Conference Magician | Josh Weidner
Interactive comedy magic that keeps conference attendees engaged
Booking entertainment for a conference?
Attention is the scarcest thing in the room at a multi-day conference.
You spent months on the agenda, the speakers, and the venue, and by mid-afternoon half the room is answering email and the energy the opening keynote built has bled out. Josh Weidner is a conference magician who resets the room.
Close-up sleight of hand draws a crowd on the expo floor and gets strangers talking at the reception. A stage set drops into a general session and snaps the whole room back to full attention with fast comedy and mind reading built for a sharp, professional crowd.
Every piece is shaped to your event and your run-of-show, so it lands where the agenda needs it instead of feeling like a break from the program. Send the agenda and the details through the form and he'll follow up personally.
Check Josh's availability for your conference below!
See What Josh Brings As A Conference Magician
Conference Magician Entertainment Options
How Conference Magician Josh Weidner Works With Event Planners
Strolling Magic
Close-up magic on the expo floor, in the registration area, and through the evening reception, with the magic happening right in the attendee's hands. It pulls a crowd to a sponsor's booth, gives strangers a reason to start talking in a networking room, and turns the dead time between sessions into something attendees actually enjoy. Cards, coins, and a little mind reading that beat another cup of lobby coffee.
The Comedy Magic Show
A 20 to 45 minute comedy magic show built to drop into a general session, an opener, or an awards night. Clean, fast, and structured to snap a room full of attendees back to full attention, which is exactly what a packed agenda burns through.
The comedy carries the energy and the mind reading lands hard with an analytical conference crowd.
The Full Experience
Strolling through the expo and reception, then a stage set inside a general session. Close-up magic works the floor and the networking windows, then the stage show resets the room when the agenda needs it most.
It is the format for multi-day conferences and association annual meetings, and the one event producers come back for.
What Clients Say After the Show
"We had wonderful experience with Josh at our corporate holiday party. He brought clean, magical fun to our event and everyone loved it. I highly recommend Josh and we will definitely use him again."
Troy Squires, American Family Insurance
"We had Josh perform at our office/lab grand opening and he killed it. He captivated the crowd, had them involved and laughing and entertained well beyond my hopes."
Matthew Chaidez, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments
Common Questions About Booking a Conference Magician
How much does it cost to hire a magician for a conference?
Most conference bookings run $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the format, the size of the room, how long Josh is on, and travel. Local Midwest dates sit lower since Josh drives in from St Louis; out-of-region conferences that need flights and a hotel run higher. Most land in the $2,500 to $4,000 range. The fee covers the performance, the planning calls, liability insurance, and the material built around your event and your audience.
Which format works best for a conference?
Three options: strolling close-up on the expo floor and in receptions, a stage set inside a general session, or both. Strolling works the networking and booth traffic; the stage set resets a room that a long agenda has worn down. Most conference producers run both across a multi-day event.
Can you tailor the show to our conference?
Yes. Josh works in the organization, the theme of the conference, the sponsors, and the inside references the attendees will catch, so the set feels like part of the program instead of a hired act. The planning call and the agenda are where that comes from, so the more he has, the better.
How does close-up magic differ from the stage show?
Close-up is hands-on and conversational, performed for small groups on the expo floor or at a reception. The stage set faces the full general session for something bigger, built to reset the energy of the whole room at once. Most conferences use both across the agenda.
Can you do an opening session, a general session, or work our expo floor?
Yes, all three. The stage set works as an opener that sets the tone, a mid-agenda reset in a general session, or a closer. On the expo floor, strolling magic draws and holds a crowd at a sponsor booth. Josh fits the format to wherever the program needs the energy.
What do you need for setup and sound?
Strolling on the floor needs nothing but room to move. The stage set wants a performance area, a wireless headset mic, a handheld mic for volunteers, and house sound, plus about an hour to set up and a sound check before the session. Josh sends a full tech rider once the date is booked and coordinates with your AV team and run-of-show.
