About Ring 58

Proud host of The Winter Carnival of Magic

Ring 58 is located in Knoxville, Tennessee and serves the needs of magicians throughout the East Tennessee area. We typically meet on the 4th Thursday of each month:

If you are in the area we welcome you to attend our meetings!
For additional information, please contact:
(647) 237-9234
Phone: (865) 254-9254
Email: tomvorjohan@gmail.com

Oct. 2018 Ring Report

October had double the fun for our members...starting with a fantastic lecture by Gregory Wilson "The Honest Con Man." He was coming through Knoxville on October 8, and presented his "Things I Carry and Use" lecture in the back-dining room of El Sazon. We had fifteen members and one guest enjoying the dozen or so effects and moves that he did. This included his Chip on the Shoulder, Pointless, and Any Change Asked For routines. His coin sequence, Split Focus, was great, and the way he handles his spinning deck (Revolution) is stunning even for magicians. We stayed at the restaurant until they kicked us out as they were closing. Gregory is an excellent professor of our craft with a lecture that has a little bit of everything for everyone.

The week before Halloween, twelve of our members convened for some "Spooky Magic" at our normal meeting time and place. We recognized our Treasurer, Jack Wilson, who has attended and participated at more than 50 consecutive meetings! (We also recognized Michael Messing and his devotion to our club which included being at the Ring meeting tonight...on his 32nd anniversary with his very understanding wife, Joyce!) Speaking of awesome records, tonight was our sixth consecutive month for 100% participation by all members present!

Tom Vorjohan started the spooky stuff with an Exacto knife that cut deep into his finger, a spectator choosing the only POISON card out of eight, and some mentalism with emoji cards. Jack Wilson – well on his way to a hundred consecutive meetings – presented the Spirit Pencil from Tarbell #6. Michael Priestap took out an eyeball and vanished it back to his face. Bill Osburn drove in from Kingsport bringing a gorgeous wooden Spirit Box he had made...that was haunted. He also had a card box that shut the lid the moment a spectator tossed in the selected card. Steve Jerden did a fun Change Bag routine with a skull and white scarf, and his grandson Cayden Goodman followed in a Halloween Jason mask doing a spooky snake can presentation.

We love to hear the stories of Harold Whipps who showed some new and old gimmiks to make smoke or a flash appear. This spawned some great conversation including Harold showing one of Syl Riley's (the magician who started MagiFest in Ohio) original light bulbs that lit by itself. Michael Messing showed his handling of "White Wash" where cards turned blank after one was selected. Tom Vorjohan showed a new effect he is working on by Bill Abbott. Bill Sturgis had a helping hand...a skeleton's hand...rise up out of his pocket to find a selected card. Ed Ripley used eight number sticks for some great lightening addition ending with a Magic Square. Michael Priestap showed off his new sound system. Tim Pressley spanned the holidays as he had an elf that mysteriously moved on its own.

For Show and Tell, Bill Osburn had an electronic wheel that spun and said a variety of macabre quips along with a voodoo doll that rises in your palm. John Hopper showed the "Baby Bag" book and how this tiny bag can be made as a "doggy bag" for example. To finish the evening, Tom Vorjohan taught a trick based on a Larry Pringle effect where a card is torn in eight pieces. We ended the night with a thought from our Program Chairman: Do you know what you get when you goose a ghost? ...a hand full of sheet! Happy Halloween to all!

Officers