Venues

The Battery

I have been fortunate enough to have been involved with The Battery since the beginning. First, I was booked to perform at their opening night and I have been the Resident Magician there since 2015, entertaining members and guests in The Musto Bar.

The Battery features a wide variety of event spaces, both indoor and outdoor, as well as hotel suites. The Penthouse is a great place to host an event with stunning views of downtown San Francisco.

It’s one of my favorite places to visit.

www.thebatterysf.com

The Bridgeyard

Formally a maintenance facility for the Bay Area’s ubiquitous street cars , The Bridgeyard is now a dedicated event space with panoramic views of Oakland and San Francisco it’s a “blank canvas” waiting for you add your vision.

Having visited countless event spaces, The Bridgeyard is a breath of fresh air.

www.thebridgeyard.com

Claremont Club & Spa

What can you say about The Claremont Club & Spa.

Stunning. Iconic. Historic resort charm in the heart of Berkeley with sprawling spaces and incredible attention to detail everywhere you look.

And I hear they have an amazing magic show happening there every month!

www.fairmont.com/claremont-berkeley

Odette Estate Winery

Odette Estate Winery is run by my friends at PlumpJack Group and their hospitality is second to none.

If you’re looking for a venue in Napa to host your holiday event you can’t go wrong with Odette Estate Winery.

www.odetteestate.com

Press Club

One of the first planners I met when I arrived in the Bay Area was Ashley Guillory and we ended up working a handful of events together. Ashley is now Director of Private Events at Press Club, a sophisticated and social wine bar in the heart of downtown San Francisco. If your group enjoys seasonal small plates and thoughtful pairings, Press Club is your spot.

www.pressclubsf.com

CONJURING WONDER celebrates National Magic Week with a special performance on October 26th

OAKLAND, California — San Francisco Magician Dennis Kyriakos currently offers the only close-up magic show in the Bay Area. Fans are lining up to experience CONJURING WONDER – Magic: Up-Close & Personal each month at the Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley.

Since May, Kyriakos has been entertaining sold-out audiences at the Claremont with his high-caliber magic and mind reading show. His next performance is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit conjuring.live or watch the highlight video:

“To celebrate Halloween, our October 26th performance will feature an act rarely seen by modern audiences,” Kyriakos explained.

“More importantly October 25 - 31 is National Magic Week, which celebrates the charitable contributions made by the Society of American Magicians throughout the years. In that spirit, all proceeds of this month’s performance will go to the Jazy and Angel Scholarship Fund.”

Jazy and Angel Sotelo Garcia, two Berkeley HS students and brothers were shot and killed at a house party in Oakland on October 1st.

Asked why he decided to donate ticket sales, Kyriakos said, “I’d like those affected by this tragedy and our community to know that even though there may be darkness in the world, you will also find joy and wonder and light in equal measure.”

For the past 25 years, Kyriakos has provided entertainment at corporate meetings, incentive weekends, trade shows, fundraising gala, and high-end private events across the country and around the world.

He has been a featured performer and host of Monday Night Magic – New York City’s longest-running magic show – and Magical Nights at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency – The Nightclub of New York. He has been a repeated guest lecturer at NYU's Psychology Department and at Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, talking about "Visual Perception in Magic" and "Lying and Deception." He has also been featured on the popular website The Art of Manliness.

Kyriakos is available for interviews and demonstrations for reporters at television stations, radio, and newspapers.

For more information, visit conjuringwonder.com. He can also be followed on Instagram and Twitter at @conjuringwonder.

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Tickets for this SPECIAL EDITION of CONJURING WONDER are on sale now!

Excited to share the new promo video for CONJURING WONDER - Magic: Up-Close & Personal.

Join us monthly at The Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley for The Bay Area’s Premiere Close-Up Magic Experience.

Tickets available at www.conjuring.live.

Oakland, CA - Dennis Kyriakos sells out the premiere performance of CONJURING WONDER at The Claremont Club & Spa, in Berkeley, CA.

Imagine making your way through the stunning lobby of the Claremont Club & Spa and unwinding with a glass of wine while mingling with other guests.

Take your seat around the table as a dapper gentleman is introduced and the mysteries unfold.

Suddenly, objects vanish and reappear before your eyes. Uncanny coincidences unfold. Secret thoughts are revealed.

You are left charmed, bewildered, and amazed.

CONJURING WONDER will be presented monthly at The Claremont Club & Spa. Stay informed when future tickets go on sale here.

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked after a performance is “Where do you learn all this stuff?”

