Thanks to everyone who joined us for our August 21 SAM Assembly #12 meeting at Eagle Magic Store! We had twelve members in attendance and a fun evening of club business, show-and-tell, performances, magic history and plenty of conversation.
Our theme for the evening was “Tubes, Boxes & Screens,” and members brought out a great assortment of classic apparatus and effects. Magic Manny shared his Vampire Block that his Uncle Paul made him when he was just nine years old.
Larry Kahlow and Chris Pidel presented a unique mirrored Square Circle and Blue Phantom.
Brad Gudim demonstrated a Silk Jap Box.
Paul Laidig shared his Genii Tubes.
Jeff Kohagen demonstrated a production chest that produced a bottle of wine.
Adam presented both Candle Through Arm and a Square Circle.
Keith presented a smaller version of a Square Circle.
Steve got into the spirit of the theme with a card trick—the card box was enough to qualify!
With several Square Circles making appearances, Larry also shared some of the history and performance principles behind the Square Circle, along with stories from his own experience performing the classic effect. Members compared methods, construction, handling and presentation ideas throughout the evening.
One thing we’re continuing to encourage at our meetings is that you don’t need to arrive with a polished performance to participate. Our second half can include performances, works in progress, demonstrations, interesting props, collectibles, questions or simply something magic-related you’d like to show the group. The show-and-tell approach made for a very interactive evening.
Around the Magic Community
The conversation also wandered into some great magic history and recent experiences.
Members shared stories from recent performances and travels, and we had an enjoyable discussion about Abbott’s Magic Get-Together in Colon, Michigan. That led into stories about Abbott’s, the long history of magic in Colon, the magician cemetery, and the Broken Wand tradition.
We also talked about how much magic is happening around the Twin Cities that members may not always hear about. Going forward, we’d like to do a better job of keeping everyone informed about local shows, lectures, restaurant magic and other magic-related events. If you hear about something, reply to one of our Assembly emails and let us know so we can help spread the word.
Assembly Business & Looking Ahead
A few items from the business portion of the meeting:
- Annual SAM 12 dues will increase from $15 to $20. The additional funds will help give the Assembly more flexibility to support things such as guest lecturers and other activities.
- We discussed forming or using committees to help with PR and special activities.
- We’d like to create more opportunities to get together outside our regular monthly meetings, including lectures, local magic performances, picnics and informal group outings.
- We’ve begun including an Upcoming Magic Events section in Assembly emails so members can more easily see what’s happening around the area.
- Members are encouraged to attend the IBM annual picnic on Sunday, September 20, from 10:00 AM–2:00 PM at the Central Park Lions Shelter in Roseville.
- We also began brainstorming a possible Houdini / Escapes theme for our October meeting, appropriately timed around Halloween and the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s death.
Next SAM 12 Meeting
Our next regular meeting will be Friday, September 18, 2026, at Eagle Magic Store.
More details about the September meeting and theme will be coming soon.
Thanks again to everyone who participated, brought something to share, and helped make August’s meeting such an enjoyable one. We ended the night with refreshments, fellowship and—of course—plenty more magic talk.
See you in September!
-Magic Manny
