The FFFF (Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic) 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.
"Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic" commonly referred to as the 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."
Tim Ellis & Sue-Anne Webster were invited to not only attend the 2001 event, but were given the privilege of presenting the opening night lecture. In front of a literal "who's who" in magic, Tim and Sue-Anne performed their 'Ellis in Wonderland' lecture to a tremendous response. Tim and Sue-Anne also performed separately on various shows throughout the convention and were honoured to be voted 'Most Valuable Participants' of the 2001 FFFF convention.
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 Stencil 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 & Sueanne Webster 2002- Henry Evans 2003- David Stone 2004- Armando Lucero 2005- Reed McClintock 2006- Flicking Fingers 2007- Shoot Ogawa 2008 - Boris Wild
Tim and Sue-Anne returned to 4F in 2005 and were again invited to lecture. This time they performed '24 Years of Living Next Door to Ellis' as well as Sue-Anne's 'Cards from Snowy River' and Tim's special 'Rap' tribute to the Dean of FFFF, Obie O'Brien.
They were both awarded their Masters of Magic degrees.
"Their bubbling high energy was irresistible and their magic was delightful. A highlight was the performance, explanation, and repeat performance of Tim's creative Cups and Ball routine. This is a strong lesson in exploiting a theme to solve challenges within a routine.
"Each year the attendees (of FFFF) vote for the convention's MVP, the person who has contributed the most to making the event a success. This year was unusual in that the award went to a team: Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster. A well-earned reward for their boundless enthusiasm and talent."
- Robin Dawes, Linking Ring Magazine
"I just had the pleasure of watching Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster at The FFFF convention. Then the following weekend at the Battle of Magicians convention in Canton Ohio. As all you Aussies know, they are superb performers! Tim's Cup and Ball routine "killed" everyone at both conventions.
They were on the big, closing night stage show in Canton. The magicians and laypersons were all enthralled by their performance! Your fellow countrymen should be extremely proud of Tim and Sue-Anne. I hope I get to see them again soon."
- Tom Craven, Magic NZ Ezine
"The convention started Wednesday evening with a lecture by Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster. It's years since I've seen Tim lecture, and this was quite an eye opener. The lecture is a show in itself, a slick production, full of excellent ideas and tips, with Sue-Anne playing an integral part, rather than just "hanging around" to help sell lecture notes afterwards. It's a very refreshing approach, and works well in their hands. Tim's "Six Card Rap" and cups and balls routine "Run Around Sue" were big hits, and Tim had to perform the cups and balls routine three times during the convention. To say that their lecture was well received would be quite an understatement, they were the definite high point of the convention for many, as evidenced by the award of the MVP (the Most Valuable Person) to both Tim and Sue-Anne by Obie at the end of the convention. This is an award decided by a ballot of all attendees by the way, and not just decided upon by Obie and his "committee"."
- David Jones, Magic Makers Magazine
You can see some of the action at 4F by clicking on the pictures in the gallery below.
