Obie's FFFF Convention - The Original Close-Up Magic Convention

The Original Close-Up Convention

President Emeritus:
Obie O'Brien

Directors:
Joan Caesar
Glenn Brown

Board Of Directors:
Steve Beam
Jimmy Cieslinski
Dan Garrett
Mike Joseph
David Oestreicher
Christian Painter
Gary Wiseman
Meir Yedid

Backstage Crew:
Lee Eyler (Manager). Jack Chancellor, Ray Eyler, Scott Miller.

Audiovisual Crew:
Jimmy C. (Manager), Joe Cappon, Larry Kohorst, Gary Ward, Rick Wilcox.

4F Shop Crew:
Rod Chow (Manager), Shank Kothare, Simon Lane, Rajneesh Madhok, Amanda Nicot, Jay McLaughlin, Ed Ripley, Michael Tallon.

Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic

Convention Reviews:
2019 4F Review
2017 4F Review
2016 4F Review
2015 4F Review
2014 4F Review
2013 4F Review
2012 4F Review
2011 4F Review
2010 4F Review
2009 4F Review
2008 4F Review
2007 4F Review
2006 4F Review
2005 4F Review
2004 4F Review
.

Photo Galleries:
Tony Gerard Photos
Mike Powers Photos

In Memory of Eddie Fechter

OBIE'S 4F convention is the "Original Close-Up Magic Convention" and the most prestigious gathering of close-up magicians in the world. Since 1971 the By-Invitation-Only event continues to feature the best performers, creators and lecturers in the world.

The 50th Anniversary Obie's 4F Convention is planned for April 26-29, 2023. The Guest Of Honor will be Mark Mason.

NEW: 2023 Hotel Information:
M Hotel Buffalo
2040 Walden Ave
Buffalo NY 14225
Direct phone: 716-681-2400.
Web: http://www.mhotelbuffalo.com

Mention 4F Magic to get the discounted room rate.
For online reservations use code: 0799AAS789.

"Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic" commonly referred to as the 4F or Obie's 4F™ convention was started in April 1971 at the famous Forks Hotel in Buffalo, New York by Eddie Fechter, Bill Okal and "Obie" O'Brien, who decided that it would be nice to have a convention dedicated strictly to the art of close-up magic. Bill Okal is no longer involved with the convention and Eddie Fechter passed away on March 31, 1979, leaving Obie O'Brien who continues to produce "The Original Close-Up Magic Convention."

If you would like more information or would like to attend a future FFFF Convention Contact:
Joan Caesar: HERE or Glenn Brown: HERE

The FFFF™ Guest Of Honors:

Since 1977 every convention was dedicated to a single "Guest Of Honor" for his contributions to close-up magic. The Recipients were:
1977- Jim Ryan* 1978- Eddie Fechter* 1979- Larry Jennings* 1980- Gene Gordon* 1981- Bob Read* 1982- Sid Lorraine* 1983- Steve Dusheck* 1984- Rick Johnsson* 1985- Tom Mullica* 1986- Jay Marshall* 1987- Tom Craven 1988- Phil Willmarth* 1989- Gary Ouellet* 1990- Shigeo Takagi* 1991- Harry Lorayne 1992- Daryl*	1993- Paul Gertner 1994- Derek Dingle* 1995- Paul Daniels* 1996- Jerry Andrus* 1997- Johnny Thompson* 1998- Juan Tamariz 1999- Lennart Green 2000- Bill Malone 2001- Herb Zarrow* 2002- Max Maven* 2003- Meir Yedid 2004- Pat Page* 2005- Gene Anderson & Dan Garrett 2006- Aldo Colombini*	2007- Ton Onosaka 2008- Boris Wild 2009- Henry Evans 2010- Obie O'Brien* 2011- Steve Beam 2012- David Stone 2013- Stephen Bargatze 2014- Shawn Farquhar 2015- Oscar Muñoz 2016- The Fat Brothers (Dani DaOrtiz, Miguel Angel Gea, Christian Engblom) 2017- Rocco Silano 2018- Pit Hartling 2019- Mike Powers
*Deceased.

The Lou Gallo MVP Award:

In honor of Lou Gallo (1932-2004) the annual Most Valuable Participant award is named the "Lou Gallo MVP Award." The award, which is voted on by all attendees, is given annually to the person whom they thought contributed the most to make the 4F convention a big success.

Previous FFFF MVPs:
1982- Karl Norman* 1983- Steve Dusheck* 1984- Bob Stencel* 1985- Jerry Andrus* 1986- Shigeo Takagi* 1987- Rocco 1988- Gary Kurtz 1989- David Williamson 1990- Juan Tamariz 1991- Aldo Colombini* 1992- Lennart Green 1993- Jim Krenz 1994- Steve Beam 1995- Paul Daniels*	1996- Pat Page* 1997- Alex Elmsley* 1998- Tom Gagnon 1999- Lennart Green 2000- Bill Malone 2001- Tim Ellis & Susanne Webster 2002- Henry Evans 2003- David Stone 2004- Armando Lucero 2005- Reed McClintock 2006- Flicking Fingers 2007- Shoot Ogawa 2008- Boris Wild	2009- Dick Cook 2010- Obie O'Brien* 2011- Steve Beam 2012- Denis Behr 2013- Dani DaOrtiz 2014- Michael Dardant 2015- Amanda & Roger Nicot 2016- Jimmy Cieslinski 2017- Katalina Absolon & Christian Painter 2018- Howard Hamburg 2019- Maria Schwieter
*Deceased.