If you are interested in signing up for the RING216 Parlor/Stage Competition on December 11th, 2024, contact Yitian Liang. He is leading and coordinating the competition.

If you have questions about the competition, please reach out to Yitian. The officer leading the event (Yitian) will be the best person to answer questions or chase down the right answers.

Look forward to seeing you all at the competition!

Calvin Lou Tong

President Emeritus

RING216 Silicon Valley

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It's time for our final show of the year!

The 2024 Stage & Parlor Magic Competition is just around the corner — Wednesday, Dec. 11. Come on out to support your fellow magicians as they present their best material in a stage setting.

And be sure to bring your friends and family because magic is always better when more people enjoy it! Your guests can be fellow magicians or, preferably, non-magicians who love magic.

The performances start at 7:30 p.m. sharp! We'll be at our usual location at Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center, 588 North 4th Street, San Jose, CA.

Sign up to perform.

Whether you're a past winner, a brand-new entrant, or something in between, now's your chance to share your routines and show off your skills. This is a great, low-stress way to hone your act and get feedback. Remember: The goal is to do your best and not focus on winning. Just have fun!

If you're thinking of competing, please keep in mind the following information:

Stage/Parlor is an act presented in a formal stand-up setting with a sound system and curtains. There will be 5-6 rows of seating.

But remember that we don't have raked seating, so be aware that people in the 2nd or 3rd row cannot see the top of a table.

All paid members, including past winners, are allowed to compete.

If you're new to the club, you have to attend at least three meetings this year to become a member and compete.

If you've won in the past, you must perform a different act.

Acts should be under 6 minutes long, so start timing yourself. (Depending on the number of participants, this number may be larger or smaller.)

We have a cap on the number of competitors to ensure each participant has enough time for their act, so sign up ASAP!

Check out all the competition rules.

Sign Up Now

Regards,

Yitian Liang

Curtis Kam Lecture!

Save the Date: November 13, 2024 - Curtis Kam Lecture!

Location: Yu Akai Center (588 N 4th St, San Jose, CA 95112)

Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm

Join us for our November meeting, where we’ll have a lecture by the amazing Curtis Kam! This lecture will feature a mix of walk-around and close-up magic that can be performed with or without a table. Expect to see some "Palms of Steel"-style material, as well as practical effects using cards, coins, and other everyday items.

Before the lecture, we will hold our board of directors elections for the 2024-2025 term.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 13th, 2024, and we’ll see you there!

Still on the fence? Check out more of Curtis Kam's magic on Instagram for a sneak peek of what’s in store!

Fee: $20 for members and $30 for non-members

PayPal ONLY - "friends and family" to payment@ring216.org 

Include your email address in the notes. 

Oct 9th Magic Competition

 

2023 Ring 216 Close-Up Magic Competition Oct. 9th, 2024 Mark your calendars! Sign up to perform! The deadline to sign up is tentatively Oct 4th, 2024.

On Oct. 9 2024, Ring 216 will host its annual Close-Up Magic Competition. Mark your calendars and plan to come out to support your fellow magicians as they present their best material in a formal close-up setting. And since magic is always better when more people enjoy it, bring your friends and family! The performances start at 7:30 p.m. sharp! We'll be at our usual location at Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center, 588 North 4th Street, San Jose, CA. And we will stream it on Zoom.   Sign up to compete. The deadline to sign up is tentatively Oct 4, 2024.  Whether you're a past winner, a brand-new entrant, or something in between, now's your chance to share your routines and show off your skills. This is a great, low-stress way to hone your act and get feedback. Remember: The goal is to do your best and not focus on winning. Just have fun! Sign up now › If you're thinking of competing, please keep in mind the following information: The goal is to create an atmosphere as close to a formal close-up environment as possible. If you've visited the Magic Castle, picture its close-up room. Guests will join together in groups and will be seated typically in 1-3 rows arranged in a semicircle. The last row will likely be standing to allow all to view the table. You'll perform your act up to 4 times for different audiences, depending on the number of guests in attendance. All paid members are allowed to compete. Acts must be at most 6 minutes long, so start timing yourself. Note: We may increase or decrease  this time based on the number of participants (fewer participants would mean longer acts, more participants mean shorter acts) The competition has two divisions: the Masters Division is for previous winners of any competition, and the Standard Division is for everyone else. Each division must have at least four competitors; if not, we will have a single division. We hope to have many non-magicians among our audience members, and we'll try to mix the non-magicians throughout the groups. If you've won in the past, you are free to compete, but you must perform a different act from your previous first-place winning act. Given enough lay people, we may have a people’s choice award in the standard division and the master's division. Please note that the “Magician of the Year” award can be achieved by winning two of the three competitions in a given year, excluding the people's choice award. The two wins must be from member-voted competitions. Check out all the competition rules.

Bay Area Magic Club - The calendar for the rest of the year...

Join IBM Ring 216 for our in-person meetings. Our meetings are held in San Jose at the Yu-Ai Kai Community Center, 588 North 4th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, on the second Wednesday of each month from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Below is the tentative schedule for the rest of the year:

October 9: Close-up Competition

November 13: Elections

December 11: Stage Competition

Armando Lucero Magic Lecture on May 8th, 2024: Master of Poetic Magic

Armando Lucero represents the pinnacle of artistry in the world of magic. With decades of dedication to the craft, he has honed a unique approach that transcends mere tricks, elevating magic to a form of poetic expression. His profound knowledge and skill in sleight-of-hand are unparalleled, making each performance a masterpiece of precision and elegance.

When: May 8th, 2024 Where: Online via Zoom ONLY Fee: $20 for members and $30 for non-members PayPal ONLY - "friends and family" to payment@ring216.org Include your email address in the notes. Kindly complete your payment by noon on May 8th. Each payment Zoom access is for one person only, with no watch parties or link sharing permitted. Remember to set your Zoom name to the one used during payment, as this will be used to verify your entry into the lecture.

Armando's philosophy extends beyond technical mastery, focusing on the deep emotional connections that magic can forge between performer and audience. His teachings and performances inspire magicians globally, emphasizing the importance of integrity, artistry, and the pursuit of perfection in magic.

Join us as Armando Lucero brings not just a performance, but a transformative experience, reminding us all of the beauty and wonder that magic can bring into our lives.

Three compositions: One from Paper Cuts and two from The Hungry Imagination. Taco - Against All Odds - What Is Magic? Taco: A card merely thought of is found. Against All Odds: A spectator unwittingly finds four of a kind, but from a deck, they shuffled! What is Magic?: Matrix: Four coins sit apart at four corners with a card over each. After a moment, one by one, each coin vanishes until all four are found together in one corner. Script included. 

Join Armando for a moment of Shibumi

Shibumi: Shibumi, at least for me, is doing what I want when I want without those burdensome tension thoughts pulling me down -- just hanging in that sweet spot of precarious balance between too much and too little, an intersection of blissful fluctuation while sitting with cards, coins, and coffee. What is this about? It’s about the thinking behind magic, which involves psychology, specifically heuristics and sleight of hand over brute force techniques. Three tricks are shared, along with tangential effects, to stimulate the conversation.  What is this not about? It’s not about tricks and secrets alone, but rather an opportunity to ask questions and get a cursory glance at the thinking behind the magic from Armando’s point of view.