WE HAVE A WINNER!

 

Big Bob Coleman, Our President of the New Mazda Mystic Ring, took 3rd place in the America's Funniest Magician held in Minneapolis , MN  this last weekend. Bob is one of the best balloon men around today. His sculptures with balloons are a sight to see let alone being funny.  (Boy I hate guys with talent)!

 
Bob has a couple of DVD's out on balloon sculpturing and has a great lecture he presents to clubs. He is a very busy and sought after performer doing many fair dates, etc.
 
We of the Mazda Club are very proud of our member and president of the club.
 
Great going Bob.................
 
 
America's Funniest Magician Competition  sponsored by http://www.conleyshouseofmagic.com/
 
Minneapolis, MN                    May 16, 2008
Friday night's compaction Big Bob Coleman from Belvedere Illinois won the 3rd place in the compaction
doing balloon magic.. 
 



 
 

 

 

 

 

Love of magic draws group together
Daily Herald Reports
Posted 10/29/03

This is no ordinary group.

It consists of people like Ron Ferraro, who started his professional life as a chemist then switched gears and decided to open a costume shop; Bob Coluzzi, who works with birds, doves and fire, and Don Bothwell, who visits the same restaurant every Monday evening as "Tricky the Clown."

"They're all interesting characters, but you shouldn't dare turn your back on them," Ferraro said.

They are all members of the New Mazda Mystic Ring.

The Ring is club of men and women dedicated to the art of magic and sworn to protect its secrets. They meet monthly at Ferraro's shop, Fantasy Festival Costume and Magic Centre, 901 Cary Road, Cary.

Their reason for getting together? When it come to magic, the more advice you get, the better, according to Coluzzi.

"Sure, we meet for the camaraderie, but we also learn from each other," said Coluzzi, the group's current president. "We critique each other's acts, especially new tricks. We discuss how to book shows, how to routine your act, what's acceptable for different audiences."

The Ring's monthly meetings start off with a session for juniors, where aspiring magicians ages 10 to 16 learn a new trick from older members.

The senior group, which includes tricksters ranging in age from 25 to 75; then powwows, sharing tricks, tips and advice; and occasional hearing from an outside speaker.

The group is limited to 30 members. The Ring has been an influence in Coluzzi's life and his magic.

When the group disbanded a couple of years ago, he reorganized it.

A member since 1960, Coluzzi started magic as a hobby, then became a full-time magician.

He invented a trick that he has only sold to 12 magicians worldwide, in which a floating flame suddenly turns into a dove.

His act included his wife, Nina.

"We appeared as Jeno and Nina' on the Bozo show, did big fund-raisers and corporate events," he said.

Members of the Ring have always been a helpful resource, Coluzzi said.

"Our members include gospel magicians, children performers, clowns, corporate magicians, and others.

We give input on everything from the stance to the smile," he said.

The Mazda Mystic Ring was founded in 1947 by Colonel B. Russell Shaw.

Shaw was a pioneer in aviation and designed and built his own planes.

He eventually became a lieutenant colonel and chief of airplane development for the U.S. Army. After he retired, Shaw decided to do something he always wanted to do: open a magic supply store.

He started his business in Fond du Lac, Wis., then later opened Mazda Magic Studio in Oak Park.

The studio eventually moved to Chicago.

The Ring met there monthly. According to early rules, members were fined a dollar if their picture was published in a newspaper.

You had to be prepared to do a trick or pay a dollar.

The president of the group was called "Sir Gimmick," the treasurer was "Keeper of the Miser's Dream," and the secretary was the "Keeper of the Slates."

If you called a member by "Mister" rather than by his first name, you were fined a dollar.

The rules have changed a lot since the early days.

There are no more eccentric titles, but you do have to share tricks and knowledge.

What hasn't changed is the members' devotion to the secrets of magic and its perpetuation.

"Magic has really evolved, but it's still based on the same secrets magicians have guarded for centuries," said Bothwell, also known as, "Tricky the Clown" and "Don Wand the Magician.

"We are still levitating, suspending, penetrating solid objects, vanishing and appearing, but today we have more high tech special effects."

Bothwell has been a magician since 1971.

"I was initially roped into it," he said.

"My mother twisted my arm to perform at a Christmas party for mentally challenged children."

