Over the years I’ve received gifts from my audience. Sometimes though its a drawing of me (as seen here).

Recently though, Ceara did this charcoal drawing of me based on the photo that I have on my business card.

Not bad at all

For my newsletter I decided it would be neat to teach a magic trick. Now, I know the old saying that a “magician never reveals his secrets”. Well, that’s only half true. There are lots of tricks in magic that have been around for a long time that just keep getting passed on. The linking paper clips effect can be found in many beginner magic books, and has already been exposed online. For those reasons I don’t feel bad about putting together my own instructional video. I’ve also included it in my beginner magic trick section in the menu on the side.

I hope you liked the video. What do you think?

Thanks to everybody who made the Vernon Sunshine Festival possible. Also a big thank you to the Marble Slab Creamery who sponsored my shows for the event.

In the morning I performed on the main stage:

Then in the afternoon I did 3 street shows:

The weather was PERFECT for an outdoor festival that day. I hope I get the chance to return again next year, I had a great time.

I hope everyone had a great day

“Young entrepreneur and magician Leif Thordarson of Westbank, aka Ali K. Zam, recently spoke- and did magic- at the B.C. Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting in Whistler.

Thordarson won the young entrepreneur of the year at the Westbank chamber’s most recently Key Business Awards.

He was invited to the B.C. chamber event to give his entrepreneurial success story.

[ Click for large version ]

Thordarson, now in his 20s, relayed how he started when he was height doing magic at birthday parties and corporate events.

His goal is to make magic his full-time job.

The illusion that impressed the B.C. chamber crowd the most was his bending and twisting of forks using only the power of his mind.”

*Article from the Saturday, June 14, 2008 The Daily Courier

You’re invited to the Annual Sunshine Festival in Vernon BC on June 14th (This Saturday)

Don’t miss the largest street fair/sidewalk sale in the North Okanagan with an upwards of 10,000 people in attendance. Downtown truly comes alive with block after block of outstanding bargains, entertainment, children’s activities, outside street cafes, art and cultural performances and much more!

This festival includes and is not limited to a rock climbing wall, 2 entertainment stages, 2-3 bounce and plays and face painting.

On the Main Stage (2900 Block) I will be performing a 30 minute family show at 11:30 AM.

On 3400 block at 1:10 PM I will be performing a 20 minute street show, along with another street show at 2:10 on 3100 block. Don’t miss it!

I’ll be performing at a number of other public festivals and events over the summer and I’ll update you as the dates get closer.

Shop & Experience the Westside, 50% off Goodie Bags

From June 23rd to July 1st, the entire city of Westbank will be on sale! For more information on the event goto www.comeonover.info

Ali K. Zam Productions will be offering 50% off goodie bags for your birthday party show if you book the show between June 23rd and July 1st. For more information on Ali K. Zam’s birthday party show, goto www.HassleFreeBirthday.com.

Do you have children? New booster seat law in BC

New laws in effect July 1, 2008
All children must use booster seats until their 9th birthday unless they have reached the height of 145 cm (4′9″) tall. For more information goto BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation.
http://www.tsfbcaa.com/boost_bc

The FUN corner

Optical Illusion (Image)

1. First open up: First click here doesn’t look like to much does it?
2. Stand up and goto the back of the room. Look closely and you should see a famous painting!

“Magic is about transformation. It reminds us that everything changes – including ourselves.” – Jeff McBride

Derren Brown Trick or Treat S02E06 SEASON FINALE Part 1 / 4

Derren Brown Trick or Treat S02E06 SEASON FINALE Part 2 / 4

Derren Brown Trick or Treat S02E06 SEASON FINALE Part 3 / 4

Derren Brown Trick or Treat S02E06 SEASON FINALE Part 4 / 4

This is actually one of my favorite episodes in the series. The magic effects in the middle of the episode is great, and the psychological premises for the main effect is something everybody can relate to. I loved it.

You can read what Skepchick had to say about the episode over at her blog.

All the people ask me where I buy my magic from. Do I get it local? Online? Sadly there’s no real magic shop in Kelowna. If you’re just looking for some beginner tricks then you do have some local options.

1) Kelowna Costume used to have a small shelf of beginner magic tricks. I don’t know if they still have it anymore, but it worth a shot. They also have top hats, capes, and things like that for kids.

2) If you’re looking for magic theme goodie bags for a birthday party then you can order some from me when booking a magic show (I also have Ali K. Zam Official Magicians Wand’s)

3) Check your local dollar store. Don’t get the little boxes that have like 10 tricks in them for $1 though, the tricks are poorly made and often don’t even work properly, instead get the ones that are $1/each.

4) If you check Zellers or Walmart they sometimes have like 30 piece magic sets. There’s also Loadza Toyz in Orchard Park Mall that has some magic tricks and puzzles.

If you’re looking for some intermediate to professional magic and some quality made props then you have to go online. Don’t worry though, there’s lots of great online magic shops and many offer either major discounts, or free shipping.

1) In Vancouver (On Granville) there’s Clownin’ Around Magic
Not very good for online shopping, but if you call them you can find out what they have in stock.

2) In Calgary there’s The Vanishing Rabbit (Discount for IBM members)

3) My favorite place to shop online without a doubt is The Magic Depot
They have free shipping on orders over $40 (Who orders less than that anyways?), their website is pretty slick, and did I mention that they have the BEST customer service around? Its true!

4) The rest of the time I order magic online, I get it directly from different magic inventors. If anybody needs help finding something online, just let me know by email or on in the comments and I’ll try my best to help you out.

Kind of neat trick. I’m too lazy to try it out myself, but here’s a cool video below of somebody trying this little experiment. This could actually be a fun activity at a birthday party for kids.

I got this from boingboing.

Cirque du Soleil of course! Last night my girlfriend and I went to go see the show “Saltimbanco” at Prospera Place. It was the second best live show I’ve ever seen (Mark Kalin and Jinger’s Magic Show being 1st)

The entire show from start to finish was just amazing. On one side of me was a mom and her 4 year old, and on the other side was a 30 year old girl and her date, and it was amazing to see both of them react in exactly the same way.

I’ve listened to Cirque music before and I’ve never really been impressed by it, but during the show it creates the perfect mood. The sets, the music, the choreography, all of it was just wonderful! My favorite part of the show was when a clown pulled somebody up from the audience and did a “do as I do” pantomime routine. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard before, i was in stitches for a solid 10 minutes.

[Left: This was my favorite costume from the show. Love it!]

At the end of August my girlfriend and I are going to goto Vegas, and now I’m pretty sure that we need to go see “O” while we’re there. I’ve had so many people say to me “Oh you’re going to Vegas? Don’t miss O!” So I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to go see that now.

After coming home from the Cirque show last night I began looking up circus stuff online. I came across this video from the Vancouver Circus School. It has some contact juggling, gymnastic silks, juggling, blue d’lights, and a really neat ring thing at the end that I’ve never seen before. I’d love to learn it though!

Speaking of the circus, I just saw an ad on TV for a new show on NBC called “Celebrity Circus“. The premise is that celebrities learn circus stunts and perform them in just 8 weeks.

I’ve seen one of these in person before. I think it was in the Banff National Park at the ice glacier museum. Instead of being on a stick though, it was against a wall and as you moved your head around, the eyes were always looking at you, and the nose always pointed towards you.

Have any of you ever seen this before?