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!
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.
It’s time for the November hybrid SAM 12 Assembly meeting!
NOTE: Due to several conflicts, we had to shift our meeting back one week, so we’ll meet on Friday, November 22nd, at 7:00 PM at Eagle Magic. (Eagle Magic is in Burnsville, MN, 4 lights east of 35W on Hwy 13, southeast corner, next door to the BP gas station.) Bring potluck snacks to share. Connection information for the virtual view of the meeting will be sent prior to the meeting.
Our theme this month, in honor of Turkey Day, is “Fowl/Foul Magic.” You can either perform magic using birds or with a bird theme (that’s the “Fowl” part) or perform/show/demonstrate a really bad trick (that’s the “Foul” part). We’ll leave it up to you to decide what a “Foul” trick might be….
As always, be prepared to demonstrate, teach, and provide guidance and suggestions for others.
Time for SAM12 to meet again!! An enthusiastic group of eleven people attended the meeting, all in person at Eagle Magic. Our theme: “Spooky Magic”.
During the short business portion of the meeting, we talked about the Masters of Illusion performance in Burnsville. Everyone who attended it enjoyed it. After the the show Gay Blackstone, Dan Sperry, Mike Caveny, and other magicians visited Eagle Magic. Paul Cook gave us his annual report of his time at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, where he performed more shows and worked every weekend. The crowds were great and he was able to try out new material.
On to performances: SAM12 President Kevin Smith spoke about a series of seance performances he did years ago in Portland and demonstrated some of the props he used during the “dark room” segment. Next, he showed us his annual Halloween prop haul from Michaels, including very creepy doll heads that he planned to turn into Zombie balls. Todd Anderson told us a story about the book “Spooky Magic” he bought when he was a kid and was surprised kids can still buy it today. (That led to a discussion on how Halloween shows have changed over the years.) Finally, Paul Ladig showed us his beautiful Mikame wrist chopper and walked us through a performance. That started a discussion on different versions and how to perform them safely.
The evening ended with the usual socializing and snacks. Next month the theme is “Fowl/Foul Magic.” Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world via Zoom. Get the details at SAM12.org.
Greetings! Time for our October hybrid SAM assembly meeting!
We’ll meet on Friday, October 18th, at 7:00 PM at Eagle Magic. (Eagle Magic is in Burnsville, MN, 4 lights east of 35W on Hwy 13, southeast corner, next door to the BP gas station.) Bring potluck snacks to share. Connection information for the virtual view of the meeting will be sent prior to the meeting.
Our theme this month, in honor of the Halloween season, is “Spooky Magic.” Time to tell us a scary story with magic, show us your best Halloween show prop, or give a book report on your favorite Bizarre Magic book. Or even make the Professor’s Nightmare live up to its name! Muahahaha!!
As always, be prepared to demonstrate, teach, and provide guidance and suggestions for others.
Eight people attended in person at Eagle Magic, with two attending remotely via Zoom.
Our theme this month: What I did over the summer; magically speaking.
Many SAM 12 members attended conventions over the summer, including Abracorndabra (many attended and had a great time), Magic Live (a huge conference with many big-name performers), and the TAOM/SAM convention (spread out and a bit disorganized, but still a good convention.)
Other summer magical activities included a trip to the Magic Castle, a local IBM fundraising event, and SAM12 participation in a Houdini birthday-themed show at the Jewish Community Center. The Houdini show was well attended and a success, and might even become an annual event.
A few of us had some performances over the summer as well. Paul Ladig worked at some assisted living facilities. Jeff Kohagen dusted off his magic props for a family gathering, performing both kid and adult magic.
On to performances:
Jeff performed a quick coins-across routine that looked amazing! He also demonstrated a double side-steal color change he’s working on that shows great promise. Next, Brad Gudim performed an excellent ring-on-string routine. Then SAM12 president Kevin Smith talked about his summer task of cleaning out his old magic and discovering his old Reiss Games magic props. He performed and explained “Your Favorite Ace” by Garcia and Schindler from a booklet that accompanied a Reiss Games card trick set. (This booklet was an excerpt from the excellent “Magic With Cards” book by Garcia and Schindler.)
The highlight of the evening was Todd Anderson talking about “top shelf magic,” those large expensive magic props on the top shelves of magic shops you always wished for. Todd showed us a classic mirror box he restored, painted like an old radio. He wondered if he could do better. Did he ever!!! Todd spent months over the summer building a mirror box that looks like an old time radio with knobs, a lighted dial, a working antenna, and even a way to tune in the local radio stations!!! Absolutely amazing!!
The evening ended with planning for next month, as well as the usual socializing and snacks. Next month the theme is “Spooky Magic.” Join us in person or online from anywhere in the world. Get the details at SAM12.org.
Welcome back! It’s time for our September hybrid SAM assembly meeting!
We’ll meet on Friday, September 20th, at 7:00 PM at Eagle Magic. (Eagle Magic is in Burnsville, MN, 4 lights east of 35W on Hwy 13, southeast corner, next door to the BP gas station.) Bring potluck snacks to share. Connection information for the virtual view of the meeting will be sent prior to the meeting.
Our theme this month, in honor of Back to School season, is “What I Did This Summer, Magically Speaking.” Talk about the conferences you attended, the books you read, show us what you’re working on or what you performed.
As always, be prepared to demonstrate, teach, and provide guidance and suggestions for others.
Houdini (aka Erik Weisz) was the son of Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weisz, Appleton, Wisconsin’s first rabbi. He chartered Assembly 12 while visiting Minneapolis on his vaudeville tour during his tenure as S.A.M. National President (1917–1926).
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.
We just wanted to remind folks that we usually take the summer off, so there will not be an official meeting in June, July, or August. There’s been some interest in possibly having a picnic or cookout of some sort but nothing has been organized as of yet — if you’re interested please contact us.
