The EG Conference is a yearly gathering of creative individuals from all over the world, where the best and brightest minds give speeches, perform, or otherwise offer inspiration to artists, inventors, and innovators from a variety of fields. This year’s conference is still a few months away, but more concrete details about the schedule are starting to trickle out, and one of the first individuals confirmed is none other than Madhi Gilbert.
Gilbert’s story of how he became one of the world’s foremost experts on card magic despite being born without arms or legs is an inspiration for us all, and he’ll likely touch on that (and perform some magic) during his presentation. Other confirmed presenters for the 2018 conference include Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Carol Guzy, Flint activist LeeAnne Walters, and attorney Lawrence Lessig.
Other presenters, along with the full schedule, will be revealed in the coming weeks at egconf.com. Previous years have featured talks by prominent illusionists like Max Maven, Eric Mead, and Marco Tempest, so there’s a good chance Gilbert could be accompanied by other magicians this year.
The conference will take place at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California between Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5, 2018. Registration is still available, with single tickets going for $3,500. If that’s a bit out of your price range, EG offers a sign-up form for students and other low-income individuals to request notification for when discounted tickets are available. Or, you can just wait for individual talks to be made available online via streaming video—we’ll be sure to post them here once they’re live.
If you’re in Bell Buckle, Tennessee (a tiny town about an hour southeast of Nashville), be sure to stop by The Webb School on January 23 for an inspirational speech from illusionist and self-proclaimed “Card Shark” Jason Michaels.
Michaels is a successful magician and motivational speaker, performing for corporate events, on stage, and for network television audiences, and was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome at a young age. At the event, Michaels will speak about his life and overcoming adversity. From the event description:
Jason Michaels is a professional speaker and entertainer with expertise in the arts of deception. Diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome at age six, Michaels overcame “the impossible” and became an internationally award-winning sleight-of-hand artist and professional speaker. He has been performing sleight of hand, the art of illusion, and theater for more than 25 years. He motivates audiences to see beyond their challenges and self-imposed limitations and inspires them to take action by living bigger, bolder lives with his program “You Can Do the Impossible, Too!” He has shared his style of interactive sleight-of-hand, illusion, and humor with corporate audiences, theaters, universities, the United States Armed Forces, and for private social affairs all over the world. He is the author of the book “You Can Do the Impossible, Too!” His book details his journey of overcoming the debilitating neurological disorder Tourette Syndrome to become a success in business and in life.
He will also be on hand to sign his book, which will also be on sale at the event.
The presentation will begin at 2:20pm at the Follins Chapel, and is free and open to the public. For more information, call (931) 389-5703, or visit the official event page. And for a little sample of what you can expect from the talk, check out the video below from a TEDx talk in Chattanooga from 2014.