The majority — if not all — of the secrets of magic are hiding in place sight. Here at home, I have a working library of about 250 books that I’ve been collecting since high school and that’s where your study begins. However, another important method of learning is community and mentorship.

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to immerse myself in the experience when I traveled to Columbus, Ohio for the 90th Annual MagiFest. Approximately 500 attendees (typically 1000 but they restricted registration to keep us safe) were present for 3 days of lectures, shows, tributes, and informal sessions.

Here’s a quick peek…

My good friend, Matt Holtzclaw making his convention debut. His first time ever attending a magic convention and he was on the bill!

A peek at the informal gatherings that last well into the morning.

Jason England (left) is one of the world foremost gambling and card cheating experts. Jamy Ian Swiss (right) is a prolific author, book reviewer, and professional performer. Among other things, he’s also a dear friend and mentor I’ve known for at least 20 years. If I can point to one person who has had the most impact on my life in magic, it would be Jamy.

Probably the best part of a magic convention is spending time with close friends and colleagues. (L to R) Jamy Ian Swiss, Matthew Holtzclaw, and Mark Calabrese.

Jamy shares his encyclopedic knowledge on one of the most important sleights in card magic.

Apollo Robbins (right) made himself known in the magic community as The Gentleman Thief. He is the greatest theatrical pickpocket in the world

Apollo Robbins talking about this career and time hosting Brain Games on The Discovery Channel.

Apollo Robbins sharing his ideas on stealing watches. Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

It’s quite rare that I spend much time in the magic community but I always return inspired and excited to continue my journey.

Yes, we still continue to face challenges but I firmly believe that it’s important to occasionally look at where you’ve come from and acknowledge your success — and failure. Do this often enough and with the right spirit and a clear path emerges in the direction you’re heading.

Despite the uncertainty of 2021, I was fortunate to present Virtual Deceptions at 44 online events and make appearances at 20 in-person corporate, private, and fundraising events this past year.

Here’s a taste of some of the most memorable moments…

The Return of In-Person Events

My first in-person event happened in May 2021. A team-building dinner for my new friends at Saltmine.

The event took place at Taplin Cellars, one of the oldest family-owned vineyard in Napa and Sylvia Taplin is the consummate host. The entire experience felt like being home.

The entertainment portion of the evening was a surprise for the team, so the folks at Taplin put me up in their cottage which doubled as a greenroom. After a fantastic meal prepared by The French Laundry, I was introduced and performed al fresco overlooking the vineyard.

What a joy to be back!

The Cottage at Taplin Cellars

The Cottage at Taplin Cellars

Greenroom

Dinner by The French Laundry

Sylvia Taplin thanking our chef for the evening and introducing the performance

Trade Shows

We saw the trade show industry open up this year with shows — large and small — across the country. One of the last events I did before locking down was the RSA Conference in February 2020 and we had no idea when the industry would be back.

Nice to see trade shows coming back and organizers adjusting the circumstance.

Stopping traffic for W Brothers at the Institute of Real Estate Conference Orange County Chapter Conference and Trade Show

Presenting for Bitdefender at Connect IT 2021 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

Presenting for Bitdefender at Connect IT 2021 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

In-Person Conferences

This year brought the opportunity to help a new client entertain conference attendees in Las Vegas and New Orleans.

Each reception included about 50 - 60 VIP conference attendees from across the country. And I designed a couple of customize presentations to get the client’s message across.

VIP Conference Reception at 1923 Prohibition Bar in Las Vegas

VIP Conference Reception at The Chicory in New Orleans

Speaking of Magic

As I mentioned at the top of this blog post, it’s important to look back and acknowledge success and failure. One of the things that kept me sane these past two years was finding a way to take the challenge we’re facing and do something positive with it.

“Every obstacle in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and invoke our own submerged inner resources. The trials we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths.”

— Epictitus

Making Zoom Magic

The more Zoom meetings I had with clients the more I realized I had something to offer.

MAKING ZOOM MAGIC is a peek-behind-the-curtain to share the process of pivoting from performing at in-person events to crafting a highly-interactive and successful virtual magic performance for corporate events. I presented the talk to a handful of groups — virtually, of course! — and walked attendees through the nuts and bolts to making their next Zoom meetings amazing.

If you’d like to discuss bringing MAKING ZOOM MAGIC or another customize presentation to your group please drop me a note here.

The Speaker Spring Board Podcast

Alfred Poor invited me to be part of The Speaker Springboard Podcast. We talked about the business of doing magic, and what managers and leaders can learn from it.

