February 2021 Ring Report
- Ring Report submitted by Dennis Chan -
The Vancouver Magic Circle held its prestigious installation evening and awards show on Saturday, February 27 2021 online via zoom. Normally this is a live event which includes a buffet dinner. As with all live events and gatherings, the Vancouver Magic Circle followed the COVID-19 health regulations.
The ” doors” opened at 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. President Rod Boss welcomed the members, guests and out of town guests. Rod Boss was the MC for the evening. He handed out the awards and certificates. Terri Kita was the recipient of the Helping Hands certificate. Rod Boss handed out the Vancouver Magic Circle loyalty service pins. Receiving their first year pins were Scott Barker, Genpei Cai, Simon Cassegrain and Michael Likey. Five year pins went to Chris Estrada and Greg Ladret. The ten year pin went to Matthew Jones. The fifteen year pins went to Denzil John Asche, Nicholas Chow and Joji Yamashita. The twenty year pin went to David Hamil. The twenty-five year pin went to John Macmillan. There are no thirty year pins, just certificates. Receiving their thirty year certificates were Ken Gerbrandt, Perry Madaisky, Henry Tom and Dennis Chan. For the record: due to a mathematical error in calculation, Dennis Chan received his thirty year service certificate at the 2020 banquet. 2021 was the year that he should have received his thirty year certificate. Ken Aitken received his thirty-five certificate. Congratulations everyone.
Receiving their competition certificates were Rabbi Don Pacht for the Charles Howard trophy, Rod Chow for the H.B. MacLean trophy, Rod Boss for the Ray Gamble trophy and Jordan Vo for the Tip Top and Tootsie trophy. For the Wilf Rutherford Children’s Magician of the Year trophy, there was a tie between Rod Chow and Rick Mearns. Congratulations everyone.
Rod Boss was the recipient of the silver knife for the best spread. The nominees for the Murray award for the most creative magical performance during the course of the year were Don Pacht, Simon Cassegrain, Rick Mearns and Jordan Vo. Simon Cassegrain was the winner. The nominees for the Kramien award for showmanship during the course of the year were Rod Chow and Steve Bocska. The winner was Steve Bocska. The nominees for the David Culos memorial trophy for the Golden Rabbit award were Roy Hopwood, Dennis Chan and Shawn Farquhar. Roy Hopwood was the winner. Shawn Farquhar was the recipient of the President’s award. Congratulations everyone.
It was now time for the swearing in of the new officers for the 2021 magic year. Presiding over the swearing in ceremony was past president Alex Zander as he read out the duties and responsibilities of the new executive for the year. The new officers for 2021 are President, Rod Boss, 1st VP, Care Elise Dyck, 2nd VP, Yoosik Oum, secretary, Roy Hopwood, treasurer, Roy Hopwood and sergeant-at-arms Dennis Chan. Congratulations everyone.
Door prizes were donated by Graham Kita and the Vancouver Magic Circle. The winners were selected by a carnival type wheel. Rod Chow won a Shin Lim DVD which was donated by Rod Boss.
The featured guest and performer for the evening was Bill Cook. Shawn Farquhar and Rod Boss introduced him to the Vancouver Magic Circle. During his show Bill performed effects with cards, coins, sponge balls, ropes and a mentalism effect with numbered billiard balls. There was plenty of audience participation. Everyone enjoyed Bill’s performance. He is a very entertaining performer.
The group photo was taken by Shawn Farquhar.
The Vancouver Magic Circle’s online auction was a huge success. Many thanks to Care Elise Dyck and Jordan Vo for setting up the online auction. Also many thanks to Rod Boss for his help with the auction programme. What was missing from the auction was all the ” noise ” from the bidders and sellers that happens when the auction is a live event. The Vancouver Magic Circle thanks all those who participated in this year’s installation and show awards evening. Although this year’s event was not quite the same as in past years, it truly was a prestigious and successful event. There were 41 participants at this event.
There was a radio interview on CBC radio with Lon Mandrake where he talked about his dad Mandrake the Magician in his early years. Lon mentioned that there is a Mandrake the Magician display at the Surrey Historical Museum. Check the website for hours of operation. The display runs to Saturday, May 15, 2021.
