Fun day today, stage competitions completed, close up competition tomorrow. Close up Show was this afternoon and was fantastic. Cabaret Show tonight, soon. Dealer's Room rocks. More later. Thank you Richard and Bob for your posts.

Man I wished I was there. Sounds like fun!!

Ken

Very good show last night, all acts strong. Andrew Goldenhersh was a great MC. Closeup contest this morning.

It was a great Saturday at Magic by the Beach! Good events all day. The theater show was fabulous! The party afterward was a ton of fun and a very enjoyable social.

I hope they invite us back.

Bob & Lucy

It was great to meet you and Lucy. The gang at Magic at the Beach did a great job and I am ready to register for next year

Late night, early morning, great party last night. Super show, too. I will post contest results add soon as I can, on mobile now. Thanks to everyone that attended !!

Hello all! It was a twelve hour drive for me, and, I made it home to the shop ok, but, certainly ready to "crash"...in bed, for a while. It was worth every mile driven. This convention is designed to strengthen bonds between old friends and aquaintences, as well as, and just as importantly, forge new ones. In this it is highly successful, not to mention, those who paid a bit of attention could leave with many "secrets of the universe". How could one not come away with some useful information with which to convert to knowledge, what with the fantastic line-up of talent.

A top-notch dealer's room was enjoyed by all. I was honored and excited to be placed next door to the great Joe Mogar, of whom, I've always been a fan. He and his wife Joan were delightful. A lot of shop-talk between busy spells. I met and became good friends with many good folk, with whom, I look forward to keeping in touch, regardless of business transactions.

The dealer's room fitted with access to coffee?!...and food?!...and tables with chairs, no less, for the convenience of the convention-goers, furthering the promotion of the "fellowship-factor" and communication amongst wizards...as it should be. Junior magician's pizza-party?!...I could go on. Oh, and you should see the "goodie-bags"!

I, a humble wand-maker and novice sort of dealer, was made to feel most welcome and royal. My sincere thanks and appreciation to Co-Chairmen Roman LePree, David Tanner, and all the crew. These guys and ladies know how to put on a convention. In summary, all the positive comments you've heard about "Magic at the Beach" are true. If you have never attended, do yourself a favour!

Michael

Thank you Michael for your kind words. I trust that everyone that experienced Magic at the Beach 2013 feels the same as you. As promised I have the results of the competitions for you all.

Youth Stage:
1. Timothy Cripe
2. Austin Dunlop

Adult Stage:
1. Michael Bairefoot as "Mr. VIP"
2. Ron Conley

Closeup:
1. Wayne Anderson
2. Alan Wu

On a personal note I want to say how great it was to see old friends and make new ones, too. All of the talented performers were Ladies and Gentleman and very professional.

Here is my quick list of memories of this weekend ...

Christopher Hart: Thank you for doing the TV show with me on Friday. The impact from your appearance helped drive our ticket sales for the Big Show Saturday night. Your posing with "Thing" on top of peoples heads was as much of a hit off stage as you were on stage.

Daryl: You are a trouper. To get up with me at 04:30 to do 5 live remote TV spots from the convention center was nothing short of incredible. The on-air TV personality, Amanda, loved working with you on the air and your enthusiasm at that time of the morning was infectious.

Farrell Dillon: What a way to start the weekend !! Your one-man show at the Welcome Party was fantastic which led many folks to come to me and ask, "Where did you find this guy? He is great."

Jonathan Levit: You were very kind to agree to do the radio station interview with me and during the travel to and from the station we realized how many mutual friends we have. Which led you to ask, "Why have we never met before?" LOL. It was pleasure to meet your acquaintance and hope to see down the road very soon.

Les Arnold & Dazzle: She is beautiful and funny and he is suave and eccentric and it all equals comedy genius. Both of their appearances on the Cabaret show and the Gala show further proved why this act is one of the best of its kind in the business. (and when Andrew Goldenhersh's butterfly landed on your shirt during your set it was another huge LOL moment, priceless !!)

David & Dania: Dania performed a wonderful hoop act in the Cabaret show and I've heard rumors that she is retiring that act after her appearance with us. If so, sad to think of all the folks who will never get to see it - well done. Together you are undoubtedly the best at what you do. I know of no other act that comes close to the flair, poise and performance the two of you bring to the stage. Thank you.

