The final day of the four (plus) day convention draws to a close with even more stuff packed into the day. It started off with the annual Order of Merlin Breakfast. This is for those who have at least 25 consecutive years of membership in the I.B.M. Immediately following the breakfast was the third and final day of the Big Three Events.
In the afternoon, there were six, one hour events going on simultaneous with each other. It was repeated again one half hour later which meant that you could only choose two out of the six. Well, you can't do it all...but I tried. I slipped in and out of a couple events but the one that had everyone fascinated was the "Carney Knowledge" event by Todd Robbins. He taught us how to walk on glass and also how to hammer a nail in you nose ("Human Blockhead"). Wow! I can check that off my bucket list now. After the Six Pack Sessions, Diamond Jim Tyler lectured on close-up.
Before the show began and the general public was let into the theatre, the contest awards were presented and the transition of the Presidential medals was made. Here are the awards that were given out at the Awards presentation.
Recipient of the McBride Magic & Mystery School Scholarship
Tamer Qafiti from San Diego, Ca.
Recipients of the IBM Endowment and Development Scholarships to the Sorcerer's Summer Safari Magic Camp
Salvatori Adler
Jason Knight
IBM Close-Up Competition
Youth Winners
1st place - Drake Stanton- San Antonio. TX
2nd place - Tamer Qafiti- San Diego, CA
Adult Winners
1st place - Alberto Lorenzo- Miami FL
2nd place - Rune Carlsen - Norway
People's Choice Award - Close-Up and winner of the Obie 4F Close-Up Award
Alberto Lorenzo - Miami, FL
IBM Stage Competition
Youth Winners
1st place and winner of the FANTASMA Prize Package - Eli Portala - Toledo, OH
2nd place -"Smart Magic" Thirawat Kongnugul
Adult Winners
1st place- Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China
2nd place - Chris Randall - Las Vegas, NV
People's Choice Award
Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China
Karrell Fox Comedy Award
"Caramel Machine" Sadaharu Suzuki and Toshiharu Odjima - Japan
The evening show played to a nearly packed theatre with Todd Robbins doing an incomparable job as the Master of Ceremonies. The show began with Luna Shimada followed by Eugene Burger, Peter Samelson, Francis Tabary, Valerie and closing the show was David DaVinci. After the show ended most people retired to the hotel to say their final farewells at the "no host" bar in the ballroom.
This final mega-podcast has it all. With this being the final day, I knew that I had to get around to everyone in fairly short order in between my attending some of the other event. The time stamps for this Podcast are:
00:00:08 - Todd Robbins talks about the evolution of the one man play, "Play Dead" , that we viewed last night on film. He discussed his association with creative consultants like Teller (of Penn and Teller), and where it might go from here. He also chatted about his association with Monday Night Magic, carnival side shows, and much more. He also talked about the success on television that his young son, Fin, has been receiving on soap operas (that is Fin in the picture above with the realistic looking wooden cigar).
00:45:14 - The Associate Dean of McBride's Mystery School, Larry Haas, talks about what the school does, the importance of scripting, finding good words, developing your character, publishing books and more.
01:05:27 - C.W.O. (Chief Wizard Officer) of Fantasma Magic, Roger Dreyer, talks about the development of his company and association with and dedication to the development of youth in out art. Roger tips his hand with some inside information about the future projects that you can only hear here on The Magic Word.
01:17:00 - Francis Tabary, performer, creator and inventor of a novel rope routine talks about how he created the routine.
01:21:31 - Fielding West talks about how he got started in Las Vegas. He gives us a couple of great stories with celebrities that you will find memorable.
01:41:50 - Jade, one of the previous I.B.M. Gold Medal winners, talks about what she's been up to over the past few years. We also hear a bit from Lance Burton and Fielding West in this segment.
01:49:01 - Sammy Patrick Smith, Editor of The Linking Ring (official journal for the I.B.M.) talks about the new app for the I.B.M. with the digital edition of the journal and the new design of the http://magician.org website. which will be released soon.
01:53:14 - Co-Chairman of the convention, Mike Stratman, is breathing easier now that the convention has ended. Here he talks about the numbers and successes and feedback.
01:59:42 - Walter "Zaney" Blaney tells us a funny story from the early 1960's shortly after he developed his Ladder Levitation. This involves David Hoy and a prank he played on Walter.
02:11:15 - I give a quick wrap up as I walk back up to my hotel room and begin to edit this podcast.
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