The Original Close-Up Convention President: Obie O'Brien Board Of Directors: Glenn Brown Jimmy Cieslinski Dan Garrett Mike Joseph Meir Yedid Executive Assistant: Joan Caesar Advisors: Tony Gerard Backstage Crew: Lee Eyler (Manager). Thomas Blacke, Jack Chancellor, Ray Eyler, Scott Miller. Audiovisual Crew: Jimmy C. (Manager), Joe Cappon, Larry Kohorst, Gary Ward, Rick Wilcox, Tony Gerard (Lighting). 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: 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 . Upcoming Conventions: 2018 - April 25-26-27-28 2019 - April 24-25-26-27 2020 - April 22-23-24-25 . 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 48th Annual Obie's 4F™ Convention will be held on April 25-28, 2018. The Guest Of Honor will be Pit Hartling. Pit Hartling is one of Germany's most requested magic entertainers. His appearances have brought him to thirty-three countries on five continents where he amazed thousands of guests at business events and private parties. He has also authored two very popular magic books and won numerous magic awards such as the German Champion of Magic, a FISM Championship (Tokyo), and the International Magic Competition (London). He is also a prominent member of The Flicking Fingers. The 47th Annual Obie's 4F™ Convention took place on April 26-29, 2017. The Guest Of Honor was Rocco Silano and the Lou Gallo MVP winners were Katalina Absolon and Christian Painter. To read a whimsical review of the 2016 convention click: HERE. To find out more about our founder Obie O'Brien click: HERE. Tentative Highlights Schedule: Wednesday April 25: 8:00pm: Opening Gala 10:30pm: Lecture 11:30pm: Hospitality Suite Friday April 27: 11:00am: Workshop 1:30pm: Recognizable Faces Show 3:30pm: Friday's Frolics Show 8:00pm: Gala Show 11:00pm: Hospitality Suite Thursday April 26: 11:00am: Lecture 1:30pm: Friends Old & New Show 3:30pm: Magical Moments Show 8:00pm: Pit Hartling Lecture 10:30pm: Hospitality Suite Saturday April 28: 11:00am: Lecture 1:30pm: Mini World Show 3:30pm: Fabulous Frolics Show 7:45pm: Pit Hartling Tribute 8:00pm: Closing Gala 11:30pm: Hospitality Suite "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 read the open letter from our president by clicking: 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 *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 *Deceased. © Copyright 1971-2017 by Obie O'Brien. All rights reserved.