In order to be more productive (and magical) we are switching over to Google Apps to handle all email requests. This small technical detail may result in slow email delivery this Sunday, but no worries, I’ll get to it by tomorrow.
Cheers
I am updating my emai system and merging it with my other business emails in order to be more productive.
I usually reply to emails the same day, but occasionally within 24 hours.
I apologize if any emails get re-sent during this time.
By Alexander the Great Magician
Hey everyone,
My last magic show wasn’t quite in Ottawa. We were in beautiful Manotick about 35 minutes down the Ottawa river (by car, or magic carpet).
My next show is next week and its a private magic show for an Ottawa Daycare based in the Glebe neighbourhood. I always love a morning daycare show as the kids seem to really enjoy the exciting things I perform in my show.
Stay tuned for some video footage from the Harvest House magic show and an update about how the Daycare magic show was!
It seems like just yesterday that I was performing magic at last year’s Recovery Cup Fundraiser but I’m about to perform again this year . . .
Harvest House is happy to announce that Alexander the Great Magician will be performing at the 24th Annual Recovery Cup Softball Tournament on Saturday August 27, 2011!
This is one show you will not want to miss.
For more information on the Recovery Cup, please visit our website: www.harvesthouse.org
The magic show will take place at around 1pm on Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Centennial Park in Manotick.
By Alexander the Great Magician
It’s been a few months since I made my trip to California for Magic-Con and I’ve been really swamped with writing, working behind-the-scenes at my Ottawa Record Label, and taking out Ottawa’s new Bixi bikes.
I have been writing on a variety of subjects, mostly updating my websites, which include my Ottawa Restaurant reviews blog, this magic websites, my record label website and also my music and technology blog. Phew, thats a lot of websites, considering not all that much goes on in Ottawa. While not very many bands and DJ’s touch down in Ottawa, it does allow for some excellent opportunities for me, Alexander the Great Magician to perform my magic show around Ottawa.
One of these events this month was for a community association that was celebrating the revitalization of the Bingham Park. This park can be found just down the street from the Royal Canadian Mint off Sussex Drive at 145 Cathcart Street. On Monday August 1, 2011 I will be performing a short outdoor magic show for the Lowertown Summer
Festival at 4pm. You can read more at the main page for Bingham Park.
Thats all for this update, except I wanted to share with you a panoramic shot I got of the Museum in Civilization in Gatineau, I just love this shot, there’s so much sunlight.
Until Next time!
By Alexander the Great Magician
Hello everyone, I’m back in Ottawa after my recent trip to Magic-Con in San Diego. Since I left I’ve noticed many people have been looking for magic shows in Stittsville, Arnprior and farther away. I do travel so this is not a problem.
Back to San Diego, here are some pictures from the balcony where I was staying:
While this convention doesn’t specifically contribute to my main work, children’s magic shows, it was a great opportunity to improve my more advanced magic by hearing all the great ideas and also meeting with magicians from around North America and the world.
One of these great thinkers was Lennart Green who is an old favourite of mine. Green is card expert from Sweden who specializes in what I would call “chaotic sleight of hand.” His work is incredible and he is the closest thing magic has to a living legend these days. I was very excited to hear see him speak and perform a little.
I think these types of events are massively important for magic. These types of meet ups are very infrequent (only a few times a year do this many magicians gather centrally) and they tend to have a lot of creative people in one place. They often have very late night meetings all over the hotel with magicians exchanging ideas late into the night, its an exciting time for creative card magic.
Lennart Green entertains the crowd of magicians
What other sorts of things go on at magic conventions? Well aside from all the stuff I can’t tell you about, crazy things like this: an attempt at the worlds largest ribbon spread using everybody’s cards.
By Alexander the Great Magician
Ottawa, Ontario
It seems like just yesterday I was blogging and taking pictures on my way to San Diego for Magic-Con 2010. Today I’m enjoying planning my second trip for the same legendary magic conference.
At Magic-Con 2011 I will be spending some time in the sun, but more importantly I will be hearing some very informative lectures and demonstrations. Last year I remember being revived with a sense of amazement and this really encouraged me to begin reading more magic and studying its history more thoroughly. I’ve been fascinated with magic since I was a child and have learned quite a bit about performing through my years of doing magic shows at children’s birthday parties yet I still love finding out new stories and techniques from other magicians.
