Welcome to the Capital District's magic club. Members of our club include illusionists, close-up magicians, kids show magicians, clowns, magic collectors and magic enthusiasts who simply enjoy the performance. We meet at 7:00 pm on the second Tuesday of every month at The S W Pitts Hose Company of Latham, 226 Old Loudon Rd, Latham, NY. Member Dues are only $20 a year for 12 nights of fun, food and information plus a one time $10 initiation fee for new membership or renewal of lapsed membership. Active members also receive significant discounts on our assembly events such as: lectures, our annual banquet, our annual picnic, as well as other club sponsored programs.
The purpose of our organization is to promote the art of magic by learning to perform it well, to preserve its history and to assemble collections of past magicians and paraphernalia.
Assembly #24 is one of the oldest Assembly's within the Society of American Magicians which is the world's oldest magic organization. It is named after Past President Jay A. Gorham. Jay was a Professor and Mathematics Chair at Hudson Valley Community College. He was an active magician and magic collector. After moving from this area to Arizona, Jay became the National President of the Society of American Magicians in 2004 and unfortunately passed away in 2025.
THE CAPITAL MAGIC CONNECTION NEWS
The fire station in Latham has invited us back so IBM Ring 186 and SAM Assembly 24 are planning to meet at that facility. Both groups will start their meetings at 7:00 pm. SAM on the second Tuesday of the month & IBM on the fourth Tuesday of the month. The Morning Magic Group will meet for breakfast on the first Tuesday of the month (8:30 at The Ugly Rooster, Malta, NY).
THE CAPITAL MAGIC CONNECTION
June 28, 2026
Just a quick reminder that June has five Tuesdays, so there is no meeting on Tuesday, June 30. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 7.
MORNING MAGIC GROUP
The next meeting of the morning group will be on Tuesday morning, July 7, at 8:30 am at the Ugly Rooster off Exit 12 of the Northway. Everyone interested in magic is welcome to join us. .
If you need more information or directions, call Cliff Bruce, Dave McClements, or Ken Marcinowski.
JULY MEETING OF THE SAM ASSEMBLY 24
SAM Assembly 24 will meet on Tuesday, July 14, at 7:00 at S. W. Pitts Hose Company, 226 Old Loudon Road, in Latham, NY. Dave Lieberman has suggested coin or money magic as the topic for July’s meeting. However, any and all types of magic are always welcomed!
Also, Dave is going to be heading out to Wisconsin for the annual SAM Convention (July 1 -4) and will be sharing information about it at our next meeting.
Bob Yorburg will be bringing refreshments for the July 14th meeting. Currently, we don't have anyone signed up for the August, November, or December meetings. If you haven't brought snacks this year, this is your chance!
As some of you already know, Allan Alexander is going to be stepping down as secretary, and we need to find someone to fill this important office. The secretary is the person who writes and sends the Assembly Reports to MUM each month. These reports document the history of the Assembly and are important from a historical perspective. It is also nice for members who perform to see their name in print.
JULY MEETING OF IBM RING 186
IBM Ring 186 will meet on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 at S. W. Pitts Hose Company, 226 Old Loudon Road, in Latham, NY. Everyone is encouraged to have something magical to share with your fellow magicians. Refreshments will be served
Karl Johnson will have one more batch of magic items donated by Andrew Garland to sell. Like our last meeting, the items will be bundled up in a mystery box and will go to the winner of a dollar lottery, so bring lots of dollars (with your name on it) to increase the odds of winning the bundle that will be worth at least $100. The mystery box will contain 5 magic books, 6 instructional pamphlets, a new Ammar torn card routine with instructions, two new marked decks, a new Houdini Neck Escape Device and a few other items. All of the funds collected are donated to the club.
Congratulations to Dave Lieberman for his win of our last mystery bundle.
PLANS FOR THE SAM BANQUET
The 2026 SAM fall banquet is tentatively scheduled for October 11th at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga. Dave will be meeting with his contact at the Holiday Inn and will let us know once the date is firmly set. Dave will be providing additional information as it becomes available. If any of you are interested in being part of the close-up show, please let Dave know at your earliest convenience.
EVIL DAN WILL BE THE SPECIAL GUEST AT THE MAGIC SHOWCASE IN JULY
The Magic Showcase meets every second Thursday of the month at Cafe Melao, 1425 Irving St, Rahway, NJ. Rahway is west of New York City, South of Newark, and North of Perth Amboy.
Evil Dan will the special guest on Thursday, July 9. He will be appearing with four other performers.
For more information check here: https://www.themagiciansforum.com/post/new-jersey-magic-showcase-13661440?trail=200
You have to scroll all the way to bottom to get information about the July 9 event.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE UPCOMING SHOWS AND EVENTS
Every day starting June 20: Jimmy Brown will be performing three shows daily at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm at the Lake George Expedition Park (formerly the Magic Forest) on Route 9 just south of Lake George Village. Jimmy reports that the best show is his one o’clock show. This will be Jimmy’s 43 year of performing at this park
Sunday August 9: Our annual picnic at Ken and Sara Beckley’s place on Lake George. I still do not have any details, but plan to send that information out as soon as I receive it.
Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday September 9, 10, &11: Magicians’ Alliance of Eastern States (MAES) Convention at Cherry Hill, PA. Please note: This year, this is not a weekend convention, but it starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Friday. Aas of today, June 28, the link to this convention has not yet been updated with a schedule of 2026 events: https://maesconvention.com/
Sunday October 11: This is the tentative date set for the SAM Banquet at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
If you know of a magic related event or show which might be of interest to capital area magicians, send that information to me in time for it to be announced in our next newsletter.
Also if you would like to contribute an original article, trick or review of a book, DVD, trick or internet site, send it to me for inclusion in this newsletter. PLEASE DON’T COPY WHAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS WRITTEN UNLESS YOU DOCUMENT THE SOURCE AND HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE IT.
Send contributions and announcements to: cliffordbruce@earthlink.net
SAM Assembly #24 Member Directory: Fellow Assembly Member contact information is listed in the MEMBERS ONLY SECTION and can only be accessed by current active members with the password information provided on your membership card.