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THE STREET OF CARDS - After the Saturday show on the main street of Colon you can witness one of the strangest traditions in all of magic as Colon Michigan becomes the "Street of Cards". Literally thousands of cards are thrown on main street throughout the night, and the next morning the Colon main street is literally covered in playing cards. Recently this tradition has caused newspaper articles about the mess that it leaves the next day, in fact on several occasions Colon has had special volunteer committees go out early on Sunday and begin cleaning up the mess. The flip side of this is that many people consider these discarded cards as souvenirs and save a few from each year as mementos. The one thing both sides agree on is that it is a fun event for both the throwers and the spectators. Many claim they have seen the cards not only travel across to the other side of the street but actually land on the roofs of second storing buildings on the other side of the street. Card throwing has evolved almost to mythological proportions due to the impressive speed that magicians could throw the cards. This gave rise to a myth that a card could kill or seriously injure someone if thrown correctly by a person with enough force, however a Discover Channel documentary on the subject (MythBusters) examined this claim and found that a playing card does NOT have sufficient mass to puncture the skin enough to kill a person.
THE ISORZ SECRET SOCIETY - It's late in Colon and you wander off the beaten trail. You follow a trail of smoke which masks an unearthly glow off in the woods. Cautiously you approach a group of people around a campfire drinking a toast to Duke Stern. You have just wandered into the lair of the ISORZ. ISORZ is an acronym that stands for the International Sacred Order of the Raccoon Zombie. Each year they initiate new members midnight on Friday during the Get Together. They meet the potential new members (known as "Running Sores") at the American Legion. The "Running Sores" have a brief initiation then are voted (or "unvoted") in. The new members (now known as scabs) are moved to a "secret" location where they attend the annual meeting of the ISORZ. The Patron Saint of the ISORZ is Duke Stern and the ISORZ salute is done by covering one eye with their hand.
THE SILLY SHIRT SECRET SOCIETY - Fashion sense is the bitter enemy of the Silly Shirt Society and you may encounter them during a visit to the Magic Capital during Magic Week so you need to be on your guard. The Silly Shirt Society started in 1981 when Franz Harary showed up with a three piece pink tuxedo. In 1986 the shirt gag unofficially began with Steve Ryder, Jeff Bibik, and Al the Only. Once again they only come out during Magic Week in Colon. Today we have no idea who is a member or why, in this respect they are similar to the people in the "Invasions of the Body Snatchers" movies, but much easier to recognize.
SECRET ROOM AT THE LIBRARY - It is hard to believe that behind the facade of a helpful 100 year old library that a secret room exists. The secret room is a high tech collaboration of computers and a massive collection of files not on magic, but on magicians and their role in history. People who have seen the room compare it to the control room in the movie "West World" so who really knows what is really going on. The people who work in this secret room claim its purpose is research for the historical society, essentially the brains of the Colon museum, but if that were true why the clandestine room, and why the denials of its existence? A true mystery never fully understood. Should you enter the Colon library and find one room locked, beware for it may be this secret research center.
SECRET ROOM AT FIVE STAR PIZZA - When you walk into Five Star Pizza at the Magic Capital it looks just like a typical pizza parlor with a magic theme. However this pizza parlor is more than meets the eye. This pizza parlor offers a "secret" room hidden behind a 10' tall 15' wide oak bookcase. Rumor has it that secret meetings are held in this hidden room, sometimes even bancquets and birthday parties. But they are only rumors, its true purpose goes unknown - unless you want to rent it out for your own event.
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