Enchanting performances and mystical experiences are coming to New West during this month’s Magic Festival.
Magician Shawn Farquhar, owner of the Hidden Wonders Speakeasy Magic Experience in downtown New Westminster, has organized the upcoming week-long Magic Festival. It plans to feature mind-bending illusions, mesmerizing card tricks, and feats of magic defying explanation – and more.
“Our motto is bringing magic to the masses,” Farquhar said. “We want everybody to be able to experience magic and wonder. Especially at a time like this, when people are stressed and the world seems to be turning upside down with inflation and wars, we can escape to a little place and experience a little bit of magic and maybe feel like a kid again. And for the kids, it just opens up a whole new world of possibilities.”
The Magic Festival’s mission is to promote and preserve the rich tradition of magic. It aims to inspire wonder, ignite imaginations, and create unforgettable memories for the audience.
A variety of performances for folks of all ages are taking place at various venues in town from March 25 to 30.
Farquhar, a two-time world champion of magic, will be presenting 52 & You at the Hidden Wonders Showroom.
“I won the world championship in 2009 with a deck of cards,” he said. “So I thought if I'm going to do any type of show, it should be like a card show for the Magic Festival.”
The lineup for the inaugural Magic Festival in New West includes:
- Monday, March 25: Hidden Wonders presents 52 & YOU
- Tuesday, March 26: Cabaret of Wonders (sold out)
- Wednesday, March 27: The Vancouver Magic Circle presents Magic, Mystery & Dinner, starring Jay Alexander, at Stefanos Lounge and Restaurant (sold out)
- Thursday, March 28: The Leon Mandrake Assembly of Magicians presents An Evening of Magic, showcasing the enchanting world of illusions, mind-bending tricks, and captivating performances. A diverse lineup of magicians will take to the stage at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy.
- Friday, March 29: The Parlour Magic Show presents: Cocktail Magic at the Metro Hall. Hosted by Rob Teska, this event includes “impossible feats of magic, juggling, mentalism, circus, sideshow, and more.”
- Saturday, March 30: The Vancouver Magic Circle presents the Children’s Magician of the Year competition at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy.
“Kids get to vote for who the Children's Magician of the Year is,” Farquhar said. “It’s like America's Got Talent, but done with kids and magicians for kids to vote to see who they love.”
With some of the shows in this year’s festival already sold out, Farquhar is ready to start planning for next year’s event. Ideally, he’d like to see it expand from the downtown to other neighbourhoods in the city.
“It's my plan to do it annually,” he said.
In a telephone interview with the Record – from Pittsburgh, where he performing for two weeks at a magic theatre – Farquhar expressed delight in being able to bring his magician friends the city where he opened his magic theatre in 2020.
The Magic Festival is a win-win – community members get to take some magical entertainment and Farquhar gets to see magician friends that he no longer sees on the magic circuit since opening Hidden Wonders.
Hidden Wonders in New West
Farquhar travelled the world for years performing magic – until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“I'd worked for Disney for seven years; I was on their cruise lines, and everything came to a stop,” he said. "And I went: ‘I don't want to stop working.’”
Farquhar said his wife found “this wonderful space” in New West, and he made a “COVID pivot.” Hidden Wonders was born.
“I love the fact that that people are embracing it,” he said. “You know, I built my theatre during COVID because I knew people needed to get out and laugh.”
Farquhar said he missed seeing his magician friends on the road, which is why he’s started planning the festival. But he couldn’t be happier about putting down roots and opening Hidden Wonders.
“It’s the best thing I've ever done,” he said. “You name a gig that you might think it's a dream gig, I've done it. I performed for Nelson Mandela, I performed for the Queen of England, for sitting presidents of the United States.”
And as much as he enjoyed performing to a crowd of 60,000 people in an arena in Beijing, China, Farquhar said nothing compares to shows at his cozy space in New West.
“Now I'm working for 30 people. And I can see all their faces. And I learn their names. And the show is unique because I don't do the same show twice,” he said. “Every show is a choose-your-own-adventure by the audience. And so people are coming back for their fifth and sixth time to see the show.”
Farquhar no longer has to perform the same show night after night.
“Now, I just do something new every night,” he said.” And the audience comes along for a ride.”
Farquhar, who is the fourth generation of his family to become a magician, lived in New West back in the 1980s. New Westminster was once home to one of Farquhar’s mentors in magic, Leon Mandrake (aka Mandrake the Magician), who performed at the then-Edison Theatre.
Last year, Farquhar performed more than 300 shows in his little space in New West.
“I was only away for maybe five weeks last year. This year, it's a little bit more. I'm doing this two weeks here in Pittsburgh. I've got a week on a cruise ship sailing the Nile … and a week in Tacoma,” he said. “And other than that, I’m pretty much home doing the shows because it's fun doing the show in New West.”
