A few years ago, I was invited to speak at the First Houdini Festival in Danville Virginia. It was a small event but a lot of fun. I did a lecture on escapes and also another lecture on Houdini. There are some unique things about the organizer of this event. Wayne Alan is a professional magician, but he is also a huge Houdini buff. I believe it was the early 1980s, Wayne duplicated Houdini's Upside Down Straightjacket Escape in front of Keith's Vaudeville Theatre in Washington. But that wasn't all. He also picked up some items from inside the historic theatre before they tore it down.
Wayne has also been working on a Houdini book for years. He has some information that is very different from things I've heard in the past. I've been privy to a lot of the information and it's eye opening. The amazing thing, much of it comes directly from sources involved in the events of Houdini's life.
Now fast forward to 2021. Wayne Alan owns the Historic North Theatre in Danville VA. He is planning on holding the next Houdini Festival in Spring of next year. We spoke together at length about the way to do it, and I think Wayne has a clever solution. The Festival will be both Virtual and In-person. Of course, the in person events will be socially distanced (if we still are dealing with Covid at that time). Below is Wayne's press release. Watch for more updates in the coming weeks.