Yeah, we jammed a lot into 10-minutes but Alfred it really good at what he does and apparently I have a lot to say on the subject.

And that’s no lie.

Listen to the episode here!

Virtual Conferences and Meetings

As challenging as it has been, there have also been some exciting opportunities to emcee and entertain at sales and kick-off meetings and opening receptions at virtual conferences for clients like Guidewire, SingleStore, Clarizen, DocuSign, SNUG World, Side reUnite, the Society for Technical Communication, and more!

The Battery

Thrilled to be back at my residency at The Battery this year. It was great to see the membership and staff again!

I’ve been the Resident Magician at The Battery since 2015, entertaining casually in The Musto Bar.

In November, I presented Psychic Illusions for approximately 80 club members. The performance ran 90 minutes in length and featured an act rarely seen today. What a treat to be back at the club!

The Oracle Act

The Parlor at The Battery

Thank you

We made it! We’re one year wiser, one year stronger.

Thank you for your loyalty and support.

May you find much WONDER & JOY in 2022. I’ll see you there!

Dennis

Thrilled to join my colleague, Alfred Poor on this latest episode of The Speaker Springboard Podcast.

We talked about the #business of doing magic, and what #managers and #leaders can learn from it.

Yeah, we jammed a lot into 10-minutes but Alfred it really good at what he does and apparently I have a lot to say on the subject.

And that’s no lie.

Listen to the episode here!

I was born and raised in the small community of Malba, which was nestled in the shadow of the Whitestone Bridge, in Queens, NY. My parents had businesses in Astoria, where I also lived for the last 10 years of my time in NYC.

To get to “work” we travelled via the Whitestone Expressway to the Grand Central Parkway which took us right past Shea Stadium. (It will always be “Shea” to me!) Shea was my part of culture and right in my backyard and the view never got old.

When The Rolling Stones announced their Steel Wheels Tour would bring them to Shea, it was a no brainer. We had great seats and it was…well, it was The Stones, man! What else is there to say?

“I wanted to play drums because I fell in love with the glitter and the lights, but it wasn’t about adulation. It was being up there playing.”

— Charlie Watts

I always looked at successful people as having some untouchable quality or they have some immense talent — I’m not fond of that word, but for now it’ll work — that few others possess that makes them. They are “other than” me.

In his book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, Steven Pressfield says: “The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”

Yes, I do work at my business. But I’m a Magician and my job is to play. Success comes or it doesn’t.

Charlies explains it far more eloquently here.

Thanks, Charlie.

The world of Magic is filled with larger than life personalities, impossible miracles, and legendary stories that border on myth.

This recent article in the New York Times tries to capture all that with the story of one man and his Holy Grail.

David Berglas is famous in our little world for many things but nothing comes close to the legend that’s been created around a trick known as Any Card at Any Number. To be more specific, The Berglas Effect.

It goes like this. You’re asked to name a playing card in a standard deck of cards. Another person is asked for a number from 1 to 52. You’re then asked to pick up a deck of cards sitting on the table — untouched by the performer — and count down to the number named. The card you asked for is found exactly at the number named. Fucking miracle.

Most magic tricks go from Point A to Point B to Point C and eventually reach an astonishing climax. It happens the same way every time, so essentially the performer needs to follow the steps.

But not The Berglas Effect. It’s almost impossible to teach or explain because, depending on the method used, it’s never the same twice. It requires spontaneity, an open mind, and a set made of brass.

It’s rarely seen because it’s hard to do but I’m not necessarily speaking about technique. There are many versions of the trick. Have you noticed new video banners on the redesigned website? The final moments of those two card tricks you see there is a version of ACANN. There’s also a different version in my virtual show.

The challenge is creating the space so the power of the effect can exist.

It would be so easy to post the entire video of those performances but that would be a disservice. You’d miss out on that feeling in the center of your body when the bottom falls out. Who am I to deprive you of that?

No. Better if you ask about it when next we meet.

Wanted to share some exciting news...

Last night, after 15 months of virtual performances, I had my FIRST IN-PERSON EVENT! An intimate company team building dinner at Taplin Cellars, the oldest family owned vineyard in Napa.

The entertainment portion of the evening was a surprise for the team, so the folks at Taplin put me up in their cottage which doubled as a greenroom. After a fantastic meal prepared by The French Laundry, I was introduced and performed al fresco overlooking the vineyard.

What a joy to be back!

Is this the end of virtual performances?

Well, only time will tell. But calls are coming in fast-and-furious for in-person events and it's looking good.

That's all for now. Be well.