Ring Reports 2008-2009

 

(∙ John Pert ∙ )

 

à September 2008

à October 2008

à November 2008

à December 2008

à January 2009

à February 2009

à March 2009

à April 2009

à May 2009

à June 2009  

à September 2009

 à Broken Wand 2009

 

 

Our Year in Review:

It was a busy year for Ring 151.   This year we enjoyed four great lectures, two fun club parties, welcomed two new official members and performed a couple of charity shows.

 

Tom Craven made the trek to Ottawa in November.  He presented a variety of close-up and parlor magic (rings and ropes, cards, mentalism, and more)  to the twenty plus members who attended his lecture.  His magic was practical and challenged a variety of abilities. Various effects and a lecture notes were available for sale.

 

Docc Hilford made a stop in the Nation’s Capital in March.  He shared a wealth of information at both his lecture and workshop.   His lecture was packed with great mentalism that made small effects look big.  His workshop focused on cold-reading and strategies for booking shows that will help increase your income.  Members flocked to his table to purchase various effects, dvd’s, and notes.

 

Boris Wild made a pit-stop in Ottawa after attending the 4F Convention.  He shared a number of card tricks and showed us the impact of incorporating music to make an effect stronger.   He discussed his marked deck and explained several uses for it.  It was great to see Boris back in Ottawa.

 

Martin Lewis delivered a lecture loaded with creative effects suitable for everyone.  He certainly lived up to his reputation with his stellar magic and comedic presentations. Members flooded his table filled with great effects, notes, and dvds.  

 

Despite being a small club, Ring 151 members are generous with their time.  Once again we performed magic for the patients in the Rehab Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).  Bringing a smile to someone’s face and creating laughter really is the best medicine.  We heard several stories while visiting the hospital that not only made us feel lucky to be healthy, but encouraged us to keep doing what we do- making people feel good.  Thank you for your generosity and great magic: Glenn Brown, Henry Doucette, Rob Lavergne, Eric Leclerc,  Brian McAdam, John Pert, and Mike Vuckovic.

 

Club members gathered to celebrate Christmas at Rob Lavergne’s.  It was a pot-luck dinner, so there was plenty of food for everyone.  Great conversation, magic, games, and a gift exchange helped make this event enjoyable for those in attendance.

 

Henry Doucette and Patrick Beauregard presented their initiation show at our May meeting.  Henry presented a variety of magic from his repertoire, but put a “151" spin on everything.  Very creative, Henry.  Patrick’s demonstrated his skill with cards as he performed a variety of effects by Jay Sankey (XL, Partial Knowledge, In A Flash) among other things. Great stuff, Patrick.   

 

The year end party was a hit with more than twenty people gathering at Rob Lavergne’s for a  pot-luck.  Thank you to Joan Caesar, CAM and IBM president, for making the drive down the 401.  We had three presentations on this night:  Henry Doucette and Patrick Beauregard were inducted into the club as official members while John Pert was awarded Member of the Year.  Chris Pilsworth won our annual magic trivia contest.  Various members presented a magic trick or two before the evening came to an end.  Special thanks to Rob for hosting this event once again. 

 

Ring 151 was well represented at the 2009 CAM Convention.  Eight members traveled to Montreal, Quebec to enjoy the amazing shows and great lectures.   Chris Pilsworth and Scott Strange competed, Steve Duperre lectured and Eric Leclerc hosted two close-up events. Great job, guys.

 

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June 2009:

 

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May 2009:

 

 

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April 2009:

 

 

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March 2009:

 


 

February 2009:

 

 

 

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January 2009:

 


 

December 2008:

 

Report Dec-Jan 2008/2009

 

Ten members gathered at Rob Lavergne’s place for our annual Christmas party.  Great food, socializing and magic made the night enjoyable.  The highlight was Brian McAdam’s presentation of “The Scorpion” .  Thankfully no one was injured or poisoned by the scorpion.

 

Our January meeting was themed “Parlour Magic”.  Brian McAdam did a mentalism routine.  Brian concluded the routine with the correct revelation.  Roy Cottee used some silly patter for his Chinese sticks routine.  Using a paper bag, Chris Pilsworth shared a new egg bag presentation he has been working on.   I performed Astor’s “Mental Jackpot”.  Rob Lavergne shared a few different effects.  We were impressed by his gimmicked card box that allowed him to peak a card.   Frank Gosselin presented an odd card trick that incorporated a picture of Eric Joduin’s skin cancer.  Patrick Beauregard was magical with a Sankey effect while David Kirkland dazzled us with Kenner’s “5 Speed”.  Glenn Brown did a variety of four-ace productions. 

 

Special thanks to our guests, Doug Rafters and Alex Massaad, who joined us for a night of magic.

