The International Brotherhood of MagiciansWelcome to our Magic Web Portal. The I.B.M. is the world's largest organization for magicians and for people interested in the magical arts. Our Brotherhood is made up of nearly 12,000 members worldwide with over 300 local groups called Rings in more than 73 countries. The I.B.M. is considered to be the most respected organization for magic collectors, amateur, and professional magicians in the world! If you have a sincere interest in the art of magic, we invite you to learn more about our organization. There is plenty to see here so take your time and look around. You may be amazed!
Rolando Santos, International President
Add these magic events to your calendars (Updated 9/2/10)
By Dennis Schick, I.B.M. Web Portal Editor
This is September, the last month of the third quarter. Fall and Football have begun, and the kiddos are back in school. It's time for Fall Festivals, Octoberfests, Tailgate Parties, Halloween Haunted Houses, and many other opportunities for MAGIC. And a magician even made it into the Top Ten of America's Got Talent. (There COULD have been two!)
Here are some coming magic events we've been told about. Support those near you. And please let us know about YOUR magic event, and we'll promote it -- especially if you ADVERTISE it either in The Linking Ring or here on the I.B.M. Portal.
A story about 18 year old close-up magician,
Nathan Hickey, from Apalachin, New York.by Cliff Bumgardner_______ . _________
Nathan Hickey - first bitten by the magic bug by watching the World’s Greatest Magic TV specials when he was younger. He said that he taped them all and I would watch them over and over trying to figure them out and being amazed at all the big illusions. Nathan then took an interest in card and close-up magic after attending his first I.B.M. meeting at Ring 79. He was blown away watching Gary Freed perform. Since that day, the I.B.M. and Ring 79 in Binghamton, New York, have continued to have profound effects on Nathan’s magic career. He says, “The people in my Ring were extremely helpful in teaching me the right way to approach magic and helping me advance in the art...
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Feature Stories
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Rolando Santos: If You Believe, They Will BelieveBy Chip MacGregor
Our incoming International President is a big believer in magic. He believes the performance of our art can actually have a “magical” effect on other people. In fact, he knows it’s true from personal experience.In 1998, while Rolando Santos was living in Madrid and helping launch the second of four CNN news networks around the world, he found himself having dinner at a place called La Cava. While enjoying a great steak, tapas, and wine, he was also reading the Roberto Giobbi card magic book, Giobbi Light. The book had been translated into Spanish long before it made its way to the United States. As Rolando tells it, “I was just fiddling with a deck of cards and making notes in my magic journal. At the table behind me were four women, including an older woman who was obviously the matriarch of the family and her daughters.”
Baker making a career in restaurants
By Bobby Warren
Most magicians get their start from a father or grandfather who shows him a simple effect, and the magic bug bites. For Columbus, Ohio-area magician Carroll Baker, he got his start as a six-year-old after spending a day with Harry Blackstone Jr.Baker won a magic contest, which earned him the opportunity to carry Blackstone's bag of tricks as the legendary performer entertained children in what is now known as Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. Baker said he knew then he wanted to be a magician.
“I was fascinated with magic,” Baker said. “You could tell by the way people treated him that he was special. At the end of the day, I knew I wanted to be like that.”
King finds ways to stay busy in Amish Country
By Bobby WarrenIf Kevin King thought coming back to his Midwest roots would help him slow his life down just a little bit, then he was mistaken. Since returning to the Wooster, Ohio, area, King has been performing in a variety of venues, whether college campuses, summer festivals, or intimate settings.
King has helped put magic back on the map in Wooster and Wayne County, a city about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland, just like he did as an up-and-coming magician when he was a teenager at West Holmes High School in Millersburg, Ohio, a town nestled in Amish Country, about 20 miles south of Wooster.
Rachel's Story
By Bobby Warren
Rachel Colombini's attitude is positively infectious despite battling what can be a deadly infection. The magic performer, creator, manufacturer and retailer has an array of talents, but she has not yet figured how to make $200,000 appear out of thin air.Rachel and husband Aldo Colombini are reaching out to the magic community and beyond, hoping their hearts are moved to help the couple raise money for Rachel's medical procedure.
The Colombinis have established two ways for people to help. One is the website www.magic4miracles.com – it is set up to accept donations, and the other is their online store www.wildcolombini.com, where the couple are offering customers an incredible special when they purchase any of their effects, books, DVDs or ebooks.
Rachel was born with a congenital heart defect.
Shawn Farquhar encounters 'Approachable' magicians to learn about comedy magic
Award-winning magician Shawn Farquhar, a two-time I.B.M. World Champion of Magic and an Order of Merlin member, is reaching out to magic's youth with his I.B.M.-exclusive video blog titled Approachable.
For his latest entry, the popular Farquhar tapped some of magic's funniest performers to talk about how to be a comedy magician.
Farquhar said this edition was recorded live at the 4F convention in New York. To answer the question on comedy magic, he selected I.B.M. Close-up Champion and Gold Cups recipient Oscar Munoz, I.B.M. Close-up Champion Stephen Bargatze, I.B.M. Close-up Champion and FISM Grand Prix Champion Rick Merrill, and Geoff Williams.
"The answers are all great and their insight is knowledge to everyone who wants to pursue more comedy in their performance."
Extensive Online Database
Benefits Researchers and Others
By Dr. William E. SpoonerThe Conjuring Arts Research Center was established in 2003 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of magic and its allied arts. The Center, located at 11 West 30th Street in Manhattan, is the brainchild and creation of William Kalush who has amassed over 12,000 volumes of books and journals and rare documents. The rare book room contains an impressive collection of books dating back to the 15th century, including a number of variations of Reginald Scot’s Discovery of Witchcraft...
