March 2016

It may only be March, but Assembly 194 has already been brimming with magical happenings -

An Evening of Giving Back

We had an outstanding March Meeting -- Assembly 194 Members came to participate and support the six performers who gave back and entertained members of the Slovak Club and their families (As far as we can recall, this was the largest crowd ever at this annual event!)

Dave Crasson, Rich Rattotti, Ted Lee, Frank Reyes, and Sara Crasson, along with Jim Stranges as Master of Ceremonies, put on an excellent show and kept a packed room entertained late into the night! Please look for Father Brennan's recap of each performance in MUM.

Thanks again to Ed Sabol and the Slovak Club for providing sandwiches, buckets of salad and refreshments to feed everyone during and after the show, and thanks to Jim Stranges for organizing the event.

Before the Main Event

Before the entertainment began, we covered a few announcements and allowed time for a Demo Session by Assembly 194 Members:

- The Mike Piacente Lending Library was established this evening - Dennis Barlotta announced the sad news that he will be relocating to Florida and this was his last meeting; in honor of his longtime friend Mike Piacente, who was one of the Founders of Assembly 194, Dennis has donated a box filled with well maintained magic books, DVDs and effects and has requested that they become the foundation of what we anticipate will be an extensive Lending Library by and for Assembly 194 Members. The Assembly 194 Board will meet soon to discuss how best to administer this great new benefit for our members.

Thank you Dennis for this extremely generous gesture. We will do our best to grow and maintain this Lending Library to benefit the Assembly and to honor Mike.

- The Assembly 194 "Field Trip" to the "Salute to Magic" show in May received a vey positive response -- We had reserved an entire Row for our Members to sit together, which we have filled - We now have a "Cheering Section" for Teddy when he gets his award.

- The recent one-day NEMCON Magic Convention in Connecticut was discussed. What a great event!

- Field Trips: While some Members made it to NEMCON this year, and others will be at the "Salute to Magic" show, there will be many more opportunities for all Assembly 194 Members to do things together as a group in the future (stay tuned for announcements).

- Entertaining at the Assisted Living Facility - Due to a scheduling conflict, the planned March visit was postponed; a new email will be sent out soon soliciting interest to perform in April.

- The updated Assembly 194 Guide to Magic on TV, Live Entertainment and Conventions was distributed to meeting attendees.

- Demo Session: With the remaining time, Jim Stranges went over a few new effects that he's been working on.

Please let me know if you want to participate in next month's Demo Session at our April Meeting.

Jefferson Elementary School

On Friday, March 18th, Assembly 194 produced a Magic Show at Jefferson Elementary School in New Rochelle.

- John Zygmunt, Jack Pelepako and Steven Burchard took turns energizing the crowd with non-stop entertainment on stage for an audience of almost 200, while Jim Stranges, Tom Paduano and Ted Lee performed Close-up magic before the show and during intermission (and yours truly, Roger Burchard, was the Lighting and Audio Technician).

What great show! This was the first "50/50" show that we've produced in some time (Thanks again to Dave Crasson and John Zygmunt for making the contact and pulling this together). The school raised needed funds by selling food and related magic-themed items, and split the ticket revenue with the club. Everyone wins!

Please ask around -- You may find another school or organization that could benefit from a 50/50 Magic Show as well --- Just provide us with a contact and we'll take it from there!

The funds raised will help the Assembly grow so that we can offer even more benefits to Members!

Odds and Ends -

- Magic Flea Market - We haven't received any feedback on this idea: In lieu of a Magic Auction, would Members participate (as either a Seller or Buyer) in a Magic Flea Market that is hosted by our Assembly?

Instead of selling (or buying) at unreasonable prices during an auction, Sellers can set-up a table with fixed prices that are negotiable one-on-one. We would also invite other Assemblies (especially members of the local SYMs).

- Upcoming Assembly 194 Field Trip - Assembly 194 Member Tom Pesce has his own monthly mentalism magic show at the Tiger's Den in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He has generously offered to provide us tickets to his next show on Friday, April 15th at 8PM at half price ($10).

Please let me know if you're interested.

- Next Meeting: The April meeting of Assembly 194 will be held on Wednesday, April 20th at 7:30PM.

- We will be sponsoring a full Demo Session where you can bring something that you recently purchased,

something you're working on or need feedback on, or want to perform just for fun.

- We've scheduled several Table Teach-ins, with some new Themes that you will really enjoy!

- Also note, SAM Regional Vice President Joel Zarinsky will be coming to visit us in April.

It's all about the magic -- Its all about you!

Regards

Roger Burchard