MagiFest 2013 Photos - Day 3

As the final day of the convention arrived, we knew we were in for more treats but lamented the end that would come all too soon. The day included another great T.E.D. talk session and a fantastic lecture by the incomparable Dani DaOrtiz.

But what is a convention without the fire alarm going off? This has to be at least my sixth convention I've attended where the alrarm went off. At least this time we didn't have to evacuate the building and stand in the frozen tundra. But as I left my room I saw the firemen coming down the hall inspecting the fire alarms on the ceilings.

The evening show ws packed with the 600 registrants plus several people from the local gentry that filled the room to overflow. It was literally an S.R.O. show. After the show, the doors opened out to the hallway where tons of free pizza were offered free to everyone.

It was a fun pizza party that lasted well into the wee hours as many registrants took the party into the bar for late night sessioning. The picture below shows Garrett Thomas showing a coin trick near the pool table.

Although magic was going on all over the place, I saw Brandon Coleman doing some one ball juggling. Perhaps you might be as impressed as I was.

<p>Brandon Coleman from Scott Wells on Vimeo.</p>

Two of the featured performers from the evening were Justin Flom and Justin Willman. I got caught between the two Justins. Like a Justin sandwich!


 

086: MagiFest 2013 - Day Three

The final day of Version 2.0 of the Magifest was another success. The day opened with a lecture by John Archer then we had another great T.E.D. talk by outstanding magicians like Peter Pitchford, Ben Train & Chris Mayhew, Simon Aronson and Kainoa Harbottle with a little extra thrown in by co-organizer, Andi Gladwin, the day was magnificent. The afternoon lecture was by Dani DaOrtiz which was even more incredible to learn how his magic is accomplished. The evening show was hosted by Simon Lovell with the opening act by John Archer with some comedy mentalism followed by Peter Pitchford with an homage to Cardini. Justin Flom rocked the house with some outstanding, visual magic and closing the show was Justin Willman with some time-tested classics. The two Justins closed with dueling floating tables.

The podcast starts off with a nice chat with Kozmo about Reel Magic which is now available for streaming online. We talked about street performing and how Kozmo decided to quit working the streets and why he decided to return.

13:12 - After the evening show, I took my wandering mic around the lobby to get some feedback from some of the non-magicians who were in the audience and what they thought of the show.

20:40 - I then got to chat with a couple of the stars from the evening show, Justin Flom and Justin Willman. They had some great thoughts on the direction of magic and some advice for the young magicians.

32:41 - Ginny and Simon Aronson talked about their two person mind reading act, their inspiration, and some of their more difficult and unusual things people have had in their pockets and purses.

42:01 - Another one of the stars from the evening show was Peter Pitchford who talks about his interest in Cardini, branding, and making a living for a family of six as a stage magician.

53:35 - Braden Richards was the winner of the Junior Scholarship for the Sorcerer's Safari Magic Camp. We had a brief chat with him then talked with Mike Segal who is the director of the Magic Camp which will be the last week of August. For more information, see http://themagiccamp.com

59:23 - Convention organizers, Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay finally got to relax and take a breath after the convention was over  They talked about what they did and didn't do and what they might do in the future. John Archer chimed in with a few comments (and some Jager shots) during the chat, too.

MagiFest 2013 - Day Three
Scott Wells with Joshua Jay, Andi Gladwin & Others

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085: MagiFest 2013 - Day Two

Day Two of the 2013 MagiFest included an afternoon session featuring short 15-20 minute T.E.D. (Technology, Entertainment, Design) like talks from five speakers. First up was Mahdi Gilbert showed us some mad skills that would be difficult for anyone but he doesn't have any hands; Eric Jones talked about Angle of Visibility; John Archer discussed overlapping comedy and magic in your act and finding the perfect blend; Tony Chang continued a talk on the importance of the angle of visibility, but from a "different angle"; and Justin Flom talked about the importance of generating video content on the internet.

Lecturers included Troy Hooser and Justin Flom. The evening shows were again split between two rooms with Simon and Ginny Arronson presenting their two person mind reading routine, "It's the Thought That Counts" with the other room hosting a one hour show by the incredible card genius, Dani DaOrtiz. The late night lecture was Simon Lovell.

I started off the the day by catching Doug Conn and Scott Robinson in the hallway for a short chat about the convention and what they've been up to recently. Then I sat down with Jep Hostetler, who was the Director of the MagiFest for 29 years, and with his successor, Ron Spangler. They talked a bit about the history of the MagiFest and how good they feel that it is now in good hands and going in a new direction after all these years.

I received good feedback from Facebook saying that you wanted to hear and interview with Eric Jones. Well, you asked and you got it. Eric and I found a quiet nook to chat for a while. He gave me a recap of the T.E.D. talk he gave earlier in the day plus he told me what he's up to now and what his long term plans for his career. You might be surprised to hear his ten year plan.

MagiFest 2013 - Day Two
Scott Wells with Eric Jones & Others

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