Colon marks 100 years since Houdini’s death with a Halloween water-barrel escape, free magic shows and trick-or-treating Saturday

COLON — A century to the day after Harry Houdini died in Detroit, the small St. Joseph County village that calls itself the Magic Capital of the World will try to pull off an escape of its own.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, escape artist Matt Kalita will be handcuffed and bolted inside an 85-gallon steel barrel filled with water in front of FAB Magic Co., 212 E. State St., and will have to get out before he runs out of breath, MLive and WTVB reported.

Houdini died at Detroit’s Grace Hospital on Oct. 31, 1926. Colon, southeast of Kalamazoo, is turning the anniversary into a full afternoon of free events.

Saturday’s schedule

1 p.m.: Rope challenge. Kalita offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who can tie him up so he cannot escape.

2 p.m.: A free magic show by Michigan teen magician Leia Spade of Lansing at the FAB Magic Annex downtown.

2:30 p.m.: A surprise guest performer at the FAB Magic Annex.

3 p.m.: Kalita’s water-barrel escape outside FAB Magic Co.

5 to 8 p.m.: Trick-or-treating throughout the village.

6 p.m.: Costume contest for all ages, with trophies and prizes for the top three, in front of FAB Magic and Curly’s, 108 E. State St.

WTVB also reported a community costume parade on Main Street earlier in the afternoon, and MLive said free cider and doughnuts will be served. No admission is charged.

Two anniversaries. Rick Fisher, longtime owner of FAB Magic Co., told MLive the day also marks 100 years since magician Harry Blackstone Sr. first came to Colon, the start of the village’s magic tradition. Keeping it free was the point, Fisher said, because “people are sick and tired of being nickel and dimed to death.” “Our whole idea is to bring more people into town.”

While you’re there. Colon has three magic shops: FAB Magic, Sterlini Magic & Theater at 208 E. State St., and Abbott’s Magic, open at 124 S. St. Joseph St. since 1934. Lakeside Cemetery, 57215 N. Farrand Road, holds the graves of 46 magicians, according to Fisher.

According to the Society of American Magicians, Halloween became known as Houdini Day in 1927, and it was renamed National Magic Day in 1938 with permission from Houdini’s widow.

Most of the day happens outdoors on State Street, so dress for late-October weather. Village trick-or-treating runs 5 to 8 p.m., which leaves time to see the escape and the magic shows first.

Sources:
MLive, “Michigan’s magic capital marks 100 years since Houdini’s death with Halloween escape stunt,” Oct. 28, 2026 (schedule, addresses, Fisher quotes, magic shops, cemetery), https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/10/michigans-magic-capital-marks-100-years-since-houdinis-death-with-halloween-escape-stunt.html
WTVB, “Colon to mark 100th anniversary of the Halloween death of Harry Houdini,” Oct. 28, 2026 (schedule, costume parade, Houdini Day history), https://wtvbam.com/2026/10/28/996332/
Abbott’s Magic Co., Colon (address), https://abbottmagic.com/
Photo: John H. Thurston, “Houdini jumps from Harvard Bridge, Boston, Massachusetts) - John H. Thurston, stereopticons LCCN2015650990 (cropped).jpg,” 1908, Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Houdini_jumps_from_Harvard_Bridge,_Boston,_Massachusetts)_-_John_H._Thurston,_stereopticons_LCCN2015650990_(cropped).jpg

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Tags: Kalamazoo · Colon · St. Joseph County · Harry Houdini · Halloween · Magic