Wow- I read under the "General Magic" section of The Magic Café' (under the heading: "Did You Hear The Latest?") that the "Magic Beyond Belief" magic show in Pigeon Forge is closing down the end of this year. Duane (former FCM President)and Mary Laflin are doing the Christmas magic show there November 30 through the end of December- then the entire theatre is being torn down in 2011! Seems as though a large nearby attraction bought a bunch of surrounding properties to expand- and is tearing down everything currently on the purchased land including several valuable theatres and attractions. I cannot imagine the money exchanging hands on that- wow- to buy several perfectly good theatres and then tear them down. Anyway, Duane will be on the road again in 2011?- so that may be good for us tricksters who cannot get down to Pigeon Forge before the end of the year to see that terrific family show.

On the other hand it will free up time for Duane & Mary to pursue other projects that they currently have on the "back burner", so to speak.

Mark

Anyone know if the Laflins plan to take their show to another theater? Another city?

I do know that Duane and Mary Laflin will be appearing April 30, 2011, at Michigan Magic Day at the beautifully restored Tibbit's Opera House in Coldwater, Michigan http://www.colonmichiganmagic.com They also both usually come to the Abbott's Get-Together (also known as "Magic Week") August 3-6 in Colon yearly as well where Duane gives the Friday morning "Magi-Ministers" lecture.

Thanks for the info, Magicbus!

Duane posts udates on Facebook so as things develop, I am sure he will let all of us know.

So many venues are closing these days as people scrape to make ends meet.

Duane and Mary will be at the Ohio FCM conference in Columbus on Feb. 25th and 26th see the post on Ohio FCM for more info

Got the chance to say hello to Duane at Magi-Fest in Columbus, Ohio, and when I asked him what was next, he said he really did not know.

Through his lectures and shows, Duane has been a tremendous blessing in how I structure Gospel presentations. While he is an excellent magician, I appreciate his messages even more.

Bobby

Rob said, "While he is an excellent magician, I appreciate his messages even more."

I can relate, because presenting the gospel is, for me, what gives performing magic real purpose.

Duane gave us outright permission to use two of his DVDs (performance only obviously)for our http://www.ChristianMagician.org cable outreach series- was glad to be a part of any effort, no matter how small, to reach the public with the Gospel. Sorry to say that was not the response from others asked- many did not even respond in any way to our inquiries. So I really appreciate Duane's heart and his actions to always be willing to assist his fellow magi- in addition to the teaching materials he makes available to us all. Duane reminds me of my old mentor and FCM Prez John deVries (I was one of his "roadies"/helpers/drivers)- John was about presenting the Gospel and willing to share his ideas and encourage anyone who might benefit from his routines even though he himself was a very busy guy indeed. One story I'd love to share now is that even when we were on the road, John always found out where a local Wednesday night church prayer meeting was and went to it (and took us with him as well- he had two "roadies" traveling with him). MagicBob is the same way- we were on vacation recently yet he was always "on" doing Gospel magic in restaurants we visited, for people waiting for buses to arrive, for the cab driver, even people waiting in the airline terminal, etc..

Duane Laflin and Mary Laflin have just been added to the lineup for the Kidabra Chapter 1 Conference in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on February 13, 2011.

For more information, see the Kidabra Forum or the So Happy Together Forum.

I can't wait to see Duane and Mary.

They are a class act.