FISM News: Eric Evans is Champion of Street Magic

Eric Evans just won first place in the first ever FISM Street Magic competition. Eric is wonderful representation of the culture and history of American Street Magic. A prodigy of the late Grand Master Jim Cellini, Eric illustrated Cellini's classic text on street magic, "The Royal Touch." He has also authored my personal favorite book on street magic, out of the dozens in my library, "Secret Art of Magic." I'm delighted that he's getting his flowers from the community at large.

One of the greatest honors in my life was meeting Eric Evans on Fremont Street in Las Vegas back in 2021. I knew he was working, so I tried to catch his show as a layman. I was out of costume and walking around with my girlfriend when I spotted Eric from a distance. He was between shows, sitting on his stool. I intended to approach him and ask him when he's going to start a show. As I got near, before I could speak, he said, "Is it pronounced Makoh-to or Makah-to?" The Master was a step ahead already. When did he know?

The show was, needless to say, incredible. Vegas crowds are often drunk and rowdy, but he had better control over his audience than many acts I've seen at The Magic Castle. The magic was stunning and flawless, impeccable techniques backed by deep subtleties. He used an infamous line of his-- he points at a strong young man and declares "I'm gonna fuck you up!" Very quickly, it is clear that he's fucking us up with great magic. Eric got a C-note tip that show, from a layman. We chatted a bit and talked coins and hand health. I gave him a DVD I heard he was looking for, and he signed my copy of Secret Art of Magic.
He turned my book into my magic diploma. 4F folks get ornate diplomas for performing-- this copy of Secret Art of Magic is mine.

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Thank you Eric for the leading both by example and clear instruction-- you're the North Star of Street Magic.
For the rest of us, we have our work cut out for us.


p.s. Shout out to Felice Ling for competing at FISM and representing Boston (and my wand)! Proud of you, my friend