A surprise announcement opened the March 13, 2019, meeting of Ring 216. President David Martinez presented the Wally Gibson Outstanding Contributor Award to Cal Tong for his many years of service to the Ring. Thank you, Cal!
Steve Silverman, longtime creator and performer of elegant magic, is based in Los Angeles but has close associations with our magic community. Tonight he treated the Ring to a lecture covering some of his favorite effects.
The first half of the lecture highlighted his core single-coin routine, with its dazzling series of odd happenings. This was followed by one of Steve’s favorites for many years, his version of Vernon’s Silk and Silver: three coins wrapped in a handkerchief vanish and return. During the explanations each move and subtlety was detailed with clarity as the members followed along with their own coins.
The second half was devoted to Steve’s working repertoire of card routines. In the “Santa Anita Opener,” a the back of a chosen card changes color, the the deck changes color. The “$20 Switch” is a crafty maneuver that turns red aces to black aces in a flash. “A Moment of Egress” provides a clever handling to the classic routine of a selected card vanishing from a packet and reappearing face up in the deck. And this was just the beginning of a series of impromptu card effects, culminating in a repeat card to pocket.
It was a great night of immersion into a world of thoughtful creation. We appreciate Steve’s sharing his work with us.
