2008-02 Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring

January is usually a mild weather month in Central Florida and tourists enjoy a warm Winter break from the Northern cold. Local magicians are usually at work in the attractions and with tourist related activities. Our Wednesday night Ring meeting was well attended. President Craig Fennessey gaveled the meeting to order and announcements were made about future lectures and events. We always have these dates and locations on our Ring 170 website. Guests included Hani and his son Ryan from Chicago. Michael Hajeck was also a guest renewing his interest in magic. Dan Stapleton gave us a recap on his experiences as a featured performer at the last Daytona Magic Convention. It is always interesting to hear what it is like backstage at one of these events. Dan also told us about his recent trip to New York City.



James and Joe are busy at the Ohio Renaissance Fair and will soon come south to Florida for “Ren” fairs around here. Anyone with a few thousand extra dollars burning a hole in their pocket might be excited to know that their investment dollars are needed for becoming a partner in opening up a magic shop in Key West, Florida.



With the business meeting adjourned, it was time for the monthly ring show. Bondi agreed to Emcee. He began with a humorous explanation that he was a former mortgage broker and now, with the collapse of the real estate market, he is a newspaper advertising salesman. He did a quick plain paper to a stack of dollar bills and rolled up the bills to pull out the green fibers. Chris Dunn was first up with the new Tenyo “Spikes through Balloon”. This version seemed ungimmicked and different from Bob Gurtler’s (Andre Kole) original invention. Chris concluded with an “Any Card called for” effect. Dan Stapleton gave away one of his videos and presented an effect from it that he called “Plates”. He successfully determined four playing cards that had been selected and written by four spectators on paper plates.

Charlie Pfrogner, our Ring Dean of Creativity, had a clever original effect with an “elephant cage”. It was an “inside-outside” box. An elephant silk vanished from a small crystal silk cylinder and reappeared in the box. Charlie said it was an “asbestos” trick… “It was the best I could do”! Bev Bergeron took the stage and enchanted us with an old but great effect. The “cat’s eye” was a small red plastic box and a marble and a silk hankie. The marble “escaped” from the sealed box just like Houdini did from a locked truck.

Magic Ian did a great variation and combination of classic Bob Carver effect, “Professor’s Nightmare” and Linking Ropes. Bondi was back with a four of hearts card turning into a four of spades. Finally Dan Dyer, a former ring officer and now Lake County resident, presented a cardboard box filled with Ring 170 memorabilia, photos and records. It was at least 2 decades old and included ash trays! Dan also treated us to his comic presentation with a spring raccoon.

With the Ring meeting concluded we look forward to a year of more ring fun. Join us when you are in Orlando.

Good things are always happening in Ring 170.

Dennis Phillips