Find a magician and try to score an invite to this members-only event in Hollywood
Milt and Bill Larsen, the brothers who co-founded the Magic Castle in Hollywood, were also major collectors of art and antiques. Their homes were stuffed to the rafters with cool stuff, including tons of magic memorabilia. What do you do when you have more collections than walls? Sell at a swap meet! Well, that’s how Rob Zabrecky remembers the origins of the Magic Castle Swap Meet, a fun flea market he first attended a couple of decades ago.
Rob ZabreckyCredit: Courtesy Rob Zabrecky
You have a few weeks to sign up for a club membership or befriend a member so you can join the inspiring members-only fun on April 25 in Hollywood.
“You get this image in your mind of what a Magic Castle swap meet would be like,” the musician-turned-magician-turned Castle ambassador tells Los Angeles. “How Harry Potter is this? How wizardy is this? “It used to just be open to magicians and now they’ve opened these up to the general public.”
Vendors at the Magic Castle swap meetCredit: Photo by Stevo Rood
Zabrecky explains that the gathering attracts professional illusionists and curious souls looking for their first deck of cards. “There are vendors selling everything from plastic thumbs to sponge bunnies,” he says. “I found some vintage spook show posters and old magic pamphlets. I especially like the wild vintage T-shirts like ‘Halloween ’78 at the Magic Castle.’”
Magic Castle swap meetCredit: Photo by Stevo Rood
Strange and unusual items, both antique and newly handmade, have turned up on the tables. Everything from neckties decorated with little Harry Houdinis to the preserved skeleton of a rabbit under a bell jar.
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As a longtime performer at the club, Zabrecky is always looking for new ways to wow the crowd. “I once bought a man’s entire act, “he says. ”When he passed away, I bought everything including VHS tapes of him performing. I thought ‘let’s see what this guy did.’ It was like learning a bunch of cover songs and was a cool insight into this man’s work.”
Magic Castle swap meetCredit: Photo by Stevo Rood
With restoration work on the historic Magic Castle building ongoing, this season’s outing has been moved down the block to the landmark Hollywood United Methodist Church. Sales tables are set up in the same gymnasium where Marty McFly jammed at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Back to the Future. It’s unlikely anyone would bat an eye iif an actual time machine showed up for sale at the Magic Castle Swap Meet.
Vendors at the Magic Castle swap meetCredit: Photo by Stevo Rood