RING 129. HEART OF AMERICA RING. Meets first Thursday of every month at AT BOWERY THEATER (BEHIND WESTPORT FLEA MARKET) 817 PENNSYLVANIA, KANSAS CITY, MO 64111 President: Kelly Rusk,
Ring 129 report for March 2026.
Note new meeting place, just down the block from our previous location.
On February 21st we held our annual contest for magician of the year, under a new format. Instead of having separate contests for stage and close-up acts, we combined the two into a single contest, which was made possible by using an overhead camera which enabled spectators to get a clear view of the close-up acts.
Five members, who had qualified for the contest based on their performances in our quarterly qualifying contests, participated in the annual contest. Larry Warshaw won the two trophies named in memory of two deceased members of our Ring—the Clyde Glandon award for technical proficiency and the Claude Enslow award for best overall performance. His act consisted of a number of card routines, including a separation of colors. A third award—the People’s choice award, based on the votes of all the spectators in attendance– went to Samuel Bricker for his comedy act involving animal balloons. Other contestants were Pete Walterscheid and Brad Lynn (cards) and Keith Leff (several effects based on the American flag). The show involved two additional performers. Past president and contest winner Jerry Jackson opened the show with an elegant act, and Todd Lemanske entertained us with an act featuring an elaborate confabulation, while the votes were being tabulated. Norby Forero served as Mistress of Ceremonies.
The main feature of our March meeting was a lecture by Ring member Gene Turner on sponge-ball magic. Gene is a full-time professional, and sponge balls are a regular feature in his performances. His primary focus was on applications of sponge-ball magic rather than on the mechanics. He demonstrated how the same sleights could be used for various themes, varying the patter for trade shows and Gospel magic. He also showed us a variety of sponge objects that could be used in lieu of red balls, to fit the theme of his presentation. At the end he made a set of lecture notes available for purchase at a reasonable price.
We then went on to our first qualifying contest for next year’s magician of the year contest. Steve Steiner’s act focused on a story about meeting a stranger in the desert, using a lota bowl to indicate how water could be obtained. Adam Brown (a professional magician and mentalist who is new to our Ring) followed with a mentalism routine which included a game of musical chairs and the prediction of a total of numbers called out by several members of the audience. Both contestants scored high enough to qualify for next year’s annual contest.
Former Ring member Mark Tams was in town, and he entertained us with a card routine involving separation of colors. Dennis Burks showed us his own sponge-ball routine, and John Hicks performed a routine in which he found the four aces using four different methods. Tom Burgoon, who sometimes finds humor in things that go wrong in his shows, described a near-mishap in one of his shows where he almost burned a bill he had borrowed from a spectator.
If any readers of this column are in the KC area on one of our meeting nights, be sure to visit us in our new location.
==Stu Lewis, ring reporter