While he was a reluctant performer at first, Bothwell became a full-time magician in 1986.

He is a popular entertainer at the Colonial Cafe in Elgin where for 18 years he was amused children on Monday evenings. He has also performed at Bulls games, Navy Pier and Santa's Village.

Ring members started meeting at Fantasy Festival last year when Coluzzi reorganized the group and renamed it the "New" Mazda Mystic Ring.

The location worked better for members, many who now live in the Western suburbs, said store owner Ferraro, who dabbles in magic himself and celebrates his wedding anniversary at Halloween time.. And, with more than 7,000 costumes on hand and a myriad of magic supplies, the store is a perfect setting.

It is also a good draw for young aspiring magicians who want to learn the trade.

"Kids come and learn a trick then perform it for each other," Ferraro said.

"It's a way of promoting new members down the line, and insuring magic continues."

The New Mazda Mystic Ring meets the second Thursday of the month at Fantasy Festival. 901 Cary Rd.(rt 31) Algonquin, IL.

The Junior Magicians club meets first from 6 to 7:15 p.m. There is a fee. The senior magicians meet afterward.

Young magicians interested in joining the Junior group should contact Don Bothwell at dbothwell@ameritech.net.

For more information on the Ring, visit its Web site at www.mazdamysticring.com

 

 

 

The New Mazda Mystic Ring

 

H. Rick Bamman / Pioneer Press

Magician Don Bothwell (right) explains a rope trick to Austin Orre during a Junior Mazda Mystic Ring meeting.

Subject: story
 

By Kate Braser
STAFF WRITER
Jesse May is one youngster who just might ask for a trick rather than a treat this Halloween. Unable to find his magic wand in his messy bedroom, he arrives in the basement of Algonquin¹s Fantasy Festival Costume and Magic Centre for a meeting of the Mazda Mystic Ring with a pencil. Pencils work just as well, if you know how to do the magic,² the 10-year-old Crystal Lake boy said. Fantasy Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is a fitting place for magic. Eager youngsters sit in a room that was once part of a nightclub. Mirrored walls atop stages reflect over 5,000 costumes, operated by a conveyor, that seem to rotate on hangers all by themselves. The old club bar, scattered with various plastic body parts, give the room the aura of
Dr. Frankenstein¹s lab. Owner Ron Ferraro has kept the bar of the old club intact, and uses it as work space where he constructs masks and prosthetics that are eventually shipped all over the world. Masks that stay behind in the shop line shelves in the basement ‹ 100 familiar faces that silently witness the secrets of a 56-year-old magic group as they gather the second Thursday of every month. As they wait for their teachers to arrive, the kids search the basement for a trapdoor. This place is so awesome, it¹s my favorite place ever,² said 10-year-old Zach Saenz of Cary. Soon, Ring President Don Bothwell, owner of Elgin-based Tricky Business, a business that provides magic entertainment, arrives wearing a red hat and a clown tie, ready to impart to the eager kids his knowledge of penetration tricks, the art of pushing or pulling something through a solid object. I promise not to reveal any of the secrets I learn here tonight,² the children recite, their right arms raised. As they sit riveted to their seats, Bothwell pulls a rope through 10-year-old Austin Orre¹s finger. Although many of the kids are repeat attendees, this is the first year of the new Mazda Mystic Ring in Algonquin. The club was started by Colonel B. Russell Shaw in Chicago in 1947, and grew to about 60 members. Bob Coluzzi, last year¹s president, said membership began dwindling to about five per meeting last year, so they quit until finding the Algonquin meeting place and starting up again. Coluzzi could not
bear to see a good thing end. I hate to see a good club go, I just needed to get it started up again,² Coluzzi said, adding most of the club¹s membership comes from an area stretching from Rockford to Chicago. Coluzzi said the club is capped at 30 members, and a waiting list is usually the norm. New members are asked to perform three tricks before they become an official member. ¹² John ³Doc² Morrissey of Oak Park arrives just in time to teach the children the difference between riffle and overhand shuffles; his intention not to teach the kids how to become Vegas card dealers, but how to become great magicians like himself. Morrissey got his nickname from his traveling Indian medicine show act. The deck does all the work but you gotta work on your presentation,² Morrissey told the kids. Pat Cree of Crystal Lake is the Ring¹s vice president. Cree said creativity and presentation are two aspects of magic the Ring upholds. You look at magicians like David Copperfield and you see a lot of amazing creativity in the tricks,² Cree said. ³These kids here seem pretty hungry to learn magic, and that¹s great, kids are naturally creative.² Bothwell reminded the youngsters of a magician¹s utmost mission. Your job is to entertain, not just mystify,² he said, pulling the rope through Orre¹s finger once again, inciting gasps. Bothwell smiles, tips his red hat, and winks. For more information about the Mazda Mystic Ring, visit mazdamysticring.com. Children age 10 and up interested in attending a monthly session can pay a $10 fee. Fantasy Festival Costume/Magic Centre is located at 901 Cary Road in Algonquin.
Kate Braser can be reached at kbraser@pioneerlocal.com.