-by John Pert

 

 

“Gambling, Betchas and Scams” was the theme for our February meeting.

 

Your scribe (Glenn) opened the night with Jumbo Marked Cards – I made these years ago with kiss-cut vinyl, and I swear the cards will wear out before the lettering does. Frank showed us Paul Harris’ new 9 DVD boxed set, and performed ‘Cell Mates’ a cell phone card trick.

 

Eric brought a visiting junior magician Alex Charron, who at fifteen has already been doing magic for seven years. She performed a book test. Eric showed off a few more Lego tricks that he is developing: a Dice Bomb and a Lego wand. He also performed ‘Cell Out’, a Jumbo Card deck to cell phone effect.

 

Our namesake, Roy Cottee did some rope magic, and taught us a knot on rope. Chris Pilsworth did ‘Weather Predictor’, and Rob did a McCombical deck routine and ‘Evil Twin’ deck. Doug showed us a routine he is working on based on a prop “Bank of Denmark” credit card.

 

Our VP Steve Duperre did ‘I’ll Turn Your Card Next’, and Eric Joudin did a pocket rainbow packet effect. David Kirkland did a ten card poker deal, and then tipped us to the 4 quarter bar betcha. Patrick did a three card monte routine, Steve showed us an out for the classic force, and Henry closed the formal magic with a 2 quarter bar bet and a rope trick betcha.

 

 

Written by John Pert

 

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November 2008:

 

Our November meeting was a refreshing change of scenery as we took over the posh and lavish Carleton Pub in Ottawa.  Ten members were in attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the conversation and magic while snacking and enjoying a beverage or two.

 

Leclerc started us off with what he has been working on for the last month, original stuff here. Then, “Frank The Tank” having found his Bad Religion baseball cap, fooled us all badly with a John Bannon effect. Steve Duperre talked about his strong legs while a recently engaged Eric Jodouin (congratulations!) performed a snow globe card effect, very visual and fun!  Mike Vuckovic performed a very convincing jail house switch followed by Rob Lavergne who showed us his version of Entourage.  Roy Cottee had us scratching our heads with his version of coins across utilizing Chinese coins. Glenn Brown made his trademark hat reappear on his head and presented a couple of nice effects with cards and coins for a small group of onlookers.  John Pert did a one coin routine and paddle/dice effect for our guest, Alex.  Alex’s shoe lace magically tied itself. 

 

We remained at the “5 star” establishment until the staff begged us to leave so they could go home. Members are also excited about our charity show at a local Children’s hospital coming up as well as the Tom Craven lecture scheduled for next week. It’s always a blast at ring 151.

 

Written by: John Pert

 

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October 2008:

 

Our theme for our October meeting was Spooky magic and Mentalism. Eric Jodoin started us off with his place and time routine, making a card seem like it was going back in time. The spookiest part of the routine was his new, gigantic scar on his head.  What a beauty! Following him was Michel Gaudet, who entered our minds and divulged playing cards in the fairest manner possible, incredible stuff! Roy Cottee told a ghoulish tale of the Red Widow hosting a gathering. She was never able to quite control the guest list and it all ended in horror, very entertaining. Brian McAdam began his routine by saying,  This is a work in progress, that means I'll probably screw it up!'', but he did just the opposite.  Brian expertly extracted thoughts from his spectators minds with amazing accuracy.   Chris Duffy, our 6'10 monster of Bourbon, proved that the choices we make are not always our own, his amazing predictions using ESP pasteboards left us all baffled. Up next, Frank “the Tank” Gosselin was truly scary tonight, having  left his traditional Bad Religion hat at home, He displayed his skillful card mysteries that would surely blow away any knowledgeable card worker. Jacko told us what the difference is between Jam and marmalade, be sure to ask him the answer next time you see him. Eric Leclerc closed the show with his frightening glass eating, very spooky. All in all it was a great night with fun conversations and good company, after our meeting, the jam session lasted into the wee hours of the night, what a great evening.

 

Written by Eric Leclerc

 

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September 2008:

 

Members of Ring 151 gathered for their first meeting of 2008-2009 on September 10.  Club President, John Pert, shared some business information and then we began the magic.   The theme was appropriately named, “Rust Remover”.  

