A magic convention is a gathering of professional

magicians Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

, magical hobbyists, dealers, collectors of magical apparatus, books and ephemera, and other students of the art of magic. It provides a place for lectures of subjects related to the craft, as well as a series of sample performances of noted or innovative techniques. Many conventions also hold competitions to judge who excels at a particular style, and present awards in various categories such as sleight of hand, card tricks, mentalism, and stage illusions. The largest magic convention is The Blackpool Magician's Convention which is attended by over 3,500 magicians.

List of well-known magic conventions

International

* The Blackpool Magic Convention, Blackpool, England. Held every February. * FISM (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques) - It is hosted every three years in a different city in the world
The Session
annual three-day convention held in London, organized by

Vanishing Inc. Magic Vanishing may refer to: Entertainment *Vanishing, a type of magical effect. Mathematics * The mathematical concept, see root of a function Music * A song from the A Perfect Circle album ''Thirteenth Step'' * A song from ''Mariah Carey ...

.
The Event
19–20 September 2020. The UK's premiere convention for mentalism, organised by

.
The Retreat
May 19–21, 2020, South Africa. The world's first magic safari, organised by

.
South Tyneside International Magic Festival Convention

Philippine International Magic ConventionPIMC
, http://www.pimcphp.com, the first international magic convention held at SMX Convention Center SM Aura Premier Taguig City, Philippines, produced and organized by Cecile and Mighty International, http://www.cecilemighty.com, a tribute to DEMILO (Filipino Magician Sword Swallower since the 70s), April 24–26, 2019.
Fellowship of Christian Magicians
annual week-long convention held in Marion Indiana at

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system includes IWU—Mari ...

in the month of July. * The British Ring Annual Conventio
September 22 - September 25th 2011: Southport, UK
* Magic Valongo,

Valongo Valongo () is a Portuguese municipality located in the District of Porto and 10 km from Porto, in the northern region of Portugal. The municipality area consists of 75.12 km² and 93 858 inhabitants (2011), and is subdivided into fou ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Held annually in September, since 1992. *

Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and ...

(SAM) Convention. Held annually in early July: ATLANTA June 30 - July 3, 2010; PITTSBURGH July 13–16, 2011; LAS VEGAS 2012; WASHINGTON DC 2013.
The Shenanigans Magic convention
held every 3rd year during the first weekend in May, in Dublin, Ireland.

Regional - U.S.

* MAGIC Live has been presented eleven times, starting in 2001. Past events were produced by

MAGIC Magazine ''MAGIC'', also known as ''The Magazine for Magicians'', was an independent magazine for magicians that was based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A creation of Stan Allen, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring Lance Burton on the co ...

. The 11th and most recent MAGIC Live was held in August 2019, and the next convention is scheduled for August 2020.
Breakthrough Magic
Mystery School Meets Vanishing Inc. July 29–31, Las Vegas, organised by

MagicStars
June 5–7, 2020, Columbus, Ohio. World's first magic convention for young magicians and their families, organised by

The International Brotherhood of Magicians Annual Convention.
Late June through Early July.
Abbott's Get Together
an annual gathering in

Colon, Michigan Colon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,173 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Colon Township. History Colon was platted in 1844. It was incorporated as a village in 1904. Ge ...

, founded in 1937 by Percy Abbott and Recil Bordner.
Midwest Magic Jubilee
founded in 1956 in Missouri
Magifest
begun in 1931, one of the most historic and longest-running annual conventions, currently held in Columbus, OH. Organized by

. * TAOM (Texas Association of Magicians)
Winter Carnival of Magic, Tennessee

KIDabra International
The Association of Family and Kidshow Performers: Meets Every August
Portland Magic Jam
Annual 3-day magic convention in Oregon
www.PDXMagicJam.com
Lectures, stage & close up shows, dealers, panel discussion.
AbraCORNdabra Magic Convention, The Midwests PREMIERE Magic Convention in Des Moines, Iowa
held annually the weekend BETWEEN Mother's Day Weekend & Memorial Day Weekend in May. Produced by Steve "Tiny" Daly
Pacific Coast Association of Magicians PCAM
- Pacific Coast Association of Magicians. Held annually for 89 years.

