Anyone have a review on The Magic Collector's Expo that was in Minneapolis this past week?

I was there and had a great time.

Things kicked off Wednesday evening when local magician Matt Dunn invited all the attendees to his home for a kick-off party. His house include many eclectic items including a stuffed bear, an alligator, an opossum hanging from a tree, art, antiques, and of course magic. Outside there is a two-story tree house that Matt built. There was a theater and several folks performed throughout the evening.

The dealer's room had a good mix of magic. Dealers included Jim Rawlins, H&R Books, Potter & Potter, Eagle Magic, Ken Trombley, Michael Baker and more. The room was usually busy and the few dealers I asked said they had a good weekend.

Instead of the usual "lectures" we were treated to sessions that covered a wide range of history and collecting. Some of my favorites were:

- Dale Sawlwak speaking on Benny Chavez and the college
- Ken Trombley on vintage magic posters
- David Charvet talked about the Great Nicola
- Mike Caveney and the early career of Dante (a book is coming...)
- Randy Pitchford talked about his great-uncle Cardini. He brought several of Cardini's props including his billiard ball set, top hat, monocle, cigarette gimmicks and more. After the session we were allowed to handle and play with these. Pretty cool.

The evening shows were different but that was nice. On Thursday night Derek Hughes performed his 15-20 minute act, followed by Magician Feud hosted by Derek. Before the show started everyone was handed a playing card. If you received a face card you were chosen to participate. Two teams of 6 competed. This was fun and the crowd was really in to it.

Friday night was a recreation of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Jim Malmberg is a professional Carson impersonator and did a great job. Ron Anderson stood in for Ed McMahon. He interviewed Gay Blackstone, Dave Witkowski, and Liberace (Martin Preston). We had a visit from Carnac. During the "commercial breaks" they played old TV magic ads on the screen.

The highlight of the convention for me was the Lafayette Experience. David Stahl brought part of his collection and set it up like a museum. We split into two groups and were given a tour by David which included history and anecdotes about Lafayette and the collection. Lafayette material is rare so this was really a great experience. David has some really cool stories about how he acquired some of the pieces.

The final show on Saturday was the Razzle Dazzle Revue at the Metropolitan Ballroom. It was set up to be like a 1940s-50s night club. The music was great and after dinner we were treated to performances by Liberace, Dale Salwak, Rich Bloch and David Charvet.

I've already signed up for next year in Vegas so can't wait!

Thanks Ace!
My wife and I had tickets but she became ill so we couldn't attend. I'm really looking forward to next year in Vegas.

Yes next year should be a blast!