David Storey thanked everyone for their helpful suggestions on the club’s new website, which continues to grow and evolve. He also congratulated Dick Gustafson for his appearance on the cover of M-U-M magazine this month. Dick apparently had no idea this was being planned. We welcomed two new members tonight.
Program Committee Chairman Hunter Gaul announced agendas for some of the upcoming meetings: Workshop Night where members will be able to share and learn new magic in a number of different areas of interest, Self-made Magic Night, where we get to show off apparatus, gaffs, etc. that we’ve made ourselves, and Bizarre Magic Night, focusing on magic with a supernatural or storytelling twist. Hunter asked members with interest or skills in these areas to volunteer. He also told us about his experiences at the Magifest Convention in Columbus, Ohio, and suggested the possibility of members carpooling to distant magic events in the future to defray costs.
Marc DeSouza conducted our annual auction, presenting not only the auction items but regaling us with stories of their inventors and their place in magical history. There was a wide variety of single items, as well as smaller items bundled together that proved to be major bargains for the lucky winners. In addition to many current effects, including some that have only just been released to the market, there were older props no longer available, from craftsmen like Ben Stone (Delben) and creators like Ed Massey, who lived in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, just a stone’s throw from our meeting place. Bidding was fast and furious for a few of these scarcer effects. Some of the more unusual items were given quick demonstrations by both Marc and Dick Gustafson, to enable potential bidders to see just how effective they were. By the end of the two hour plus auction, there were many happy magicians: some counting their money from the items sold, but many more carrying the props which found new homes.
Bill McElvenney