 

 

 

Mazda Mystic Ring meets to share secrets of trade

By Peter Krupa
STAFF WRITER

  They meet under cover of darkness, on the second Thursday of every month. Calling themselves the Mazda Mystic Ring, the magicians gathers in a basement in Algonquin to exchange magical secrets, swearing an oath to keep them within the Ring.

  But before you take up torches and pitchforks to run the dark forces out of town, you should know that the Mazda Mystic Ring isn't quite as spooky as it initially sounds.

  This small group of professional and semi-professional magicians from all over the Chicago area isn't chanting incantations or casting spells. They meet in the basement of Fantasy Festival Costume/Magic Centre in Algonquin simply to share tips and expertise in their exclusive art.

  "It's camaraderie. People just get together and discuss different things," explained Bob Coluzzi, last year's president. "But then we get these other performers to improve from their knowledge."

  Coluzzi is referring to the guest lecturer that the Ring brings to each meeting. This month's presenter — "Leopold" — makes a living in Las Vegas by performing magic tricks for people in restaurants and hotels.

  "Please keep your eye on the Kings," said Leopold, as he demonstrated a card trick for the group.

  After performing the elaborate trick — in which the four kings in a twelve card spread manage to disappear and reappear several times — he slowed it down and explained in detail how it's done.

  Of course all of that is top secret, and this reporter dare not reproduce it for fear of being turned into a toad. But the advantage of the Ring for the professionals assembled is that they can pick up little tips from their peers to add to their acts.

  "Everything comes from somewhere. Really there's nothing original," Leopold said while demonstrating a rope trick he learned in the 70s from a Japanese performer.

  Even though the Mazda Mystic Ring only began meeting in Algonquin in 2002, the club actually has a rich history, dating back to 1947. Colonel B. Russell Shaw founded the Ring in Chicago, and it grew to around 60 members.

  Coluzzi had been a member of Chicago group since 1960, but in recent years membership had dropped off.

  "There were only like five or six members showing up" for meetings, he said.

  Inevitably, the club dissolved. So Coluzzi decided to start the club up in a location more central to its many Rockford and suburban Chicagomembers.

  Membership in the club is exclusive; capacity is capped at 30 and there are always a few on the waiting list. And it's not a club for amateurs. Once accepted, new members must perform three tricks for the group to prove they are serious.

  But exclusivity does not mean uniformity, and members of the Ring have wildly different backgrounds and levels of experience. Of two members recently accepted into the ring, one — Tom Holbrook — had been performing for 20 years, while the other — Steve Arpon — for only six months.

  "This is one hobby, profession, that you never stop learning it," saidElgin resident Holbrook, who would like to make magic his full-time profession. "A lot of these guys, I don't know half of what they know."

  Aurora resident Arpon, on the other hand, is a pharmaceutical salesman who uses magic tricks to establish a good relationship with clients.

  "When two drugs are very similar, (doctors) buy from the person they like," he explained.

  In addition to providing a resource for magicians, the Mazda Mystic Ring is reaching out to the community, offering training to up-and-coming youngsters.

  In this month's session with the junior members, Ring President Don Bothwell and club member Cheryl Gleason taught eight attendees to vanish a 50-cent piece and a salt shaker.

  "There are certain things you teach them and you make them take an oath," Bothwell said. "If you give (the secret) away, you're giving away the heart of magic."

  

Last Meeting

 

Knights of Columbus Hall                                                               

                10 Villa Ct

                 Elgin, Il

 

               on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM.

                     There are no meetings in JULY & AUGUST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                     

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