811: Magifest 2024 - Day One Report

Thursday 25th January 2024

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Dealer’s Room Open

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Peter Samelson Lecture.

Peter Samelson will offer a new lecture on both stage and close-up magic. An expert in both arenas, this lecture will span the course of his career, along with new material.

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Youth Program Welcome Event

All young magicians are welcome, and so are parents! Meet and make new friends for your exciting weekend ahead!

7:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.

NEW: Basecamp Welcome Meet and Greet

7:30pm - 8:30pm

Michael Feldman Lecture

To celebrate the release of his new book, "The Pages are Blank," Michael Feldman will perform and talk about his avant-garde card material. Watch out for his deck switch: it might just be the best one you've ever (not) seen.

8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

David Kaplan Show

Columbus's own David Kaplan returns to the Magifest stage, this time with his own show. A combination of magic, mime, and physical comedy, don't miss this.

10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Dan Harlan Show and Lecture

Time stamps for this episode: (to be uploaded after I’ve had some sleep)

00:00:18 -

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691: Rocco - A D'Lite-ful Magician

Conceived in Italy and named after a Saint, Rocco is a winner of several awards including the Golden Lion Award from Siegfried and Roy, among others that launched his international career. Performing from China to Guam and Paris to Monaco, his silent act has kept him in constant demand at all of the top nightclubs and casinos in the world. He was also the creator of the D’Lite which has sold six million across the globe. Rocco is also the “master of the sleeve” who has made a career of shooting items up and down in and out of his sleeve making for “enlightenment in the mind.”

In this week’s episode, Rocco shares stories about how he started in magic and the story of how D’Lites were created and stolen. He also chats about some of his highlights so far in his life from his many experiences of performing from the Crazy Horse in Paris to winning the Golden Lion from Siegfried and Roy. He also talks about his inspiration from Bill Wisch and Slydini that made him the magician he is today.

537: Late Bloomers - Finding Magic Later in Life

A listener who became interested in magic later in life suggested that I consider chatting with others who may have a similar story. I thought that would be an interesting topic and perhaps even inspirational to others who might feel that it's too late to "teach an old dog new tricks." Well, this week we feature chats with a dozen listeners who responded and have interesting stories to tell.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:43 - Nick Creature

00:12:20 - Angelo Fiorentino

00:17:40 - Bill Wisch

00:28:00 - Charles Cisneros

00:33:26 - Clint Smith

00:37:55 - Daniel Will

00:43:28 - Ian Scheller

00:49:25 - Ridgely Hunt

00:57:07 - Ryan Johnson

01:05:05 - Sean Doolan

01:09:42 - Shawn Mulliins

01:13:02 - Tom Yates

Magicians' Valhalla

Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2019. Some may not be as well-known to you, but they were my personal friends (hey, it is my blog!). If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, then it would behoove you to do a little online search of what these people have contributed to our craft. If you have someone you think was overlooked, then please post the name in the comments below on this blog.

Those whose names are highlighted were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again.

Denny Haney

Gary Darwin

Sonny Fontana

Don Billings

Marshall Brodien

Steve Dusheck

Anthony Brahams

Johnny “The Great Tomsoni” Thompson

Anthony Owen

John Cornelius

Tom Blacke

Piet Forton