I.B.M. Ring 9

Ring Reports

March 2009

See photos from this meeting

No. 9, Atlanta, Georgia - Georgia Magic Club
3rd Monday, 7:00 PM, StarTime Entertainment, Alpharetta Hwy, Roswell, GA
DEBBIE LEIFER, President ( Debbie@MagicDebbie.com)
PAUL SPONAUGLE, Vice President (psmagic@comcast.net)
BILL PACKARD, Secretary (packardw@earthlink.net)
Ring 9 Web Site: www.GaMagicClub.com

In addition to our monthly meeting, March also brought a highly anticipated special event - an evening with the legendary John Calvert. At 97 years young, Mr. Calvert is a powerhouse performer, full of energy, great humor, and a zest for life! Fully aware we were in the presence of a significant magical treasure, we all listened intently to the stories of his worldwide adventures. We were enchanted by his seemingly endless cigarette productions, a series of rope ties and escapes, his truly hysterical borrowed watch in nest of boxes, and a remarkable spirit cabinet. Members and guests of all ages were enchanted by his magical personality, and recognized we were so lucky to have the unique opportunity to watch a master at work. The highlight of the evening was the question and answer session, which revealed marvelous stories about his amazing movie career and life in the early days of Hollywood. The evening ended with Mr. Calvert graciously signing autographs and spending time chatting with his admirers.

Our March meeting began with a Mini Lecture by Jim Magus on ESP Cards. Jim delighted the group with a performance of entertaining mind reading involving ESP symbols, and then shared the methods of these exceptional routines for all to enjoy and add to their repertoire.

We then enjoyed performances by four prospective members hoping to become part of our vibrant club. Mike Quinn performed a mind reading routine with the assistance of members Mike Ellis and Keith Rainey, a random chosen number determined an object on a list, and Mike correctly revealed that choice by drawing the chosen object. Young Kamon Quinn, assisted by Joe M. Turner, performed a card trick that had us all in suspense. Darryl Berman told some jokes as he matched his storyline to a presentation of Color Monte. Vicky Hartman, also assisted by Joe, performed a nice version of a Card Diary revealing that a randomly chosen card matched the one hand written on his birthday. She also got an enthusiastic response for her Falling Up Coin. Of course all four were voted in, we're very excited to have them become the newest members of our growing organization.

In place of a magic theme this month, we enjoyed a Game Show called "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grade Magician?" Game show host Debbie Leifer went all out designing a color logo for the game, colorful podiums for the contestants, amusing contestant buzzers and timer, and an animated Powerpoint presentation for the questions to be projected on a large screen. Vice President Paul Sponaugle was the MC, inviting up teams of contestants in his typical amusing style. To add to the humor of the event, each randomly chosen contestant was assigned a magic-related name, such as Bill Yardball, Sven Galideck and Dan Syncaine. Each duo of contestants competed against each other to answer 10 magic related questions, topics included Ring 9 trivia, Magic Conventions, Magicians, Magic Shops, and of course Magic Tricks. Debbie kept the game moving at record speed with a fast-paced presentation of more than 100 questions, ranging from famous magician's "real" names to the locations of conventions and stores, to club history. The game culminated in a bonus round involving the 3 highest scoring contestants competing in a grueling matching test that focused on magic inventors.

A total of 18 members competed in the game show. The entire audience had a chance to participate as well, answering questions the contestants missed, winning fun consolation prizes. Our contestants were Doyne Michie, Bill Packard, Mike Ellis, Gene Hendrix, Ron Gladstone, Aragorn, Joe M. Turner, Merritt Ambrose, Jim Magus, Tony Cortest, Vicky Hartman, Patrick Ferrell, Dennis Aloia, Carey Huddlestun, Kevin McDaid, Victoria Skye, Keith Rainey, and Greg Lax.

The finalists all won magic tricks, and the grand prize winner was Jim Magus, who won a great trick and the Coveted Royal Blue Pen Award for March.

We're having fun at Ring 9, and encourage anyone visiting Atlanta to join us for a meeting or a lecture. You can see our schedule of events and meeting photos at www.GaMagicClub.com

Debbie Leifer