Hopefully I’ll follow with a few more stories when I’m en route, along with photos of sunny San Diego, stay tuned for my next update soon!
By Alexander the Great Magician
Ottawa, Ontario
I just finished performing for a fantastic crowd in Quebec. This is a group of adults, young and old, that meet every few months to share food at a local restaurant and share in some local entertainment.
These fun-loving art patrons hired me in February for one of their lovely dinner parties and Victoria and I were lucky enough to be invited for the meal and pre-show entertainment as well.
To start the night there was lots of conversation and new people to talk to, but the big entertainer was Bouchon le clown (contact Bouchon at his website) who provided music from his accordion and entertainment from his balloon sculpting.
After the meal I was to perform my act. I began with a few card effects that do a good job of demonstrating why nobody should play poker with me. I shifted my performance by performing some of my fire effects which always gets a reaction and a shock. After some ropes and a few more miracles I shifted into some of my more complex effects.
By the end of the night I had already spent a fair amount of time with this lovely group and they were more than receptive towards my magical entertainment.
If you’re planning a dinner party or similar event in the Ottawa Gatineau area consider hiring local entertainers; the mood of a real artist always improves the mood of the party.
By Alexander the Great Magician
Ottawa, Ontario
Hello and happy New Year everybody!
I am starting off the month of February with a free walk around performance in Ottawa at City Hall February 5, 2011. This will include about an hour of my magic in the lobby of the City Hall of Ottawa downtown on Laurier.
I will be entertaining children with my baffling rope tricks, engaging high school kids with my legendary legerdemain (and other card magic), and keeping the bustling crowds happy during the annual National Capital Commission’s Pancake breakfast (sponsored by Enbridge, how nice of them).
I really love the chance to set up at a location and draw people in to my magic. Children are especially easy since they love magic so much but I really love the challenge of stopping adults. For some reason many older people don’t want to stop and watch entertainment; perhaps they’re afraid that my magic show will be boring, embarrassing or cheesy.
A few months ago I wrote about how being a Magician in the Ottawa area has taken me to some very interesting performances, and some even more interesting audiences. As the weather gets warmer I’ll be getting closer and closer to starting my third year in business in Ottawa and I can’t wait to keep amazing this city.
In other news, I’ve been really busy working on music and releasing some of my songs independently (Check out Massaad + Garland’s Atmosphere on iTunes) and this has made it a bit hectic at my Ottawa production company. Until the next update some time soon, wishing a mystifying month
By Alexander the Great Magician
Ottawa, Ontario
I’m coming up to my first busy weekend of 2011 and I’ve been reading up on some of my favourite magicians. At work tonight I just breezed through a book by some real experts at entertaining children: Steve Taylor, Sammy Smith and David Ginn. I have read a bit of Smith and Ginn before but this was the first time I heard of ventriloquist and magician Steve Taylor.
They all managed to give lots of advice as the book was formatted as a discussion between the three upon various topics. Some of the greatest information was a story Sammy Smith told about Influence in the last chapter which I’ll paraphrase here:
Many years ago a young teenager who worked at a magic shop was working the store alone while the owner was out on an errand. All of a sudden the door opened and into the shop walked Harry Blackstone, Sr, the worlds greatest magician. He was performing a show in town and stopped by the shop as a courtesy.
The boy was shocked and astounded, here he was in a magic shop alone with the greatest magician in the world.
Blackstone spoke to him for a few minutes then said, “So, what’s new?”
Still quite shocked the young boy said, “Well we have the Color Changing Knives.” (which is a very well known magic trick)
“I’d like to see that,” Blackstone said.
The young boy hastily and nervously demonstrated the simple trick for the Great Blackstone. When he finished, Blackstone said the most wonderful thing for the boy which he never forgot.
“I’ll take one,” he said.Fifty years later that boy would still tell the story of how he sold Blackstone a set of Color Changing Knives. No wonder Blackstone was one of the most loved magicians around. Many well-known performers have said that he was the most wonderful magician they had ever met.
Why? Because he knew he had the power to influence his admirers, and he used this ability to make them feel truly important.
After every show that I perform as Alexander the Great I am very cognizant that I have the same power. Often times my magic show will leave a lifelong impression on the children just the same way great performers have left a lifelong impression on me, and this is truly influence.
It’s my hope that the children I affect through my entertaining magic shows will continue to spread the positive influence that has inspired me.