Do you travel for conferences?
Yes. Josh is based in St Louis and works conferences nationwide. Drive-distance Midwest dates skip flights and price lower; conferences farther out are quoted to cover travel and lodging. The quote is all-in before anything is signed.
How far in advance should we book?
Annual conferences usually book three to six months out, since the agenda and the venue lock early. Most other dates book six to twelve weeks ahead. If your event is sooner, it's still worth asking, since openings come up.
Do you carry insurance and provide a Certificate of Insurance?
Yes. A lot of conference venues and convention centers require a Certificate of Insurance before a performer is allowed on site. Josh carries professional liability insurance and provides a COI on request, usually same day.
What should the booking contract include?
Josh sends a written agreement after the planning call covering arrival time, performance length, the total fee, and the deposit. Clear terms up front mean no surprises on event day.
What size group does the show work for?
Strolling magic works for anything from 20 to 500 attendees. The stage set is built for 50 to 800, and scales with staging and screens above that. For a small breakout, strolling or a parlor-sized set is the better fit than a full general-session show.
Where Josh Performs as a Conference Magician
Josh works the whole agenda. Opening sessions use the stage set to set the tone and wake the room up on day one. General sessions book it as the mid-agenda reset, the slot that pulls attendees back after lunch or a long morning of speakers. Expo and trade-show floors use strolling magic to draw and hold a crowd at sponsor booths. Evening receptions and networking nights run close-up to get strangers talking. Awards banquets and closing sessions use the stage show to send people out on a high. Association annual meetings and user conferences book the full combo across multiple days.
Associations and Industries That Book Josh as a Conference Magician
The groups that book a conference magician run across the meeting world. Professional associations and trade groups bring Josh in for annual conventions and member meetings. Medical, tech, and finance conferences use the stage set to reset a dense agenda and the mind reading to land with an analytical crowd. Sales conferences and franchise conventions book the combo to keep multi-day energy from sagging. User conferences and product summits use strolling on the expo floor to drive booth traffic. The audience shifts from one to the next; the show adapts to the room and the agenda.
Why Conferences Pay Professional Rates for a Conference Magician
At a conference, attention is the product. You spent the budget getting people in the room, and a session that flatlines wastes it, with no second take once the agenda moves on. The fee on a working conference magician is not an entertainment line, it is insurance on the energy of the room.
Most full-time conference and corporate magicians sit between $2,500 and $5,000 because the work behind the show costs money to keep up: insurance, gear, material written for your event, and timing rehearsed to fit a run-of-show down to the minute. A quote far under that usually means a part-timer, or a number that climbs once the contract appears.
Josh trained the slow way, including time as a member of the Academy of Magical Arts at Hollywood's Magic Castle, and has spent close to two decades in front of conference and corporate rooms. That is what keeps a set on time, on tone, and aimed at the moment the agenda needs it.
Quick Facts About Booking a Conference Magician
Pricing: $2,500 to $5,000 depending on format, audience size, and travel. Most conference dates land $2,500 to $4,000.
Lead time: 3 to 6 months for annual conferences, 6 to 12 weeks for most other dates.
Show lengths: stage set 20 to 45 minutes; strolling 60 to 90 minutes per session or reception.
Insurance: most convention centers require a Certificate of Insurance. Josh carries professional liability coverage and provides a COI on request, usually same day.
Coverage: based in St Louis, performs nationwide; drive-distance Midwest dates skip flight surcharges.
Who This Page Is For (And Who It's Not For)
Working magicians fall into two camps. One does private events: birthday parties, house parties, bachelorette nights, and family celebrations. The other works rooms with a job to do: conferences, corporate events, fundraisers, and trade shows. Josh is the second kind. The pacing, the material, and the timing are built to hold a room of attendees and fit a run-of-show, not to entertain a living room. If you are planning a private family party, this is not the right page. If you are booking entertainment for a conference, you are in the right place.
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