Day Two Report

Friday 27th January 2023

10:00am - 5:30pm

Dealers Open

10:00am - 11:00am

Kyle Purnell Lecture

See one of the most fertile creative minds in magic…doing his very best material. Kyle Purnell has developed highly innovative ideas with cards, bills, coins, and more, and you’ll see it all in this action-packed lecture. 11am - 12pm

Mortenn Christiansen Lecture

Not only did Denmark’s Mortenn Christiansen win the Comedy Prize this year at FISM, but he also brought down the house with an unusual act that is amazing as it is hilarious. You’ll see that act in the gala show, but in this lecture you’ll see an array of fantastic, original close-up and parlor magic. 1pm - 2:30pm

The Magifest Session

Starring Charles Greene performing and explaining a few pet effects, as well as author Margalit Fox, who will present a captivating 45-minute presentation on her best-selling book, The Confidence Men, the true story about two men who used mentalism to escape from a POW camp.

There will also be a presentation from the Gahana High School Magic Program, which features magic from students with disabilities. We at Magifest are proud to have an ongoing partnership with this important and inspiring program. We are excited to see what magic they do for us. 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Youth Event

For young magicians only! 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Mark Calabrese Lecture

Making his Magifest debut, card-cheating expert and magician Mark Calabrese will share the magic he uses to astound guests nightly at New York’s illustrious SpeakEasy Magic. You’ll learn practical, doable card magic. 5:30pm - 6:30pm

The Matt Pritchard Experience

This event is impossible to categorize, and there hasn’t been anything like it at Magifest before. Pritchard brought the house down at our sister-convention, The Session, with this presentation. Matt Pritchard has a background in science, and during the pandemic he put this background to use making online, viral videos of magic illusions. In this talk he’ll show and (sometimes) tell on the most popular of these illusions. And in most cases, the method behind the trick is as interesting as the trick itself. 8pm - 9pm

Lance Burton Interview

The man, the myth, the legend. Lance Burton sits down for a candid, in-depth interview about his illustrious career. We’ll look at performance footage and find out how one of Las Vegas’s greatest entertainers made it to the top. 9:30pm - 10:30pm

David Gerard Show

Experience this high-energy, astounding mentalism show. Straight from his residency in San Francisco to the Magifest stage… 11:30pm - midnight

You Flash, You Lose with Chris Ramsay and friends

Be part of a social media happening as the Big Trick Energy team invite you to play their "You Flash, You Lose" 10:30pm - 12.30am

Bar Magic with Mark Calabrese

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - The new CFO for Vanishing, Inc., Jeff Kowalk, chats with us about Vanishing, Inc. and the Magifest plus other exciting news

00:15:22 - Roger Nicot from Card Shark and Scott talk about crop circles and Stone Henge

00:22:21 - Marv Leventhal, one of the publishers of the Minotaur and shares his observations about some of the shows from the Day One evening shows.

00:36:43 -Owner of the Chicago Magic Lounge, Joey Cranford, chats about this convention and some news about the Chicago Magic Lounge.

00:47:-5 - Tom Craven has been attending the Magifest for about 60 years.

00:52:15 - Shoot Ogawa was a FISM winner who will be performing, lecturing and doing a private workshop here at the Magifest. He is currently performing a magical mystical show in Hawaii.

00:57:57 _ S.A.M. President Elect John Sturk chats about the upcoming national convention in July in New Orleans.

01:02:17 - John Wolfe and Kyle Purnell chat about this convention and why they like to attend.

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507: Day One - 2019 MAGIC Live! Convention

2019 Convention Schedule - Sunday August 4, 2019

24 hours Back Room Lounge (Dauphine A)

10:00 a.m. Registration (Bienville G) until 10:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. Photo Badges (Dauphine F) until 10:00 p.m.

Live Tonight!

7:30 until 11:00 p.m. - Welcome “Trick or Treat” Party (Esplanade)

7:30 until 11:00 p.m. - The Magic Shop (Mardi Gras)

11:00 p.m. - Grand Prize Giveaway (Mardi Gras)

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - Scott Wells prepares for take-off from Houston

00:04:53 - John McLenahan talks about the acquisition of Denny & Lee’s Magic Shop and its conversion to the Magic Hat and Wand Magic Shoppe

00:19:30 - James Dimmare at the Martinis and Magic show at the Thunderbird

00:29:04 - Stephen Sokulski (son of Stan Allen and sound director for James Dimmare’s show) talks about some of the plans for the convention

00:38:13 - Fred and Bobbi Becker talk about why they attend this convention

00:48:00 - Joey Cranford, co-proprietor of the Chicago Magic Lounge

00:57:45 - “Stance Burton” aka Stan Allen chats briefly about the evening’s actiities

00:58:00 - Craig Mitchell from South Africa talks about some of the other shows on the Strip he has visited

01:04:52 - Andy Pierson (Friend of The Magic Word) and Russ Jackson (listener from the U.K.) talk about what they like about the podcast. This is Russ’s first MAGIC Live! convention.

213: Chicago Magic Bars & Lounges

Chicago has a rich history of magic bars within the city limits as well as in the outlying areas. The "hay day" of magic bars in Chicago ended around 1998 with the closing of the last magic bar. But Joey Cranford and John Sturk are pumping new life into an old concept with the new nightclub/theater called "Chicago Magic Lounge". This will be a recreation of the early 20th century, prohibition era lounge one night each week on the upper part of Chicago.

Bill Weimer is a local magician who was an integral part of the Chicago magic bar scene from the 1970's through the 1990's. He worked seven of the nine or so Chicago-land magic bars. He has a lot of stories about these clubs in their glory days and in fact, wrote a book about his experiences called "Now You See Them, Now You Don't".

00:03:18 - Joey Cranford and John Sturk talk about the newest venture that will open on March 5, 2015, The Chicago Magic Lounge. They talk about their vision of the Lounge and what they hope will happen. They will also encourage local magicians to come and hang our and create a "magic lab" where performers can try out new stuff.

00:40:56 - Bill Weimer talks about the history of Chicago-land bars from his perspective of one who has been there and done that having worked at seven of the nine or so magic bars within the city's boundaries over a 20 year period. Bill wrote the book on bar magic entitled "Now You See Them, Now You Don't". In this podcast, Bill shares some of the stories from his book and his perspective as a working performer.

Order your copy of Bill's book at his website http://www.magicbarbook.com/