Stephen Fry the Magician

Sat down to watch the Christmas special of the M series of QI with a wonderful surprise at the end involving Stephen Fry and the president of the Magic Circle, Scott Penrose.You'll need to watch until the end, and knowing QI, you'll probably learn an interesting thing or two along the way! 

It's no secret that Stephen Fry has an interest in magic. In fact, QI has magic tricks sprinkled throughout the episodes. He also wrote about his experiences with the seminal text Expert Card Technique by Frederick Braue and Jean Hugard in his memoir, Moab Is My Washpot.

CFI Canada Winter Solstice Celebration

Last night at a special bonus instalment of Magic Tonight, we were joined by a group from the Centre for Inquiry Canada celebrating the winter solstice and raising money for the centre. The holiday season can be difficult for skeptics, freethinkers and atheists, particularly those spending time with religious family members. It can create a feeling of being left out and so it's a pleasure and an honour to be able to provide a place for like minded people to celebrate and have a good time. On top of the magic, we celebrated The Flying Spaghetti Monster and all present were touched by his great noodly appendage!

This year secular organizations like CFI have been busy this year fighting for freedom of expression and freedom from religion around the world. In particular, CFI Canada has helped bring a number of free though refugees and their families to escape religious persecution around the world and make their way to Canada. The best way to support them in their work is to join CFI Canada.

For those who were interested in attending but weren't able to make it because of other holiday commitments, take a look at some of the fun we got up to. There may also be some video coming later in the week.

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Magic Tonight runs weekly at the Crimson Lounge in downtown Toronto, every Sunday night. Readers of this blog can use the discount code cficanada for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.  A portion of every ticket sold will also go to support the centre and its work.

Last week on Magic Tonight

Last night on on Magic Tonight, at the Crimson Lounge, I was joined by my very special guest, the #IrritatinglyPhotogenic Keith Brown. We got the chance to see some new material, presumably a sneak peak from a forthcoming show. You can take a look at some of the photos from the show below. Magic Tonight continues Sunday nights at the Crimson Lounge in Downtown Toronto. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.

Andy Kim Christmas Special

Last night, I had the privilege of co-hosting the backstage celebration for the 11th annual Andy Kim Christmas Special. At the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, an amazing lineup of musical talent gathered to raise money in support of CAMH Gifts of Light. Performers included Kardinal Offishall,  The Barenaked Ladies, Finger Eleven, Ron Sexsmith, Tom Cochrane and of course Andy Kim. The entire show was sold out weeks in advance so in order to raise some additional funds, the concert was webcast live and viewers at home were given the opportunity to donate. On top of the live performances on stage we were live streaming interviews and magic from the VIP room backstage.  My co-hosts Vanessa Legacy and Max River looked after the red-carpet-y interview-y stuff and I got to perform magic.

It was a fun night. See for yourself:

I'll try to post some video from the webcast in the New Year if I can get my hands on it. In the meantime, if you have a few dollars to spare, consider a donation to CAMH Gifts of Light.

Last week on Magic Tonight

Last night on the show, my very special guest (and when you see the photos, you'll agree, I mean special) was Jason Palter. We had a wonderful time and as we get deeper into the holiday season we're starting to get full. So if you're coming down to see Magic Tonight, be sure to make your reservations early before we fill up.

Magic Tonight continues Sunday nights at the Crimson Lounge (Inside The Cage 292) in Downtown Toronto. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.

Last week on Magic Tonight

It was a sold out show — which are oddly quite stressful, because there's barely any room to move around tables and we're sometimes in the unpleasant position of having to turn people away. I was joined by Michael "Merlin" Ross who has been performing since before I was born. He appeared when I was younger on Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup. He's been working primarily on the west cost for the past several years so we were able to have him on while he was visiting family here in Ontario.

Take a small peek at what you missed:

Magic Tonight continues every Sunday night at the Crimson Lounge in Downtown Toronto. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner.