662: Jeffrey Alan - American Museum of Magic

David Copperfield’s museum is private and only open by invitation. In another part of the country, The American Museum of Magic (AMM) is open to the public. This week, Jeffrey Alan talks about the museum, its history, how it came to be, how it expanded and much more. Jeffrey is on the Board of Directors for the AMM as well as the I.B.M. He is also a full time performing magician in the Michigan area. If ever you are in the Midwestern U.S., then you owe it to yourself to visit this wonderful collection of our history’s treasures.

If you are more of a visual person, you can watch a YouTube video of our chat recorded over Zoom.

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Jeffrey shares a lot of information about the history of The American Museum of Magic that brings our history to life. For more information, directions, and to make an appointment for a private tour, please visit their website at: https://americanmuseumofmagic.com/

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300: Day Two - 2016 I.B.M. Convention

Today began the first day of the the "Triple Treat" so named because each day the registrants are broken into three groups (by color) and attend an hour and a half of performances and lectures by three different magicians, one in each of three rooms each day: Richard Turner, Paul Vigil, and Brian Gillis. After the General Board Meeting, the second day of stage contests were held (which yielded a few finalists for Monday night's show). The afternoon lecture by Michael Ammar was another outstanding (and packed) event. The evening's "Magic Foolers Show" left something to be desired in that there were audio and visual problems. Plus the show would have been better received in a smaller venue probably back at the hotel ballroom. The final night's activity was a discussion with Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger talking about the 25 years of the Mystery School.

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Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:13 - Dealer Chairman, Terry Richison, talks about some of the cool things in the dealers' room.

00:08:34 - Past International President, Jep Hostetler, talks about attending the Richard Turner experience as part of the "Triple Treat"

00:10:28 - Attendee Greg Lancaster gives us his take on the Paul Vigil performance/lecture in the "Triple Treat".

00:12:08 - Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger talk about the many years they have taught the youth as part of the I.B.M. youth group activities each year.

00:16:55 - Harriet Jacobson and Gay Blackstone chat about their specialized magic jewelry sold through BJW Magical Jewelers which is one of the many dealers in the dealers' room this year.

00:22:24 - Past President of the British Ring, Brian Miller, talks about the upcoming British Ring convention.

00:26:45 - S.A.M. National President, David Bowers, talks about his year as President of that organization and some stories from the road. He is later joined by The Linking Ring Editor, Sammy Patrick Smith, and together they talk about the two organizations' journals, The Linking Ring and M.U.M. and the possible future of the magazines, joint conventions, and organizations.

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

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130: Greg Bordner - Las Vegas Comes to Mayberry

The Andy Griffith Show aired on TV in the 1960's set in the fictional rural town of Mayberry, South Carolina, a friendly, close-knit community that clung to the 1930's...a time gone by.  Colon, Michigan is not dissimilar in that it has a rich tradition where many come back to relax and to enjoy a simpler time.

With a population of 1,161 people and one flashing traffic light, Colon nearly doubles in size each year for the annual Get Together as magicians from around the world convene to enjoy each others' company and share magic. It is truly a "Brigadoon" type of event that has the entire community turning out to celebrate the craft of magic then disappears afterwards with no trace that anything ever happened.

Greg Bordner wishes everyone a Happy Holiday from the showroom of Abbott's Magic Company.

Greg Bordner gives an after hours tour of the Abbotts Magic Factory. See where the magic begins before making it to the shelf!

Magic is a big house with many rooms. We have a rich history of magic that is filled with many people contributing to give us the texture that makes up the fabric of our craft. Greg Bordner, proprietor of Abbott's Magic Company, is one of dealers who continues the tradition started 80 years ago in the small village of Colon, Michigan.

Greg Bordner joins me on this podcast to talk about the history of Abbott's Magic Company, the transition of a brick-and-mortar magic shop to a successful online store, popular tricks sold through Abbott's, how Colon, Michigan came into being starting with Harry Blackstone, Sr., the many magicians who have moved to Colon, what there is to do in and around the Get Together (i.e. garage sales, Amish dinners, Curly's close-up contest, American Museum of Magic, Colon Museum) and so much more.

This is an interesting chat with some funny stories along the way about Blackstone, Sr. and others. For more information on Abbott's Magic Company, the  annual Get Together or the Close-Up Convention, visit their website at: http://AbbottMagic.com/

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.

As mentioned in the chat, many magicians are buried in the Colon cemetery. Thanks to Al the Only, here is an alphabetical list of those buried there (as of this writing):

Don Alan, Arthur Glen Babbs "Arturo", Bill Baird, Jack Barrows, Harry Blackstone Jr., Harry Blackstone Sr., John Nicholls Booth, Recil Bordner, Peter Bouton, Jerry Conklin, Shirley Conklin, Ted Coppin "Ted Banks", Della Coppin "Sally Banks", Ricki Dunn, Vince Fabek "Quincy the Clown", Karrell Fox, Anne Gwynne, Jack Gwynne, Kenneth Husted "Roy Huston", "Little Johnny" Jones, Skippy Lamore, Elaine Lund, Robert Lund, Fred R. Merrill, Hank Moorehouse, Jack Rench, Duke Stern, Marx Edward Straw, Jesse Thornton, Donald "Monk" Watson. You can learn more about each of these past magicians and see their grave sites by Clicking Here.

Karrell Fox gives a friendly tribute to his old friend Duke Stern in the Colon Cemetery. Also seen in this 1993 video is Bibik and Al the Only..

Magic & Martinis Thursday

Well, 'tis the season and everyone is working and partying hard. Our tree is appropriately festive with the right mix of...well, Magic & Martinis, what else? Cheers!