Category: Meetings


Going Mental!

Filed under: Meetings, Members by drkensalzman — Leave a comment
January 17, 2012

Winter holidays past and the New Year upon us, Ring 54, The Doug Dean Ring, The Magicians Guild of Lansing, Michigan, opened the year with a great meeting. As will be the case with all the meetings between now and our hosting of the 2012 Michigan Magic Day here in Lansing, the meeting began with an update, report and review of how things are shaping up for the event. We are excited about this year’s event, from the night before party entertainment right on through the evening show.

Michigan Magic Day is a long-standing tradition in Michigan, with the various Rings and Assemblies hosting the event on a rotating basis. Our planning is well under way and the venue and talent have been secured. There will be a night before party and then a full day of workshops, contests and shows for magicians, followed by an evening show open to the public. Follow the link to Michigan Magic Day 2012 at michiganmagicday.com for details on the event and to purchase your registration and tickets! (Ticket sales for the evening show will be online soon.) We will be traveling around the state for the next couple of months visiting Ring and Assembly meetings to announce the event. Any members who sign up for the event at that meeting will get a $5 discount off the $35-45 event price! If your Ring or Assembly would like us to appear at your next meeting, contact us!

To reduce our costs for the facility for the night before party, Sam Durocher, Savannah Durocher, Krag Ryal and Ken Salzman all turned out to perform for the New Years party at the Quality Inn. A wonderful time was had by all, the four of us strolling the celebrants and Savannah putting on a great show for the kids.

The fun part of the evening started with our traditional 50/50 raffle, and then the meeting went mental. Nearly everyone in attendance had some piece of Mentalism to offer. Minds were blown, thoughts were shared and numerous discussions ensued regarding method and nuance ensued. There really is nothing quite like sessioning with other magicians, teaching, learning and practicing our fine art.

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Hit The Books

Filed under: Meetings by drkensalzman — Leave a comment
September 12, 2011

After a summer hiatus, IBM Ring 54, The Doug Dean Ring, The Magicians Guild of Lansing, resumed its meetings for the 2011-2012 season. The meeting began with a discussion of the progress of the Michigan Magic Day 2012 committee, setting up for the Michigan Magic Day 2012 conference on April 20-21, 2012 in Lansing, MI. This event rotates among the various Rings and Assemblies of Michigan, and 2012 is once again Ring 54′s turn.

The venue is getting arranged, and promises to be a very nice setting for a VERY good conference. Several performers are already committed to the event and more are on the way. For 2012, in honor of Doug Dean, for whom the Ring is named and who died recently of Parkinson’s Disease, we are coordinating our efforts with the local Parkinson’s group and using the event as a fundraiser for their organization. Ring members are donating time working with other places to reduce our costs for the event and make best use of the money we raise. Michigan magic clubs have been innovating for many years, sometimes to greater or lesser benefit, and we continue trying to make use of the best ideas for the coming year.

The meeting started, as tradition has it, with a 50/50 raffle (one ticket always given free to the server at the restaurant). We then launched into the night with a “Book Learning” theme. Sam Durocher brought a sampling of his library, including a volume of Tarbell and Expert Card Magic, and each member was to go to the table and pick a book. They were then to pick a trick from the book that they had not done before, learn it, and present it in performance to the rest of the group.

It made for an interesting evening. Highly experienced members, like Krag Ryal, presented one piece, then added some subtlety, then demonstrated another, related routine. Even the newest and least experienced of the group, though, were able to find and display some skill. In the process, additionally, we were reminded both of the wealth of information residing in the written literature and of the value of returning to those books, from time to time, to remember some of the finer points of our craft.

Dr Ken Salzman, Secretary, IBM Ring 54, The Doug Dean Ring, The Magicians
Guild of Lansing, MI

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