This weekend on Magic Tonight

We're nearly sold out for this Sunday's instalment of Magic Tonight. It's an extremely busy time of year for performers, so originally the plans were to just have me this Sunday, but I'm now being joined by the irritatingly photogenic [1] Keith Brown. Keith spent the bulk of the summer touring his Fringe show Exchange and is back in and around Toronto and London performing his signature trick where he swallows neckties and spits them back up again knotted. [2] We have a few seats left for the show, so I hope you can join us. It's going to be a fun magical evening.

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

December 13 Keith Brown

[1] A longstanding joke here on the blog. Surely you concede the nickname is deserved!

[2] This is not a trick Keith actually performs, but we all wish it were.

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.

This Week on Magic Tonight

This Sunday's special guest on Magic Tonight is a blast from the past. I've never actually performed with Michael Ross before but when I was but a wee lad, I saw him on Mr. Dressup and Sesame Street. Like me, he focuses on classical conjuring and has a lot of material which you almost never see performed live these days. So come join us for dinner and a wonderful evening of magic and fun at the Crimson Lounge downtown on Sunday night.

November 22 Michael Ross

Magic Tonight runs weekly on Sunday nights 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.

The 2015 Len Cooper Memorial Award

Every year the Browser's Den of Magic in Toronto gives out an award commemorating the shop's founder, Len Cooper. The award is given to a promising young magician and includes a complete set of the Tarbell Course in Magic. This eight-volume set is one of the most expansive magic references sources in English. I've won the award, as have a number of my friends in magic in the city. This year's award was presented at the shop's 40th Anniversary Party to Abdurrahman Ahmed who is also the Director of Covert Mischief on Magic Tonight. So to not only congratulate him on receiving the award but also to encourage him to lock himself indoors and study his treasure trove of magic reference materials, here is a collection of photos, some of which will make him embarrassed to show his face in public.