September gave us the pleasure of having Rachel and Aldo Colombini back again for another lecture. Friendly and charismatic, both magicians covered all new lecture material and brought a new array of DVDs and goodies with them.

I missed most of the meeting itself due to family issues, but managed to catch Lee Wolfson's ventriloquist performance and Michael Kent's rope trick. Ring 81 is always happy to have members actively involved and participating.

Moving on to the lecture, Aldo and Rachel covered a variety of tricks and routines. The duo shared with us their comic "Mind Reading" act and other gag and ice-breaker material, including "Here's Your Sign", which, depending on your familiarity with the Jeff Foxworthy act, can go a little or a long way. Aldo also demonstrated a trick with a ring and rope before launching into one of his impromptu gambling tricks, where he proves that, whether he deals or not, he will always have the best poker hand. Aldo has a DVD out now which contains video instructions for a whole set of impromptu tricks related to poker, blackjack, and gambling games. I liked his effects so much that I purchased the DVD, which contains 10 tricks for $10.



Aldo and Rachel Colombini, our guest magicians and lecturers.



Rachel tells our members about the new Colombini Magic DVDs.
Colombini Magic offers spectacular deals; everything is $10, and your choice of a free item is offered if you buy 5 items. You get 2 free items if you buy 10.


Rachel demonstrated one of her Harry Potter-themed tricks, in which she has an audience members select a page and she recites the first three words on it. This trick not the same as One in a Million, though both can be used on any book. Rachel has a DVD out with a collection of Harry Potter-themed tricks, all of which need not be related to the series in your performance. Rachel also performed her three-color cups and balls routine with tissue paper, a sweet and whimsical routine which offered, like many of her tricks, excellent versatility.

Aldo lastly performed his "Fireworks" routine, in which he memorized 12 cards (sometimes even twenty!) and produced them for the audience in catchy and clever ways. Fireworks has a lot of movement going for it; the whole thing is fast-paced, but followable. It also boasts an excellent finale: the magician reveals the final selection from an elegant cascade of cards.

Rachel brought the lecture to a close with her "Amara Rises Again" trick of predicting a selection in the card box, and recited a poem she'd written on magic. As always, it was a pleasure having both Aldo and Rachel come to see us, and we hope to have them back again next year.

Here are some other pictures from the meeting:



There's always a great turn out for Aldo and Rachel. We had guests as well.
Treasurer Jeff Pick, right, with guests Red and Mona Hynch.



Members tend to stay after the meeting and chat before heading home.