034: An Interview with Tom Craven - Magic's "Mr. Nice Guy"

Tom Craven traveled through Houston on his Fall 2011 lecture tour and had a little time to sit down to chat with me about his life in magic and his new book "My (Almost) 50 Years in Magic". He has had a rather full life with so many credits to his name and he has made so many friends in the magic world. He is indeed "one of the good guys" who makes fast friends wherever he goes. And he is always quick to share a trick or two.

Tom was a columnist for The Linking Ring (“Havenly Close-Up”) for over 21 years. He has a lifetime of experience that he tries to squeeze into the lecture. If you haven't heard his lecture or even if you have, I think you will enjoy hearing some of Tom's back story. In this podcast, Tom talks about his life and journey in magic and shares some interesting stories along the way.

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033: Daytona Festival of Magic Day Three

The third and final day of the Daytona Festival of Magic (DFM) finally gave us a breather with only a half day of activities scheduled. Banachek's silverware bending workshop started early in the morning at 8:00 with Jeff Allen's comedy lecture starting at 9:00. The dealers were all open and making last minute sales as some of the registrants spent the last of their magic money on precious treasures. But some held back some cash to bid on auction items. The annual auction was the last scheduled activity of the convention.

The Daytona Fesitval of Magic is one of the best values for registrants on the convention scene today. Where else can your registration include learning from and watching performances by some of the top magical talent in the country plus a buffet dinner on Friday night at the low rate of only $135. And as if that's not enough, they also give you an additional full hour of magic for no additional charge...compliments of the change in Daylight Savings Time.

I finally got the chance to have podcast chats with the Legends of Magic: Celeste Evans, John Calvert and Jack Kodell. I also spoke again with FMA President, Dan Stapleton, and DFM Organizer, Harry Allen for a wrap of the convention. Still performing and getting standing ovations at 100 years of age, John Calvert opened the Saturday night gala with his cigarette production routine.

It's official...the 47th edition of the combined convention of the Daytona Festival of Magic and the Florida Magicians' Association (FMA) will continue again next year...same time, same place. It will not split into two conventions (Memorial Day and early November) but instead will continue as a combined event in Daytona Beach. More information on the 2012 convention at: http://bit.ly/ttyhOV

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032: Daytona Festival of Magic Day Two

The second day was more full than the first if that is even possible. More back to back lectures plus the stage competition, close-up contests and the professional close-up shows. The close-up featured Arthur Trace, Geoff Williams, Johnny Ace Palmer and John Ekin; a tremendous, well-rounded quartet of great magicians. Scott Wells also hosted the Legends of Magic show featuring John Calvert, Celeste Evans and Jack Kodell. The evening gala show was sold out with standing room only with Arthur Trace, Sylvester the Jester, Banachek and Eric Buss with Scott Wells as the emcee. Johnny Ace Palmer presented a late night workshop opposite Arthur Trace's lecture.

There was a great piece that ran in the local press about Banachek appearing at the Festival. It was a full, front page in November 1st edition of the Daytona Beach News Journal. To read the article, visit http://bit.ly/w1Qzwu

Enjoy this episode that features chats with John Hromada who gave us a rundown of yesterday's activities from his perspective. Later Banachek and Zeke Powerz talk about this convention plus the Winter Carnival of Magic and Banachek's first (failed) attempt at competing at a convention. Harry Allen, the other partner of Daytona Magic, tells us his side of the story from the organizer's point of view. And Bev Bergeron regales us with stories from the the early beginnings of the Florida Magicians Association convention while Kim Olson talks about the new Wizardz nightclub in Kissimmee, FL.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here