I registered for the 2011 convention at the San Diego convention. I am beginning to regret it now. I figured that by now, with the convention this close, we would at least know the name of ONE act. We don't.

I've been to TAOM, IBM, SAM, Magic Circle of London, and a host of other conventions that most people have never heard of. I don't like this pig in a poke attitude I'm getting from IBM.

Here's the other thing. I didn't sign up for the banquet at San Diego. Now they want ALL of us to eat rubber chicken. I have special dietary requirements. I asked the powers that be if there would be food choices for diabetics, people with lactose intolerance, people with food allergies, etc.

I haven't heard a peep from them.

With the food regs like they are now, this is information that actually impinges on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Diabetes is a disability.

Don't buy a pig in a poke.

Greetings, I registered last year at the Order of Merlin breakfast and have absolutely no regrets about having done so....in fact, I am looking forward to the event, just as I am looking forward to attending the S.A.M. in Pittsburgh. There are many different conventions I've attended and even more that I attend on a regular basis and I have yet to be disappointed in what I've received for my money, including a very large convention which never publishes names of talent....sometimes they are announced daily when you are there rather than making the announcement for the entire convention at once and the delivered product is always more than I bargained for when I signed up for it with the talent sight unseen.

Something many of you may not know....I am a diabetic since 2008 and fortunately my numbers are good and under control but I've never found an issue with the food served, including with the desserts which the facilities always make arrangements for as long as you ask the servers and tell them you have health issues/concerns. I have yet to be turned down on any request for something specific.

Putting on a convention, hiring the talent, getting contracts out and back from the talent plus putting all the little details in place takes an unbelievable amount of work and countless numbers of hours and I for one am thankful both to the team at IBM and the team at SAM who make these annual conventions possible. I thank all those people who put forth the work; work which in so many cases is thankless and goes unrecognized by some.

THANK YOU everyone for what you do. Keep up the good work and don't get discouraged.

Keep a dream in the making

Maria

I cannot attend as many conventions as I would like because of cost. My wife and I are in the processing of establishing a sizable emergency fund for us (around 3-4 months of our salaries) and attacking debt.

However, there are incredible benefits to going to the national conventions. As my good friend Leland Pennington says, he learns more from meeting magicians from other parts of the world and talking with the lecturers and performers in private settings between events that the education is invaluable.

I understand, it is also an investment. I do not know how the hobbyist magician can afford to attend a convention, but for the regular performer (whether full-time or part-time), I think he or she needs to do a cost-benefit analysis. While we might debate whether the costs are justified, remember that for the I.B.M. conventions, we have people coming over from England, Europe, China, Japan and South Korea, among other places, to be part of it. Someone is recognizing the value of these conventions.

So, my gripe is not so much with the I.B.M., but with foolish money decisions I made in the past regarding credit that is limiting some of my choices now. The talent line-up in Dallas has me drooling, but I am not sure if I will be able to make it. Along with a desire to improve my craft, I have to balance out trips to see my family in Boston, which comes at a price.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Bobby

Hey Bill...

Regarding your special dietary requirements, I am happy to see that yours are met. I'm not sure who you asked about the menu, but I apologize you haven't had a reply. Please email me directly at david@magician.org and I'll see that your dietary requirements are met. We want you to have a very enjoyable experience at this year's IBM convention... just let me know what you need.

Best,

David Sandy
IBM Convention Co-Chairman

Thanks, David. I appreciate your attention to this detail. I will contact you about my situation.

@Maria -- You should realize that the very large convention that you are referring to is situated right in the epicenter of magic activity of the world. They have a talent base to draw from that is much larger than any other, and these are just the people who live there. If you bring in the people from L.A., which is quite nearby, that increases it even more.

Regarding the food situation -- you haven't been diabetic long enough to really realize the problems. At the Order of Willard breakfast at the TAOM in Austin, there was not ONE SINGLE ITEM on the menu, other than the coffee, that I could consume safely. There was another attendee who is lactose intolerant. They had to prepare a special meal for her after the fact.

I've been aware that I am diabetic for 20+ years. The first thing I learned was not to give medical or dietary advice to other diabetics. It can come back to haunt you big time.

During the incident at the TAOM Convention in Austin, it was only AFTER the breakfast was over that the proper food arrived. That's really not good enough.



I've organized several of them. I know what's involved. I know what corners can be cut and what corners cannot be cut.

I must thank David Sandy for getting on a stick and taking care of some problems that other people should have handled right from the beginning.

It is extremely difficult for working magicians to go to conventions. They have no paid vacations so they take a HUGE financial hit in order to take a weekend off (the busiest time for shows) - and of course, foot the bill for the convention. Perhaps magic conventions are aimed mainly at enthusiasts or those who do magic "on the side"?

Also, the economy isn't so hot right now so I know the dealers have been taking hits.

And - the times have changed so much and so rapidly. The methods of obtaining magic and learning magic seems to have favored video and internet. And the concept of what magic is seems to have changed in recent years.

I'm just thinking out loud. There's really no substitute for seeing fellow magicians, mingling, exchanging ideas face-to-face. However, perhaps the template for doing a magic convention could be looked at and reevaluated?