The first China Beijing International Magic Carnival kicked off yesterday, which no one attended because it was in Changping District. Listen, event organizers: be a little less transparent with these “international” festivals, would you? The CBIMC (a non-official and heretofore nonexistent acronym) is nothing but a local soft-power push, the equivalent of a small-auto windshield makers trade fair in Jefferson City, Missouri — if the Small-Auto Windshield Association of America happened to be backed by the federal government. Xinhua:
The three-day event is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the municipal government of Beijing. It will become a biennial event in the city.
We also learn through the article that these things exist: the International Federation of Magic Societies (seeking to open its first China office, in Changping for some reason), and the Asian Federation of Magic Societies.
The festival lasts until Monday. You can go see all your favorite magicians, such as Danny Cole, Richard Forget, Yann Frisch, Jerome Jonas Helfenstein, Li Ning (no, not the former gymnast), Yu Ho-jin (who “wowed the audience with fast-changing poker cards,” writes China Daily, which gamely reported the story with a straight face under the headline, “Magic Carnival to feature top guns”).
We know that it’s unlikely any of these people will cause your heart to skip a beat. However. HOWEVER. Should any of you happen to be in Changping, perhaps visiting the Great Wall, or because your Chinese company owes the Ministry of Culture a favor and is forcing you to take an office field trip, please let me know if you’d be willing to swing by this event. We would love a review.
Bottom three pictures via Chinese China Daily, top two from the event website.