No Longer Running

* VISMAYAM 2008 May 1–4, 2008: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, INDIA
Oceanside Magic Invitational Convention on Cape Cod
held annually in April. Produced by Markus and Angelique Steelgrave
Magic-con
Bi-annual magic convention hosted in San Diego by Dan and Dave
Michigan Magic Day
Annual Magic Convention hosted by various magic clubs in Michigan
Magicians Alliance of Eastern States
(M.A.E.S.) An Annual three day North Eastern US convention: Meets every August or September.
FUNARAMA
A two/three day convention for magicians and clowns: Meets Every July
Bob Littles Super Sunday
A One Day Convention with lots of Dealers, an Auction, a Lecture, A Social Hour, and a Show : Meets Every June and November
Salt Lake City Magic Jam
Annual 3-day magicians' weekend in SLC, Utah. Lectures, stage & close up shows, dealers, panel discussion.
Metro-Magic
annual October convention run by Bill Wisch, Bob Solari, and Carl Bajor and located in Northeastern New Jersey
S.E.A.M. Magic Convention, Atlanta, GA
(Southeastern Association of Magicians) Hosted every summer in a different southeastern city. *C.U.M.C.I.S - Close-up Magic Convention in Sussex (yearly magic convention in Haywards Heath in Sussex) https://web.archive.org/web/20110321160707/http://www.paulgordon.net/cumcis.html * The International Magic Convention, London (Ron MacMillan's) http://www.internationalmagic.com. very November, London UK - ran from 1972 to 2014* The Southern England Magic Convention, ournemouth, EnglandEvery January. https://web.archive.org/web/20080515212908/http://www.semagicconvention.com/
The Saint-Vincent Casino Magical Convention
(2010 Convention entries in the Guinness World Records of London) *The Northern Magic Circle Convention (2010 Convention to be held at the Marine Hall, Fleetwood, Lancashire) https://web.archive.org/web/20100310074840/http://www.northernmagic.co.uk/ * World Magic Seminar February 28 - March 3, 2010: Las Vegas, NV, USA * Achambha 2008 Jadu Sansthan Agra August 28–30, 2008: Agra Uttar Pradeh, India * PCAM - Pacific Coast Association of Magicians. Held annually for 85 years in the Summer.

Invitational

Some small conferences have great prestige within the industry, but are not open to the public: * FFFF
Fechter's Finger-Flicking Frolic
held on the east coast of the United States since the 1970s, and limited to fewer than 200 hand-picked attendees.

Reports and Listing

Th
MAGIC Magazine Convention Guide
provides a comprehensive list of upcoming magic conventions and allows events to be compared to each other based on dates, price, location, number of events, etc. The site is run by

, the world's largest-selling magazine for magicians Independently ru
Magic Convention Guide
which was the first dedicated online guide to Magic Conventions, and still provides news and updates on conventions, as well as live coverage of some events. They also provide guides to some conventions, listing places to stay, eat, and shop.

Magic societies

Some conventions are hosted by specific magician associations or societies. For example, the two oldest and largest magic organizations in the United States, are the

and the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 ...

. The Home Counties Magical Society ran the 'Junior Days', a convention specifically aimed at younger magicians, now having been replaced with the event run by The Magic Circle. The

College of Magic College of Magic is a nonprofit organization (007-517 NPO/NGO) based in Cape Town, South Africa that teaches Magic (illusion), magic. The Director, David Gore, has been with the organization since its inception. History College of Magic op ...

is a unique society in magic - offering a 6-year specialist diploma course in magic to students aged 10 and over. Other Magic-related organizations are: *

Australian Institute of Magic Tim Ellis is an Australian performer, author and lecturer in the world of magic (illusion), magic and illusion. Biography Ellis was born in Melbourne. He began performing magic (illusion), magic at the age of nine after his grandfather gave h ...

https://australianinstituteofmagic.org/ *

Australian Society of Magicians Australian Society of Magicians is an organisation for professional and amateur stage magicians, with approximately 1,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and ...

Fellowship of Christian Magicians
with many local chapters *

- one of the largest Societies in South Africa * The Professional Magic Dealers Association * The Magic Circle * The Home Counties Magical Society *

International Magicians Society The International Magicians Society (IMS) is a magic society created by Tony Hassini to "help promote and preserve the art of magic and provide a format where magicians could share their secrets and ideas." The society gives its own "Merlin Award" ...

