Posts tagged ellusionist

The date was Saturday, January 24th, 2009. I was invited to a special kick-off dinner event hosted in San Rafael, CA by Brad Christian (founder of Ellusionist.com), Tim Trono (Murphy’s Magic Supply) and Paul Harris for Paul’s latest brainchild product, the “True Astonishments” DVD collection.

That evening, there were 13 lucky contestants who had won seats to the dinner through a contest held by Ellusionist, Tim Trono and Murphy’s Magic Supply, and Paul Harris. I however was not one of the lucky winners. In fact, I never even entered the contest!It was by sheer luck and the grace and giving nature of another Ellusionist forum member that afforded me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Thanks to Ellusionist forum member FEADOG333 (Mark McPhee) , I was able to attend this special, private gathering. Mark McPhee could not attend due to the fact that he lived in Oregon and because of personal reasons.

In return, I went as Mark’s personal attaché if you will. My job was simple – to enjoy myself and to report back to Mark everything I could regarding the event.

I did one better!

At the end of the event, Ellusionist, with the help of Murphy’s Magic gave out gift bags filled with all sorts of extra Paul Harris goodies (including some previously, unreleased material). Some how, there was one gift bag too many. I spoke with Brad and at my request, the remaining gift bag was sent to Mark as a token of my appreciation.

Later that evening, many of the forum members, myself included, along with Tim Trono and Paul Harris went out for ice cream and coffee in downtown San Rafael. We hung out for several hours. Paul Harris performed his moved called the “simple switch” (believe me when I say it’s not so simple!) and many of us began performing for the patrons of the ice cream parlor.

On Monday, January 26, 2009, myself and one other forum member (Zack) drove out to Murphy’s Magic Supply in Rancho Cordova, CA by way of invitation from Tim Trono. Zack and I received a guided tour of the warehouse as well as receiving some additional Paul Harris media. After our tour, we went up stairs to the conference room where we were joined by Paul Harris for a private, one-on-one conversation. After about an hour or so, we said our thank yous and good byes.

The next day, I met up with Zack in San Francisco and gave him a tour of Misdirections Magic Shop located at 1236 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 and the Houdini’s Magic Shop at the famous Pier 39 where we ended up meeting fellow magii Jesse Feinberg. Jesse was another gracious individual who kicked down some of his personal magical creations to Zack and myself.

This was definitely an event to remember. Brad is an amazing gentleman. Paul Harris is an astounding magician as well as a a thought provoking magical philosopher and creator. Tim Trono is tremendously gracious and giving as well.

Most importantly, my sincerest thanks go out to Mark McPhee for giving me the opportunity to attend such a fantastic event that led to a complete week-long magical journey! It wouldn’t have happened without Mark’s gift!

I also give much thanks to Brad Christian and Ellusionist for being generous and kind enough to act upon my suggestion and send the remaining gift bag to Mark. He truly deserved it!

Special thanks go out to Jesse Feinberg for the complimentary, color-changing “Alpha Cards.”

I can’t thank everyone enough!

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You can learn more about Brad Christian by visiting http://www.bradchristian.com

You can learn more about Ellusionist by visiting http://www.ellusionist.com

You can learn more about Paul Harris by visiting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harris_%28magician%29

You can learn more about Tim Trono by visiting http://www.brandedmagic.com

You can learn more about Murphy’s Magic Supply by visiting http://www.murphysmagic.com

You can learn more about Jesse Feinberg by visiting http://www.jessesmagic.com

You can learn more about Misdirections Magic Shop by visiting http://www.misdirections.com

You can learn more about Houdini’s Magic Shop by visiting http://www.houdini.com