Society of American Magicians Assembly 12

SAM12 usually take the summers off, so there will not be an official meeting until September.  There might be a summer cookout, keep your eyes on SAM12.org for all the details. SAM12 Fact: SAM12 is actually 104 years old this year, but our original charter that was signed by Harry Houdini in 1920 when he was president of S.A.M. was lost. It’s likely in the secret warehouse that was featured at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Join us, won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the August 2024 issue of M-U-M

SAM12 meets every third Friday of the month. Do you know what else happens the third Friday of the month of May? AbraCORNdabra in Des Moines, Iowa. SAM 12 was very well represented at the Iowa magic convention. 13 of us met over pizza and drinks at the hotel bar for our “official meeting.” Pizza, drinks, friends, and magic. A good time was had by all! Join us won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the July 2024 issue of M-U-M

Has it been another month already?! Time for SAM12 to meet again! The April meeting was attended by 10 people in person and 4 via Zoom.

Lots of business was discussed including our afterthoughts on the Gateway Closeup Convention that recently happened in St. Louis. It was a great time and well attended by many members of SAM12. We’re also looking forward to Magic Collector Expo and AbraCORNdabra coming up in May. Our treasurer, Adam Moore gave a report on our financial status (including noting that he properly filed things with the IRS). Adam also talked about a recent performance at a local church.

Next, we discussed the upcoming Houdini birthday celebration coming up this summer, and how SAM 12 will be involved. This led to a robust discussion on how to get more members to the Assembly.

Paul Cook kicked off our performances with a rather funny, and rather messy, vanishing salt. Next, Paul Laidig performed a spooky rendition of Kurotsuke that included music and a light show. Larry Kahlow attempted to stack dice…and was mostly successful! Finally, in the spirit of our theme (“Magic That Might Convince Ancient Peoples That You’re a Wizard!”) Adam Moore told a couple of stories about impromptu magic presentations that had a much larger impact than expected, including a performance of the Balducci Levitation!

The meeting concluded as it always does with refreshments and socializing. Join us won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. Get all the info at SAM12.org.

Look for this in the June 2024 issue of M-U-M

We started a new annual SAM12 tradition at our March meeting: Movie Night! Around 20 members joined us at Discovery United Methodist Church, in person and via Zoom.

Big Screen. Popcorn. The movie: Billy Topit. Special guest: Lance Burton!

Lance joined us via Zoom from his farm in Kentucky to introduce his movie. It’s about a Las Vegas kid’s magician, played by Lance Burton, who’s just trying to impress the cute waitress and ends up getting mixed up with the mob. Spoiler alert: It all works out in the end. The movie was jam-packed with cameos from Lance’s magician friends, and he challenged us to find as many as we could as we watched. We all enjoyed the movie and the popcorn.

Lance then joined us after the movie and answered our many questions. Big thanks to Lance Burton! He was very personable, had great stories, and answered all our (sometimes odd/silly) questions.

Special thanks to Adam Moore and Sandy Meyer for organizing the event!

You never know who’s going to show up at a SAM12 meeting. Join us won’t you? Get the full scoop at SAM12.org. See you next month!

Look for this in the May 2024 issue of M-U-M