When I travel I try to pop into the local magic shop and support them. When I was in Astoria, OR recently I swung by The Magic Shop and More and hung out with the owner Seth.
While I was there a couple of people walked in and one guy mentions that when he was a kid his neighbor’s dad was a magician. If you perform for the public, you will frequently hear people tell you that they have relative or a connection to a magician. I always ask who the magician is, and many times they will respond with something like, “they’re from a small town, you’ve never heard of them…“. I would say a lot of the time I have heard of them and most of the time I know or have met that person.
When I asked the guy who the magician was, he said BRUCE CERVON! That was a fun surprise and we got to hear a couple stories about Bruce. You never know who you’ll meet and who they know!
Also while I was there, I picked up the Max Malini book. When you visit a magic shop, support them with a meaningful purchase, not just a deck of cards for three bucks.
-Louie