Society of American Magicians Assembly 12

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

At our February meeting we held the SAM12 Annual Auction. Seventeen people were in attendance at Eagle Magic in Burnsville. It was the annual opportunity to sell some unwanted magic AND just as good a chance of adding magic to your collection. There were bargains galore with bids starting as low as one dollar! A great time was had by all! It was a very casual auction with many laughs and stories. Some left with more magic than they came with, some left with less magic than they came with. As usual, refreshments and socializing brought the evening to a close. Join us, won’t you? Either in person or via Zoom. We’d love to see you! We meet on the third Friday of the month. More information at SAM12.org.

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

Welcome to 2024 everyone! Let’s make it a magical year! Fourteen magicians attended our January 19th meeting at Eagle Magic. Our theme was “Things You Found While Going Through Your Stuff For the Auction.”

During the business portion, we discussed who’s attending AbraCORNdabra in Iowa this year and the lineup of lecturers and performers. Several members of SAM 12 are planning on attending and are hoping for another great convention.

Paul Ladig is performing from his basement stage and got written up in the local paper recently, leading to more business. Old-school advertising for an old-school magician! BlackSmith Magic (SAM12 President Kevin Smith and SAM12 Scribe Paul Sedler) performed for an 8-year-old’s birthday party, with 16 kids and a handful of adults in attendance. Good show! Manny Betinis has been performing at various parties…for free. He’s just there. Might as well perform, right? The Amazing Hondo lecture is happening this weekend at Eagle Magic.

Peter Grendle joined us from the Minnesota Jewish Community Center. He’s hoping to put together a Houdini celebration in June and is looking for some help. That got us all talking about Houdini and things that can be done to help celebrate Houdini’s 150th birthday.

On to performances and show and tell: Eagle Magic owner and SAM12 Vice President Larry Kalow performed the Deception Paddle. Colored pips on a metal paddle. Larry says Eagle is the only place you can buy it right now. SAM12 Treasurer Adam Moore shared an old cigar box with some vintage magical treasures he got from his dad. Really cool! Paul Ladig performed a coin-in-glass vanish combined with his Mullica Wallet. The evening ended with the usual refreshments and socializing.

Next month is our annual auction! Sell some of your unwanted magic to other fellow magicians. Join us in person at Eagle Magic. More info at SAM12.org.

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