I just returned from the UK where I was attending the world’s largest magic convention. Each February for the last 66 years, the seaside town of Blackpool in northern England is flooded with magicians from across the planet.
THOUSANDS of them.
It moves fast and furious with oceans of magicians filling every pocket of the town. At some point in the midst of it, I always try to stop and be present to the sheer impossibility of it. This year, this quote kept coming to my mind:
“We of alien looks or words must stick together.”
― C.J. Sansom
Over the last few years, I’ve been at nearly 100 live magic events across the United States and abroad. I’ve made new friends, connected with old, and shared thousands of moments.
When I think back on every truly powerful magic experience I have ever had - it has always been in the company of actual people in real world environments. I am grateful that we have the ability to connect online but the experiences produced live and in three dimensions are hard to match.
I hear a lot about the demise of the live magic experience. I see magicians working desperately to create an online presence, sometimes at the expense of building the skills to connect in the real world. Conversely, I see our online interactions as threads to connect us until the next live encounter. I value these threads - but their primary purpose is to guide me back to the living breathing person.
Standing in Blackpool in the midst of so many magicians, I was reminded of a simple fact:
Magic’s greatest strengths appear only when we are next to each other.
I hope that happens again soon.
THOUSANDS of them.
It moves fast and furious with oceans of magicians filling every pocket of the town. At some point in the midst of it, I always try to stop and be present to the sheer impossibility of it. This year, this quote kept coming to my mind:
“We of alien looks or words must stick together.”
― C.J. Sansom
Over the last few years, I’ve been at nearly 100 live magic events across the United States and abroad. I’ve made new friends, connected with old, and shared thousands of moments.
When I think back on every truly powerful magic experience I have ever had - it has always been in the company of actual people in real world environments. I am grateful that we have the ability to connect online but the experiences produced live and in three dimensions are hard to match.
I hear a lot about the demise of the live magic experience. I see magicians working desperately to create an online presence, sometimes at the expense of building the skills to connect in the real world. Conversely, I see our online interactions as threads to connect us until the next live encounter. I value these threads - but their primary purpose is to guide me back to the living breathing person.
Standing in Blackpool in the midst of so many magicians, I was reminded of a simple fact:
Magic’s greatest strengths appear only when we are next to each other.
I hope that happens again soon.
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