Magic-Con

JC Wagner passes away

magic-con — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:24:43 +0000

It brings us great sorrow hearing about the loss of JC Wagner. He was a great magician and a wonderful friend. We know his magic will live on, but we will still miss him.

All our best to his family and friends.

MAGIC, The Magazine For Magicians

magic-con — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:28:42 +0000

Check out this months issue of MAGIC magazine for a summary of the events at Magic-Con 2010. It’s an honor to be published in the largest magazine for magicians and just another sign of the conference’s success.

Pop Culture World News

magic-con — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:26:09 +0000

Allan Given of Pop Culture World News has written a wonderful article about his time at Magic-Con 2010. Calling it an “inspirational” conference that didn’t feel inaugural at all, but “well organized and efficiently run” which “challenged those in the art of magic to look beyond the ordinary and to consistently seek out innovative and creative ways to reinvigorate their performances.”

Kicking off the event, magician Michael Weber stated that in life, “Whoever tells the best story wins.” This established a baseline for the conference and challenged those in attendance to reexamine their own performing styles to ascertain exactly what story they are trying to convey to their audiences, and thus set the tone for the entire weekend.

Read the full article here.

The Faces of Magic-Con by Tony Cabral

magic-con — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:24:18 +0000

Artist Tony Cabral has done an amazing job illustrating each presenter for Magic-Con 2010. The caricatures were featured in the conference program as well as in a limited edition book signed and numbered by Tony Cabral.

A handful of these books are still available directly through Tony. If you are interested in obtaining one of these books, email him at antoniomcabral [at] yahoo [dot] com. To view a collection of his his work, visit his flickr page at: www.flickr.com/amcabral

Eric Mead’s talk on character in performance

magic-con — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:23:24 +0000

Magic-Con 2010 presenter, Eric Mead, has just posted a transcript of his talk on character. The presentation was second in a series of brief talks on the subject of character in performance presented at Magic-Con, with the other two given by John Lovick and Max Maven. Mead describes his talk as:

…a plea for magicians everywhere to understand that “the trick is not the thing” and that like all live performance magic shows are about storytelling, about communication and about connecting with an audience.

Read the full text from his talk here.

Mahdi Gilbert amazes us all

magic-con — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:09:23 +0000

Mahdi Gilbert is a young magician from Toronto and a rising star in the world of magic. As the highlight of Magic-Con 2010, he wowed us all with his skill. It was inspiring for everyone who got the chance to see him demonstrate false deals, shuffles, controls, color changes and beautifully executed routines…all with no hands. We hope to see Mahdi at many future Magic-Con’s to come.

The Most Amazing Weekend of My Life

magic-con — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:22:51 +0000

I still can’t believe Magic-Con actually happened. It was the most amazing weekend of my life and one I will never forget.

Even though I was running around the whole time and hardly had a moment to say hello, I was able to meet some incredible people. A couple that stand out are Mahdi Gilbert and Steffan Banta. Between the two of them, I have never felt so inspired in my life. Mahdi, who has no hands, has looked past the impossible and mastered some of the most difficult sleights ever published. Steffan Banta continued to show me what Magic-Con promotes: passion for the art. The sparkle in his eyes and the hundred high-fives he must have given me throughout the conference was always a boost of energy and for that I thank him. At only 10 years old and already performing half my repertoire, I know we’ll be hearing more from this kid in the future.

I’d like to thank everyone for believing in Magic-Con. It really could not have happened without your support and we thank you for giving us a chance. We hope to see all of you who attended next year, as well as those who couldn’t, and we will do our very best to make it ever better.

Magic at the Kroc Center

magic-con — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:17:26 +0000

To kick off Magic-Con 2010 a group of magicians visited the Kroc Center in San Diego and performed for a class of about 60 kids as well as sat down and taught them a few tricks they could perform for their friends. The event was a wonderful success and judging from all the ear-to-ear smiles, dropped jaws, and blaring cheers, the kids had the time of their life and left in complete amazement.

The event began with a performance by local San Diego magician, Jose Sanchez, who produced doves from thin air. He captivated the kids to a stand still and widened their eyes to a blink-less state. Although many of them wanted to pet the doves after, when they found out it wasn’t over, they immediately forgot and couldn’t wait for more magic that was in store.

The kids were then broken into groups and Derek DelGaudio, Irving Quant, Ricky Smith and Paul Wilson took turns performing miracles for the kids in which they crowded around their hands as if they were giving away candy. Screams emanated from each group for the next several minutes until it was time for them to learn a few trick they could perform on their own.

It was a magical experience not only for the kids, but the magicians as well. Seeing everyones eyes light up with wonder reminds us all of childhood – a place where anything is possible.

View photos of this event on our Flickr page.

A Conversation with Inspiration

magic-con — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:13:51 +0000

In 1997 David Blaine took the art of magic to new heights with his debut television special, Street Magic. He presented a genre of magic that was organically fed by pop culture’s own dynamic surroundings. It was live, on the street, in your face, and uncensored. People actually believed in his abilities. He was a “magic man” capable of anything.

It was David Blaine’s first TV Special that inspired us to see magic as a visual art. Our style and even magic as it’s perceived today is owed to his influence.

As organizers of Magic-Con, we are honored and privileged to announce that David Blaine will be joining us for our breakthrough 2010 conference. We have arranged a very special interview with Blaine and we’d like to include all of you.

Here’s how: We know not everyone will be able to make it to Magic-Con this year and therefore, have decided to open up part of our interview for questions gathered online. There are two ways to participate:

Join us at this years conference and ask your question in person.

Submit your question online right now by making a video and submitting it here.

You read that right – simply make a short video of yourself asking YOUR question for David Blaine. What would you ask David if you had the chance? We will choose the best of the best questions to be asked at the conference – and answered live by DB.

Be sure to enter your email address correctly on the submission form. If your question gets asked, we will try to email you to let you know! Limit of three submissions per person, so make it count. Video quality does not matter, and submissions should be posted on YouTube, Vimeo, or other popular video sharing site. Make sure David can see it and hear your question clearly.

All questions must be submitted on or before Thursday, March 18th at 11:00pm EST. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Dan and Dave

An introduction to magic for kids in San Diego

magic-con — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:35 +0000

Magic-Con is proud to present a day of magic for the kids at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center in San Diego. The event is scheduled to begin at 10am on March 18th, 2010. For many of the kids attending, this will be their first time seeing a magician. However, apart from the entertainment, it will be a learning experience for them too. Our goal is to leave them full of wonder and inspiration as well as teach them a few tricks they can share with their own friends.

If you are a magician and would like to be involved in this special event, please contact us.