27th October 2007 - Namly Estate has its annual Halloween party in true form; kids and adults were ghouled up for maximum frights; trick or treating was the run of the night; foods of all cultures tantalised the tastebuds - potluck style.

It was an eye-opener to see so many caucasian kids and adults all dressed for the occasion; they really knew how to have a good time. SMC was invited to perform from 5:30pm to 9pm - we were given a table booth and asked to do some strolling magic to add creepiness to the occasion.

There were about 200 people at the event - half of them were kids. True to form, our magicians worked out shifts and went out to meet the ghoulies.

Just to highlight a few notable things that happened that night:

Zian - Our very own Mr Suave was there to make things happen - he worked the first shift strolling into the mass of children dressed like monsters (some of them didn't have to dress up) and he slayed them all with his style of 'steet magic'. Zian then attempted to charm a few ladies with his 'anti-gravity' coin and left a real impression on them! They were tough cookies and he really handled himself well - a true gentleman!

He also had a chance to ferry one of the guests at the event to a nearby MRT station and tried to invite himself to a pajama party... :P More details from Zian please!

Jasper - Also known as 'The Silent Assistant', Jasper's first time out was great exposure to close up magic and I think he held his own well. Good job bro.

Gordon - Gordon manned the table at the first shift and he absolutely DESTROYED everyone with his card to @$$! I'll let him give you all the juicy details himself!

Jonathan - Jon really pulled all the stops and performed for 45 minutes straight at the table! He even went all the way and performed the FULL MONTY! :) WTG BRO!

Uncle Bob - Uncle Bob dropped by to say 'hi' and couldn't resist performing (lol - that's Uncle Bob for you!); he obliterated the Guest of Honour, MP Christopher DeSouza. After that, nobody wanted to play cards with him.

Adrian Lee - Adrian is a true Veteran now - he handled all the difficult customers with an air of a true professional! You should've seen him take on the old man with a passion to 'chop' the cards.

Thanks for turning up! You guys made a real impact that night, people kept asking me for our name cards... LOL.

Shade
PS: Pictures to be added soon.

Images can be viewed here:

Halloween @ Namly Park

Huh? I didn't see this anywhere on the forums?

Oh ya, Me too. Is it under pay it forward event?

This event is not under pay if forward; it's SMC's way of returning something to Ulu Pandan CC for their generous help at Legerdemain. We kept it to a small group of people as it's not a big event; we don't want too many magicians hanging around sessioning with each other (that happens when the crowd's thin and all the magicians know each other).

More events will come our way soon... and from what I've heard, even more collaboration opportunities with other groups! :)

BE REGULAR - COME FOR GATHERINGS! CONTRIBUTE MORE! :D

Big things in the works!

Shade

Dude, I don't want to be a troll and kick up a big fuss over nothing. In fact I was hoping I was wrong and that it was tucked somewhere on the forum where I didn't see it or something.

But it wasn't.

Don't you think its only fair that for an event like this where 'SMC' is invited that you actually post something on the forum to inform us about it and see if anyone else wants to perform? I don't mind that you require only a certain number of magicians or even a certain minimum skill level, you can state in the post. Just put 1 - 6 and then first come first serve or something. We did it for Pambudi's lecture (minimum posts) and for Shade's SS session (at least one event prior), so I don't see whats the problem.

I don't think its fair to a lowly forum member like me who was checking the website every damm day looking for an opportunity to perform so that I can improve.

I don't think its fair that I didn't even get a chance to raise my hand to volunteer.

I learnt so much from Legerdemain, and that means I also owe Ulu Pandan CC. I would have volunteered in a heartbeat. Unless of course you think my skill level would disgrace SMC, then I guess I got nothing to say, but still if I did volunteer I would practice every f***ing day until I feel confident to do it.

This is how much I love my art, and I feel like I was robbed of a chance to perform simply because you generalise that the rest of the forum can't act as professionally as you:

I am not a whiny crybaby who feels left out because nobody put a red carpet at my feet and invited me to perform. - I am simply very very disappointed and sad that I missed a great opportunity to perform even though I looked at the forums every day.

The only message you are sending out right now is that my participation in the forums doesn't really matter.

Matt, you brought up your points, and I hear them.

If what you are interested in is why this event wasn't open to all members, I would be more than glad to respond to the query. Although personally I am of the opinion that we do not exactly owe anyone any explanation, I will still seek to clarify your doubts as best as I can.

Otherwise, let's move on from here.

Like what Shade mentioned, there will be more events coming our way soon, so do look out for them. Your participation and contributions to the community are definitely not unseen. All I seek is some understanding on your part to look ahead and continue to support this community and our future events.

Once again, let's move on, and we look forward to your continued participation and support to this community in the future.

AdrianLee

Nobody questioned your commitment to SMC Matt. I'm sorry if you feel that way.

Again, I'm sorry you feel this way, but I think you took what I said too personally. I have not generalised anyone and I don't think I have ever implied that anyone is 'less professional' than myself (considering the fact that I don't even think of myself as professional - I always considered myself as noob as the next person).

But, to make it VERY clear, the reason why this event was not posted on the PAY IT FORWARD section is because this was NOT a charity event. We have NEVER stopped ANYONE from contributing in a charity event - regardless of their 'skill level' or their previous contributions to the forum.

Shade

Guys I read through my post again this morning and I realised that I over-reacted.

Whilst I still maintain that somebody should have posted something to keep us informed at least - no need to open it, but at least let us know I guess.

Adrian you're right, you do not owe anyone an explanation. SMC is not a democracy - and that's the way it should be.

Shade, my deepest unreserved apologies - Its me that's acting like a noob, not you.

If I offended anyone else with my post I'm sorry.

All that said, i like your attitude Matt B)

No hard feelings Matt ;) Catch you at the next gathering coming up... We're still working out the details!

Shade

Hey guys, for those who missed this one, do not worry, there's more to come for sure.

For those who were there, once again, i must say i had a tremendous time with all of you.

Uncle Bob: Thank you for coming down and thank you so very much for showing me something very special. Haha. But $40 a bit expensive. I better start saving up. Haha. But on a serious note, i am very happy for you to finally complete your cups and balls collection. The new addition i must say is a gem. Quite 'shiok' to be able to indulge in such things.

Everyone else, that night was out of control man. Everyone who turned up did a amazing job. Kids are a difficult bunch. But teenagers, oh my god, they are the killer. I got heckled like nobody's business man. Went home with my tail between my legs. Had to drown my sorrows in alcohol after that event. Haha.

But the kids there were so cute. Most of them turned up in their costumes as you all can see from the photos. But again, heckler alert.

But hey, all in all, good stuff there. Can't wait for more to come. I'm sure ulu pandan was please and they will want to work with us again in the near future. Don't worry matt, all i can say is get ready and prepare to slay some kids man. haha..


ZiAn

Yah man, never asked me too. Only when you need somebody to finish the beer then call me :( . No matter what I still performed at CCF before leh. ;)