Past National President of the Society of American Magicians, Mark Weidhaas, is a jolly old man. Well, he may not really be “that” old, but he is jolly! A Structural Engineer by day, Mark “moonlights” as “Inspector Magic” for children at birthday parties, family gatherings, libraries and schools. But during the Christmas holidays, he dons his red cap and cape to become Colorado’s Santa Claus. He is also very involved with planning magic conventions for the S.A.M. and in particular, he is one of the co-organizers for MAGIC Texas in Arlington, Texas, later this year.

This week Mark Weidhaas tells us about his first magic convention and the importance of attending these gatherings. One of the topics discussed this week is “magic exposure” and how the national organizations handle it. He also tells us about how he developed his “Inspector Magic” character, but perhaps most importantly, we discuss how to enter into the lucrative field of making appearances as Santa Claus.

Timestamps of some of our topics;

(00:00) The Wonder Bash is coming up in Grand Rapids, Michigan next month

(00:49) Mark Weidhaas talks about becoming a Santa Claus and how to do it

(02:35) Scotty: We're in Colorado Springs following a rather torrential blizzard

(05:57) David Ginn got into magic late in life through volunteer fire department

(11:50) The camaraderie of a magic club can take you places

(16:05) You have different tricks for different ages. Do you have different acts?

(18:12) Are you performing only in the springs or do you go up to Denver or country

(19:18) You've been a Santa Claus for many years now

(22:12) Dal says portraying Santa Claus is rewarding and quite lucrative

(27:50) There are so many things you can do with Santa and different places

(29:40) Scott: We are getting very close to the Wonder bash convention in Michigan

(30:20) The convention is scheduled for April 18 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

(33:40) If you are a youth, you can apply to Wonder Bash for free

(35:18) Mark Weidhaas: Santa Claus asks children what they want for Christmas

(40:25) American magicians now offer training on child safety for youth

(43:00) There's been a lot of discussion recently about the exposure of magic

(48:51) My first national convention was in 2003, in Las Vegas

(52:21) You talk about the importance of attending conventions and making friends

(56:08) Mark Weidhaas of the S.A.M. and Dal Sanders of the T.A.O.M. are co-chairmen for Magic Texas coming up in September

(01:01:10) Scotty: Thanks to Mark Whitehouse for being my guest this week

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