International Festival of Magic 2005 was undeniably the best magic convention ever held in Singapore. IF Magic 2005 had all the elements of international conventions – competitions and attractive prizes to draw amateur and semi-professional magicians; shows by the crème de la crème of the magic world; dealers’ rooms packed with exclusive limited editions of magical merchandise, and secrets of the trade imparted in private seminars.

More than – participants gathered from Japan, Korea, America and of course, Singapore. The four-day convention was held in two locations, foreign participants stayed at York Hotel in the nation’s shopping belt and attended seminars and dealers’ rooms in the hotel itself – very convenient!

By night, they were ferried in coaches to the posh Kallang Theatre where they were treated to three sensational performances.

Look out for the next IF Magic Convention in 2007. In fact, you can start thinking of a competing act right now.

Who qualifies to compete in the Convention? Close-Up Magic and Pro Magic Competitions are open to all stage magicians of all countries and regions. There is no limit to age or sex.

You must have a Competing Act in mind and it must be original because this is a key judging criterion. Your act will be judged by an international jury of professional magicians from all over the world. If you win their approval, you know you have a good product!

You win points for showmanship, technical skill, originality and entertainment value of your act, and even for equipment and dressing!

If you aspire to bring your act to the world, then bring it to If Magic.

Which is the best source of knowledge for a novice magician? You could learn from magic books and practise with magic DVDs, but the best place to learn has got to be magic seminars. And if these seminars are conducted by world-class magicians, why then, they are absolutely requisite education.

If Magic 2005 participants benefited greatly from Tommy Wonder’s blow-by-blow demonstration of how to palm a card and Magic Fukai’s droll presentation of misdirection. The Pendragons were as breathtaking off stage as they are onstage. No doubt, somewhere in Singapore right now, a young magician is dreaming of how he can upstage the Pendragons using the very same secrets the Pendragons ‘leaked’ during their seminar. This would be a near-impossible feat, but magicians must dream.

The Rose Room of York Hotel was transformed for three days into a bustling magicians' mall. There were products ranging from toys to tools, some suitable for performing magicians while others are beginners' stuff for students and novices. There were sponge balls, novelty cards, interlocking rings, silks, umbrellas, puppets and even a man-sized chamber and a collapsible steel frame that opens to the size of a small wall!

Many of them are personal inventions by magicians, only available through mail-order; you’ll never find them in a shop. It was more entertaining watching the magicians market their wares than to actually buy the stuff; the 'merchants' seem to take more joy in entertaining the browsers gathered around their stalls than in ringing in the sales!