Andrew Goldenhersh: Magic and music are your passions and it shows !! Thank you for your strong sets you did on stage. Great stuff. And I'm happy you made friends with my musician friend, Stevie Mac, who entertained us at the Farewell Party. I saw that little guitar session that took place back stage after Stevie finished - nice.

Michael Trixx: Your Rockin' magic thrilled everyone at the Big Show. I am so happy you were able to agree to perform for us this year. You've won our competitions twice and I know you work your act consistently in the Keys in order to maintain your level of professionalism. Thank you very much my friend.

Shin Lim: After seeing your set early last year I knew we needed you to come to the beach. Not only is your act one of those "must be seen to be believed" type of performances but your friendliness to all of our attendees, both young and older, made them all feel special. Don't you go a changing ...

Losander: Everyone loved your performance and local folks are still talking about you and wondering how you do what you do. So smooth with your effects and your presence. And for those who missed your turn on the microphone singing with Stevie Mac at the Farewell Party definitely missed a whole other side to your skills as an entertainer, awesome fun !!

Juliana Chen: I can not think of a better way to open the Big Show than with the incredible act you presented for us !! Your effects, costuming and presence filled the stage and everyone in the audience was in awe. And then to see you at the convention taking the time to work with the younger ones, showing them the correct way to place the cards in their hands, to learn your methods correctly, was wonderful to see. Your generosity is exceeded only by your beauty.

My associates deserve a big thanks, too.

Dave Tanner and Roman LePree for giving me the nod four years ago to take an idea and run with it and financially allowing it to happen - thank you !!

Michelle Householder whose hard work, dedication and close relationship with the Gilmore Theater led to our best ticket sales ever. I never really believed that we'd have to open the balcony but that's exactly what happened. Awesome job and we all thank you !!

Melena LePree worked hard to ensure that registration ran smooth and everyone got their first taste of "Southern Hospitality" upon arrival. Thank you !!

Matt McCoy directed all the productions and his experience and professionalism shows. Some people thought I was crazy when I recommended a young guy, still in college, to be our stage manager and talent liaison four years ago but we've shown them, huh Matt? Thank you for your dedication to this event !!

Buddy Farnan has decorated our themed Welcome Reception for the past few years and always does an incredible job. Buddy got called away from the convention early this year to take on another job before I had the chance to recognize and thank him in front of all the attendees. Thank you Buddy for always making us "look good" !!

Thanks to all the staff and crew at Carolina Opry for making us feel at home while producing our show there and thanks, too, to the Ocean Dunes Resort & Conference Center for their dedication, hard work and wonderful food and ensuring that all of our scheduled events went off without a hitch.

Finally, thanks to all of you that attended this year. You are the reason that we work year round to make this event one of the most memorable events of its kind anywhere. Please spread the word because we'd still like a few more people to attend, not a lot more, just a few more. LOL.

Yours in Magic,

Mike Heidtman
Event Coordinator, MATB2013
Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

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While re-reading this last night I realized that while drafting my last post between customers at the magic shop yesterday I left off two very important people ...

... Jeff Miller and William McClean have volunteered for us every year and do whatever is necessary. From running sound, lights, moving chairs, wrangling talent backstage and securing the venue these two guys continue to be an integral part of MATB and I apologize for not mentioning them sooner.

I encourage all those who attended to post your favorite moment of the convention and share with us. We would love to receive your feedback.

Thank you,

Mike

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Mike, Dave, Roman and Matt -

I thought last year was a fluke. There's no way you can get soooooo much bang for your buck. Boy was I wrong!

Another excellent event with world class performers, lecturers, dealers and hosts.

Like I already told you, the "Magician's Survival Kit" in the swag bag would have been plenty...but you guys went over the top again.

Looking forward to MATB 2014! (Could it possibly get any better? I'm betting that it will!)

:applause:

Thanks for a great time!

Steve Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-h3waLxEfs&feature=share

This is a taste of the Champions of Magic show from MATB2013. Mark your calendars now for our 2014 event.

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Here's a video highlighting the past four years of the Champions of Magic show to help promote "Magic At the Beach". Please share with your friends fellow magicians so next year is a sell out. The line-up is going to be TOP notch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR3eyi-77DY

A quote from one of our close-up headliners this year:

"I've performed at hundred of magic conventions around the world and "Magic At the Beach" was the BEST organized of them all."
-Daryl, FISM Winner

See ya soon!

-Matthew McCoy