 

After the business portion of the meeting, I started with Doc Eason’s “Impossible Opener”.  After a little hiccup, everything ended well.   Eric Joduin presented a card routine of Joshua Jay’s, but not without a little heckling as he ran into a few road bumps along the way.  After three different volunteers chose numbers, Brian McAdam revealed his correct prediction.  Steve Duperré shuffled a pack of cards and then reminded us that before starting his trick, he needed to remove them from the box.  The summer vacation caught up with Steve as he stumbled a little, but came through in the end with his presentation of “Jazz Aces”.  Glenn Brown performed a nice packet routine.  From the packet, a card was chosen by a volunteer which matched the card he was looking for, the QS.  The other cards were turned over which were all jokers.  Glenn continued to astonish us with a variety of card and deck changes.  Chris Duffy purchased many new effects while at the IBM-SAM Convention in July so we expect to see many of those during the next few months.  He entertained us with Mark Mason’s “Solo” tonight.  “Chaos” was Frank Gosselin featured trick.  Two cards were chosen from a spread and placed back into the deck.  After the cards were thoroughly mixed, Frank located the chosen cards.  Patrick Beauregard had a card chosen and then showed us a photocopy with several face-up playing cards on it and one face down card.  When he turned the paper over, there was one face-up card (which matched the selected card) among several face-down cards.  Nicely done, Patrick. Roy Cottee entertained us with a card trick and a coins across routine which included an interesting patter. Complete with patter, music and several special touches, Chris Pilsworth presented his version of Cardiographic.  Very impressive!

 

We’ve combined a variety of old and new ideas for this year’s agenda so it should be an exciting year of magic for Ring 151. 

 

Written by: John Pert

 

 

 

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September 2009

 

 

More than twenty people gathered on September 9 at Rob Lavergne’s for our first meeting of the year.    This meeting was particularly important to the club as we honored Jack Marshall, who passed away on July 24, 2009 at the age of eighty.  Jack was a dedicated member of the club and will be missed.   

 

Several members presented magic for the club following the business portion of the meeting and the tribute to Jack.  Chris Pilsworth started things with Ton Onosaka’sBicylce Built For Five”. Chris followed with a multiple selection effect.  He then explained his handling to control the cards- nicely done.  Glenn Brown was magical with Eric DeCamps’ “Three Coins Across”.  This is something Glenn has been working on since C.A.M.  Well done, Glenn.  Roy Cottee dazzled us with a few different effect which included a Benson Bowl Routine, and a nice card trick utilizing the Mexican Turnover move.  As always, Denis St. Jean was full of comedy and enthusiasm.  He demonstrated his comedic manner using a paddle routine and a packet trick   If you were there, he would have been “fooling-you”.  Brian McAdam correctly identified the three digit number chosen by a volunteer.  He always amazes us with his mental connections.  

 

Benoit is a new Ring 151 associate member. Doug Cuff returned to the Nation’s Capital so we are happy to see him back.  Areeb Malik also returned after a couple year break.  We also welcome, Bob Conrad, who attended his first meeting.   We look forward to seeing more of them at our club meetings and lectures. 

 

Rob Lavergne surprised us with his initiation show which included a variety of routines.  He produced a solid marble from a collection of bubbles.  He vanished a bottle of beer, much to the dismay of many club members. A chosen card was torn and later found restored in a fancy wooden box.  Rob was comedic with his six card repeat.    He included a few other effects, but closed his show with a hundred foot rope escape done to music.  Great job, Rob!

 

While not everyone had an opportunity to perform in front of the club, some magic jamming took place following our break.  There was plenty of conversation and the magic bug seems to back.  We look forward to another year of great magic.

 

Written by: John Pert

 

 

 

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Broken Wand 2009:

 

John “Jack” David Marshall

 

John “Jack” David  Marshall died on July 24, 2009 at the age of eighty.   He held IBM number 34681 and received the “Order of Merlin” in 2004.  Jack was also a member of the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM).

 

Originally from Winnipeg Canada, Jack’s career as an auditor for the Department of National Defence brought him to the Nation’s capital (Ottawa) in 1975.

 

 

Jack’s interest in magic and entertaining began in 1974 when he joined the Khartum Temple Shrine Klowns  (Winnipeg).  He was a  founding member of the Tunis Shrine Klown Unit (Ottawa) and lead the unit as President and Circus Director.  He was awarded a “life-time membership” for his dedication to the Klown Unit.  Jack was also a devoted member of the Ottawa Society of Magicians- Ring 151.  He was part of the club’s executive for many years,  serving in each of the positions. In addition to that, he also opened his basement to host club  meetings for more than twenty years. His commitment to magic and the club earned him the “Ring 151 Magician of the Year” award three times.  Jack’s willingness to help others went beyond magic and clowning.  He received the Chevalier honour from the Delmolay Association and was a devoted  member of the Masonic Fraternity, earning his fifty year pin.

 

Dedicated, loyal, helpful, kind, cheerful, considerate, and caring are some of the words that describe Jack. He will be missed dearly.

 

Jack is survived by Doreen, his wife of fifty-five years and their three children, Carol, Dave, and Laurie.  He was also the proud grandfather of five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

 

 

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Copyright 2009
Ottawa Society of Magicians, Roy Cottee Ring 151 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians