Magic News Network

Rick Fisher and FAB Welcome Magic Fans

Colon, Michigan is a beautiful and historic location.  However, could it support two magic shops?

The Sturgis Journal goes front and center with a great profile on one of our favorite magic dealers and people in the world, Rick Fisher.

It seems like it wasn't that long ago that FAB Magic began what some considered the magic equivalent of shipping coal to Newcastle.

We didn't know what that meant so we just took it in stride.

But it sounded like, "does the world need Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan?"  How can you have too many magic stores?

FAB Magic opened its beautifully adorned magic shop just yards from Abbott's Magic Factory.  Colon is not a large town, or even a medium-sized village. 

It boasts a population of 1,227 residents and the main road to the south accommodates both motor vehicles and horse-drawn Amish carriages and carts. 

Debbie O'Carroll & Greg McAdams Kick-Off Library Program

The Pembroke Library conveniently located in beautiful Pembroke, Massachusetts, has a well-deserved reputation in New England for going all out to both entertain and intrigue young readers.

Magicians Debbie O'Carroll and Greg McAdams share similar positive renown for their consistent and high-quality shows designed to encourage reading for the sake of reading.

We've written many times about Ms. O'Carroll's outstanding use of acting, story-telling, and magic skills to make the event come alive for children and their parents. She dons costumes to introduce her young audiences to characters appropriate for the audience's age and focus.

Jeff Martin Featured: Magician With the Magic Hair

Can you guess why they call him the Blond Curly-Haired Magician?

In its on-going coverage of The Park County Fair, The Billings Gazette did a heck of a job with their coverage of Salem, Oregon magician Jeff Martin.

To read the coverage one would think there were only two worth-while events at this year's rendition of the fair: the pig wrestling and Mr. Martin's magic. 

Both attractions went a long way to entertaining the most difficult demographic out there - teenagers.

Summer's Fleeting Favorites: Abbott's Saturday Magic Shows

Sure, it gets cold here in Michigan but only for about nine months of the year.  The rest of the time, we have sunny days and great summer activities.

Because we don't have much of a Summer, we have to squeeze it in as best as we can.  Every day has something great -- usually within a few hours travel -- and well-attended. 
For us, one of the sure signs of Summer is Abbott's Saturday Magic Shows.

Visitors to the famous factory of magic can see some great magicians perform well-practiced routines.  We saw Hank Moorehouse work the room -- and we learned some great bits to borrow for our show. 

But even if you aren't a magician, you'll find great pleasure in taking a stroll through downtown Colon, Michigan before or after Magic Week, crossing the bank parking lot, walking a few steps down St. Joseph Street to the one-and-only Abbott's Magic Factory.

Snowmagical Fun Fest: Doc Eason, Eric Meade, Star

Snowmass, Colorado is the place to be this weekend. Doc Eason is the organizer and head cheerleader for this spectacular weekend fest of fun.   

Eric Meade, Doc Eason, Connie and Dave Elstun, Terry Ward, and a host of other entertainers will help the town celebrate their 25th annual Snowmagical Family Fun Fest. 

Snowmass is synonymous magic. Bob Sheets, Doc Eason, Eric Meade are not only stars of our business, they also worked Snowmass.

The festivities kick off Friday with street performers and activities, plus an outdoor showing of “ET” on the big Fanny Hill screen at dusk. (Bring a blanket and popcorn.) On Saturday and Sunday, families can check out the continuous assortment of magic and puppet shows, street entertainers, puppet-making, juggling and magic workshops going on in the vicinity of the Snowmass Mall.

Connie Elstun will perform her kid’s show and provide a Magic Workshop “in the shade near Paradise Bakery.”

Mentalist Marc Salem Stabbed in London Show

We’ve spoken highly of the incredible Mark Salem over the years and he has yet to disappoint. 

His presence on stage convinces you that he may very well have the power to influence your thoughts and actions.

He’s appeared on 60 Minutes and just about every major market around the world. 

He is, as we say in the biz, really, really good.

The Times of London theatre critic tells us Mr. Salem's new show at the Tricycle Theatre in London started off in an unforgettable manner.

The critic reports Marc Salem severely injured his hand during his first performance of his hit show scheduled to run until August. 

Splitting Hairs on Your Face: No Mustached Magicians!

Mark Panner submitted sixteen articles this week (and it's only Tuesday).  This one made the least sense so we print it without comment. You can reach Mark Panner at magicmark@insidemagic.com. 

Introduction to this Column

It used to be magicians were clean-cut, All-American men.  Not any more.  No. Now, magicians have to look like every other performer in the side-show. They have long hair, tattoos, pierced body parts, and even facial hair. 

Walt Disney didn't allow facial hair on the people meeting the public. He knew that facial hair (on men or women) makes people nervous (when it is on men) or nauseous (when it is on women). Mr. Walt Disney did not let his women wear too much make-up or his men wear any make-up at all. Men couldn't have ear rings or any other kind of piercing and no visible tattoos were allowed at all.

Nate Kranzo - Good Guy with Great Magic

We consider Michigan's Master Magician Nate Kranzo a friend -- we have no idea if the feeling is mutual.  Regardless,  any friend of Nate is a friend of ours.  We've checked out his links and were impressed.  Check out his video showing of one of the neatest tricks we've seen in a while, Invisible Elasticity II (pronounced "Invisible Elacticity TWO" not, as we called it, "Invisible Elasticity EYE-EYE").  We intend to save up our money to buy the download (it's only $12.95 but they took all of our money as a condition of the parole).  Finally, you must sign up for Mr. Kranzo's newsletter.  He writes with vim & vigor about things we love.  Subscribe by heading here.

Dutch Magicians Open Magic Venue in Spain

There is an article in this morning's The Sur, from Southern Spain.

Call us romantic but we always thought there were magic theaters all over Europe.  We were surprised to learn from this morning's edition that there is only one all-magic theater in the entire EU. 

Oscar, Renzo and Mara opened the very special Magic Palace last weekend and received outstanding critical notice.

The Sur reporter, Carmen Perez, notes with the opening of the new Magic Palace in Torremolinos, it holds the distinguished honor of being the only European theater "to be used solely for magic." 

Big Bucks in Faking

The great Paul Daniels was inspiring.  His lecture on how to make money from magic is discussed later in this article.  But it is his insight in marketing that makes this story easier to accept. 

The Tyee from Canada recently asked the musical question, "What the heck is going on at the University of British Columbia?"

Some of our younger readers may not be familiar with that musical question as originally posed by Jimmy Dorsey in an unreleased recording during his Great White North Swing Tour.

The Tyee shows its feisty fish has spurs in their scathing attack on the whole notion of pseudo-science, "morphic fields," and pet telepathy.