Society of American Magicians, Assembly 12
Chartered in 1923 by Harry Houdini and based in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota) metro area, we are Assembly 12 of the Society of American Magicians. Today, it is the oldest and most prestigious magical society in the world with approximately 300 Assemblies worldwide. The primary purpose of the S.A.M. is to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art. Our members are magic performers, dealers, collectors, and historians — including professionals, serious hobbyists, and students.
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December 2024 Meeting Report
Our December meeting was our annual Chili Dinner and Holiday Celebration! 13 people joined, plus one via Zoom, so it was a large crowd at Discovery United Methodist Church. Special thanks go to Sandy Meyer (and Steve!) who catered the dinner. The menu was chili, cornbread casserole, coleslaw, and an array of brownies, cookies, and cakes for dessert. Very good food, and everyone enjoyed it.
The business portion of the meeting was short, and included a brief confirmation of our upcoming 2025 meetings: January-normal meeting (theme: hearts and valentines), February–our Annual Auction, March–our “move night” (movie and guest To Be Announced…)
For the rest of the meeting, there were many conversations, stories told, and a couple of tricks presented (Paul Laidig demonstrated his work-in-progress goldfish production, and Larry Kahlow showed us the Stop Light trick).
Everyone enjoyed the food and the company, and it was a great end of the year celebration. SAM 12 wishes everyone a Happy New Year, and please join us for our next meeting, in person or online from anywhere in the world via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org!
Look for this in the February 2025 MUM Magazine
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Holiday Chili Party 2024
It’s time for our annual Holiday Party! It will be held on Friday, December 20th at 7:00 PM at Discovery Methodist Church in Chanhassen.
There will be chili, salad, cornbread, and dessert! Bring your own non-alcoholic beverage. Special thanks to Sandy Meyer for doing all of the cooking, and arranging the location, too!
Like last year, there’s no performance theme this month, so it’s entirely up to you if you want to perform anything.
We’ll be setting up the Zoom camera setup in case anyone wants to attend virtually — although technology hasn’t advanced enough for virtual chili eating. We’ll send out connection information before the event. If you plan on attending the in-person party, please RSVP here. Sandy needs to know how much chili to make!
Location address:
Discovery Methodist Church
275 Lake Drive East
Chanhassen, MN 55317
We’ll see you at the party! -
November 2024 Meeting Report
Another SAM12 assembly meeting again with the strange but topical theme of Foul/Fowl Magic!! 13 people joined us at Eagle Magic and one person attended via Zoom (Hi Sandy!!). We welcomed two new SAM 12 members, too: Keith Hochstedler and Walt Pattinson!
The meeting started with the presentation of a plaque celebrating Eagle Magic’s 125th anniversary to the owner, and long-time SAM 12 member and former president, Larry Kahlow. It’s great to have North America’s oldest brick-and-mortar magic shop in the Twin Cities, and SAM 12 and Eagle Magic have had a great relationship over the years!
During the business portion of the meeting, SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore gave his report: A reminder to pay your SAM12 dues, and a brief explanation of his struggles getting non-profit status for the club. Luckily we had an accountant in attendance who had some great advice for Adam.
Next, a few updates from the members: Larry and Jennifer Kahlow took the Sun Princess Magic Castle Cruise. Paul Ladig performed at a retirement home. Manny Betinis worked at a couple of holiday parties and did some walk-around magic at a wedding. SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore spent some time in Vegas recently and saw a bunch of great shows including Minneapolis native Nick Deffatte. He’s also working on a new solo show. Looking ahead to our upcoming meetings, we talked about our annual chili dinner and holiday celebration in December and the annual auction in February.
On to the performances: Larry Kahlow gave us a mini-lecture on dove pans, demonstrating several different versions and how to get a larger rabbit to fit comfortably in a load pan. Paul Ladig used his “black art “ box to make a duck disappear. Manny Betinis told an amusing Thanksgiving story while performing Color Monte with some homemade cards–amazing!! Jeff Kohagen continues to work on his double color change–just when you think it can’t get any better; it does. SAM12 Scribe Paul Sedler brought an old Star Trek-themed, packet trick called “Star Trick”, a strange trick with some very bad reveals, putting it firmly in the “foul” category. SAM12 President Kevin Smith folded a yellow paper origami bird that found a selected card. Lastly, Adam Moore is working on a book test trick and asked for some advice on adding a little punch to the ending.
The evening ended with the usual socializing and snacks. Next month we’re having our annual Chili Dinner and Holiday Party. Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.
Look for this in the January 2025 MUM Magazine
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