The August issue comes a bit later than usual, due to the Get-Together. I think a post-Get-Together issue may be a bit preferable, since it gives the opportunity to reflect on the annual Abbott’s family reunion.

That’s really what the Get-Together feels like to me: a great big family reunion. We all know each other, and the newbies quickly feel at home. Usually, we get someone to come back “home” after a long absence from the Get-Together; this year Franz Harary returned to his home state to visit all of us. You probably recognize Franz from his recent cover story in Genii, or from the Masters of Illusion TV series, or any number of television or live shows he’s been in over the last 30 years. Let me tell you, I don’t think stardom has changed him at all! A smile and handshake at the Legion were all I needed to go chat up a magic megastar, and before you know it, we were laughing as if we’d known each other for years.

It’s the common experience of a Get-Together to make fast friends.

The most memorable one for me is undoubtedly the friendship I fostered with master street magician Chris Capehart, who lectured and performed at 2006’s Get-Together. I had been spending that summer as a street performer in Mackinaw City, MI, doing 6-8 shows per day, 7 days a week, but managed to sneak into my performance agreement to get a few days off for Abbott’s.

Chris performed his amazing act, complete with his unbelievable Linking Rings, his “money bunny,” a rabbit who could find a selected card, and provided an inexhaustible number of coins from behind its ears. He also performed his version of “Fraidy Cat Rabbit” to a full Colon auditorium, complete with kids up on stage who were screaming for him to “turn it around!” The most amazing part of the act was his FCR routine got him a standing ovation from the magicians in the crowd!

Saturday morning Chris presented his lecture on street performance. He talked about how to gather a crowd, how to convince them to drop money in your bucket, and how to interact with children. That evening, as I had been doing each night of the Get-Together, I performed my 20-minute street act outside the Legion, just to earn a couple extra bucks. No sooner had I finished my first effect, Linking Rings, than I looked up to see the Master standing in the front of my crowd!

I got one of those embarrassing pangs in my stomach when I spotted him. Here was the Master, who lectured on this very type of performance earlier today. I had planned to incorporate a lot of his advice into my street act – once I got back up to Mackinaw. But so soon? “No, don’t watch me, Chris,” I thought. “I’m not worthy!”

Finishing with Cups and Balls (with a coconut hat load), Chris was the first to step forward to drop a bill in my bucket. He then came to talk to me, and gave me some of the highest praise that had ever been bestowed on me. We ended up chatting quite a bit. Well, it was mostly me bending his ear for my juicy bits of knowledge, and him cracking wise.

The advice he gave me then stays with me now, and influences my magic everytime I perform. So thanks, Chris, and thanks Get-Together – for helping me better my magic through friendship and camaraderie.