The Ring Report
By Club Secretary Karl Rabe
Vice-President Wendy Stone presided over this month’s meeting while President Sean Howell is away performing at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Florida. With the room full and energy high, we jumped straight into our Featured Performer.
🎩 Featured Performance – Phil Mann, The Magic Mann
Phil opened with a beautiful rose‑themed sequence: single roses appeared, vanished, and multiplied until a full bouquet of a dozen roses bloomed in his hands.
He followed with a lively take on The Yellow Bandana, then closed by transforming delicate soap bubbles into a solid glass sphere, delighting the younger audience members.
🌞 Summer Camp Reminder
Karl reminded everyone that we are still seeking a few more volunteers for our Magic Summer Camp for Kids. Details and sign‑ups are available on the club website.
🃏 Learning Session – Led by Mike Thornton
Mike guided members through practical card handling, including:
- Basic false cuts
- Smooth false shuffles
- A couple of reliable card forces
Everyone had decks in hand and time to practice the moves together.
🎭 Member Performances
⭐ Robert Langefeld
Robert kicked things off with a slick Sharpie‑through‑card effect using a gimmick he built himself. The marker slid sideways through the card in full view before everything returned to normal.
⭐ Mike Bogdas
With Lincoln Stone assisting, Mike performed a comedy prediction routine. His “perfect match” turned out to be a mirror, only for him to flip it over and reveal the real correct prediction after all.
⭐ Karl Rabe
Karl shared a trio of what he calls “Stupid Card Reveals.”
- A classic Karrell Fox gag he first saw at the Grand Hotel: the failed search ending with the chosen card’s pips reflected on his sunglasses.
- A jumbo Panella-style reveal where the selected card appears between two blank boards.
- A quick comedic kicker to close the set.
⭐ Chuck Kimbrough
Chuck amazed the room by locating a selected card from a shuffled deck behind his back, with the deck sealed back inside the box.
⭐ April Barrett
April demonstrated how to twist a short string of beads into a tiny bead dog, balloon‑animal style. She followed with a charming Easter‑themed change bag routine, finishing with the production of a long, multicolored paper streamer.
⭐ Dan Jones
Dan performed a clever routine where the spectator ultimately selected the only non‑blank card in the entire deck.
⭐ Ryan Hoffman
Performing for the club for the first time, Ryan delivered a smooth card routine in which his spectator, Mike Bogdas, impossibly located all four aces.
🎉 Social Time
We wrapped up the evening with a relaxed half hour of socializing and jamming, sharing ideas, moves, and good conversation.