Pacific Coast Association of Magicians The Pacific Coast Association of Magicians is an association of magicians. It was founded in 1933; the first president was Lloyd E Jones. It has chapters in Japan, Hawaii, California, and western Canada, and holds an annual convention. The third o ...

Magic Academy, India

Magic Academy and Magic Club, India

Awards

Gold Medal - I.B.M.

The most prestigious "stage magic" award in the

competitions is the I.B.M. Gold Medal International Award of Excellence in Stage Performance. Along with other annual awards such as First place, Second place, etc., there is a possibility of this special Gold Medal award being issued if the judges decide that they have witnessed a contest performance of Gold Medal quality. As of 2019 only nine Gold Medal awards have been made, to: *

Lance Burton William Lance Burton (born March 10, 1960) is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people until retiring after 31 years in 2010. Professional history Burton first became interested in ma ...

, 1980 * Howard Hale, 1985
James Cielen
1988 * Jade aka Fanny Tjin, 1990 * Greg Frewin, 1993 * George Saterial, 1999 * Keiko Muto, 2002 * Arthur Trace, 2005 * Zhou Zhou and Yuan Yuan, 2019

Gold Cups – I.B.M.

What is commonly regarded as the most prestigious "close-up" award in the

competitions is the I.B.M. Gold Cups International Award of Excellence in Close-up Performance. Along with other annual awards such as first place, second place, third place, etc., there is a possibility of this special Gold Cups award being issued if the judges decide that they have witnessed a contest performance of Gold Cups quality. As of July 2017, seven Gold Cups awards have been made, to: * David Williamson, 1981 * Johnny Ace Palmer, 1983 * Joe Givan, 1987 * Giovanni Livera, 1991 * Steve Bedwell, 1994 * Oscar Munoz, 1999 * Chase Curtis, 2003

Magic Castle

Each year the Hollywood-based

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...

club gives out awards at a black-tie dinner.

Grand Prix - FISM

The most prestigious award given out at FISM is the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is generally considered to be the most prestigious competition award in the industry. FISM is held once every three years and may award the Grand Prix to the best

stage magic Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

ian and best

close-up magician Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, also known as pr ...

at each competition, but need not give out either award at any given competition. Previous winners of the Grand Prix include: 2009 * Stage: Hajnóczy Soma (Hungary) * Close-up:

Shawn Farquhar Shawn Farquhar (born June 7, 1962) is a Canadian magician and illusionist notable for his title as the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" from the International Federation of Magic Societies. His awards include being the only magician in hist ...

(Canada) 2006 * Stage: Pilou (France) * Close-up: Rick Merrill (United States) 2003 * Stage: Norbert Ferré (France) * Close-up:

Jason Latimer Jason Latimer (born March 7, 1981), known by the stage name LATIMER, is an American illusionist. In 2003, he became one of four Americans ever to win the title Grand Prix "Best Overall" at the World Championships of Magic. In 2012, Latime ...

(United States)

Award duplication

Because there is little standardization in naming awards within the industry, some smaller festivals often give awards that have the same titles as the awards at larger conventions. Less scrupulous magicians will often claim that they have a prestigious award, without indicating its origin, or declare themselves an 'award-winning' act, implying a high quality of performance. Self-claims of fame and notability must therefore sometimes be taken with a

grain of salt To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or to not interpret something literally. In the old-fa ...

. If a magician is or has been a genuinely notable and successful competitor in magic contests, he or she will probably have won an award, perhaps more than one, which are recognised at an international, national, or at least regional level. Examples of this are awards bestowed by FISM, IBM, SAM, The Magic Circle (London, England) and the International Magic Convention Close Up Competition, also held annually in London. There are also organisations that randomly give out awards to famous magicians in different countries, to boast their own organisation's importance. This is a bit awkward, as it many times is difficult for the performer to know if it is a real organisation or not, and might become embarrassing for the performer, should he use such award in his marketing and someone later track its origin.

Dealer rooms

Most conventions have a "dealers room", where magical supplies are sold, along with books describing various techniques. While the public might be invited to view certain performances, you must be registered at the convention to visit the dealers room.

References

{{Magic and Illusion