FISM - Day 0

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CraigMitchell
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FISM - Day 0

Postby CraigMitchell » July 5th, 2015, 5:52 pm

FISM Day 0

And so the journey begins – FISM 2015! It’s hard to believe it has been 3 years since we were trawling the streets of Blackpool, England ( some dodging for our safety ;-) … and now here we find ourselves in sun-drenched, Italy!

Billed by the organisers as “the best FISM ever” – excitement is high … sun, sea, sand, FISM – it’s a week of non-stop magic. A week for magicians from across the globe to come together. A true feast for the senses!

The magic starts before we even leave London … as the flight is already turning into the magic express – Shawn Farquhar, Woody Aragon and more are all onboard. Shawn clearly takes the medal for the most conventions attended this year as he literally finished up at SAM and jumped on the next flight to Europe. A short 2 hour hop – and we touch down into Bologna … a small airport approx 90 minutes outside of the coastal town of Rimini.

Rimini is beautiful. A quaint Italian getaway resort, it’s beaches are filled to capacity with loungers and umbrellas. The streets are filled with holidaymakers – gelato stores on every corner. Its 35 degrees+ Celsius - this is Summer in Europe.

The convention centre – PalaCongressi – is somewhat isolated from everything – a 40 minute walk to hotel / tourism central … With the beating sun, it’s not an easy stroll – and most attendees are still finding their feet when it comes to buses & taxis ;-)

The PalaCongressi is one of the most modern in Europe having only just opened in 2011/2012 … everything is gleaming. Dealers are interestingly located throughout all the main corridors and thoroughfares rather than being in their own exhibition hall as has been the norm. This certainly brings them to the fore and means wherever you look there is something to grab your attention. Sales should definitely be up this year!

The close-up venue is superb with tiered seating and giant screens. The jury, however, is still out on the stage venue. A cavernous hall has been transformed into a “giant television studio” with massive LED monitors, state of the art lighting and scrolling LED signs … “Times Square meets magic”. The downside of this facility is the all flat seating … there is something special about a theatre with Proscenium Arch and traditional tiered seating. Having seen some of the rehearsals, the smaller acts are completely engulfed in the space … and if you are seated towards the back, you may as well buy the DVD – the distance from the back row to the stage is vast!

It’s clear that the setup is primarily focused on the ‘masters of magic’ special being filmed for Italian TV … hopefully what looks good for television is going to translate well tomorrow for the live attendees. I don’t envy the director trying to make some of the more ‘traditional’ acts look exciting for today’s modern audience. Some of the acts were looking quite antiquated compared to the tech that was behind them! Seating limitations aside, the studio space they have created is amazing … and the tech board more closely resembles mission control.

On to all things registration.

In a word … sorry, make that two: Unmitigated disaster.


Registration was initially meant to commence Sunday morning … then pushed back to 2 pm … scratch that – now 7 pm.

Something is seriously wrong. This is not how you want to be starting your event.

6:30 pm rolls along and the registration desks are devoid of staff let alone ‘stuff’. There’s not a bag or envelope to be seen. How can this possibly be ?
The “VIP registration” is the first to eventually get underway … and the queues snake out the doors. It literally takes 15 minutes to process a single delegate … the situation is diabolical … and that’s if you are lucky enough for your registration to be found. Names are misfiled. First names and last names are reversed. Confirmation numbers mean nothing … there are forms to fill out … and not a central listing of attendees to be had … and no one equipped to deal with the myriad of problems that ensue. All front line staff trying their best in what are ridiculous circumstances. And that was just the “VIP” attendees.

The regular plebs ( sorry delegates ) are engulfed in what is best described as a rugby scrum … ticket numbers are still being furiously handwritten and inserted in envelopes … whilst masses of people after waiting an hour are told to see the “help desk” because their registrations are no where to be found. The “help desk” also doubles as bag distribution ( or something more closely resembling an aid depot in Somalia ) … which before you qualify to receive your bag, requires you to fill in all your registration information all over again ( holding up the queue even further ) and then signing to say you agree to join “masters of magic” as a new member (???) The ‘we-will-only-give-you-a-bag-once-you-sign-the-form’ rule quickly goes out the window … as Walter Rolfo, the organiser, himself is now pushing bag after bag onto delegates to try dissipate the growing – and highly irritated – hordes.

For those unlucky enough to have their registrations ‘lost’ – the chance of ever reaching someone at the ‘help desk’ is a pipe dream as no one seems to know how to use the database. Try again tomorrow.

To add to the fun – someone thought it a good idea to issue every attendee with a Tyvek wristband to accompany your registration badge ( why ? no one knows ) We are admonished to be sure to wear said band at all possible times … and yes, you must keep the same band on for the next 7 days – as it is “shower friendly” … mmmmmm …. I’m taking bets as to how long this rule lasts ;-)

So after an hour and half – lots of shoulder shrugging, blank stares, telephone calls to non-existent registration gods and some eventual executive intervention later, I was eventually successful … okay, a handwritten badge is better than none ;-) Unfortunately not everyone triumphed. Seems if your first name is “David” – they are still searching for your badges … so good luck. You’ll need to try again tomorrow.

First impressions count. And this was not the greatest of starts ;-( Let’s hope it was just a ‘glitch in the matrix’ … and it’s only up from here.

In terms of goodie bags – the VIP swag includes a ‘plastic chic’ shoulder bag ( compared to the budget drawstring offering for ‘regular attendees’ ), Hanky Panky gift set, t-shirt, EMC DVD, Phoenix cards and an absolutely gorgeous souvenir booklet … quite possibly one of the nicest convention programs I have seen produced. High gloss touches. Incredible design. Beautiful layout. Simply stunning … and undoubtedly an enormous amount of work has gone into it.

The program for the next week is beyond jam-packed … possibly, one of the busiest FISMs yet.

It’s now 11:45 pm … the streets of Rimini are still humming … and sleep is calling. We kick off tomorrow at 08:15 am with the official opening and the stage contests …

A week of fun, magic & friendships await. Bring it on! FISM has begun.


- Photos and highlights can be found online at http://www.facebook.com/fismmagic
Last edited by CraigMitchell on July 6th, 2015, 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

Will Jung
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Will Jung » July 5th, 2015, 7:13 pm

Love this post. Please continue to keep us updated!

Sucks hearing about the delayed registration though.

Ted M
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Ted M » July 5th, 2015, 11:45 pm

Many thanks for these reports!

They are appreciated!

Jeffrey Cowan
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Jeffrey Cowan » July 6th, 2015, 1:27 am

Thanks Craig -- and please continue with the reports.
-- Jeffrey Cowan
www.cowan-law.com

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Q. Kumber
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Q. Kumber » July 6th, 2015, 5:15 am

British magian Rob James, posted on Facebook that he had no problems with his registration and got it in 5 minutes.

Jacky Kahan
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Jacky Kahan » July 6th, 2015, 10:52 am

Thanks for the update !

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 6th, 2015, 5:55 pm

I walked up to the registration table at 10 am on Day 1 and registered in about 5 seconds. No wait. No line.
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CraigMitchell
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby CraigMitchell » July 6th, 2015, 5:59 pm

You thankfully missed the Sunday fun.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: FISM - Day 0

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 6th, 2015, 6:02 pm

Of course! Why would I register early on a day there are no events when EVERYONE else is trying to register!
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