By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Needham Free Public Library (NFPL) kicked off its summer reading program with a bang by inviting magician Matt Matthews to perform. Matthews, a professional magician from Connecticut, has been performing magic his whole life.
Countless children and families packed into the Memorial Park Field House to escape the heat and enjoy the show. Children sat on the floor right up front to see the tricks up close, while parents were invited to sit in chairs in the back. From the start, Matthews grabbed the attention of his audience and kept everyone engaged and giggling.
Matthews incorporated comedy throughout his entire set, which was written for the kids, but the adults were laughing along too. The most exciting part was when Matthews asked for child volunteers. The first young girl got to use magic wands that kept turning into flowers. After several tries, she was able to make flowers appear on a picture of a rooftop, a trick inspired by “The Curious Garden” by Peter Brown. Several tricks were directly inspired by children's books to invite kids to get involved with summer reading.
The final trick that involved a child volunteer also required an adult and their ring. Matthews made the ring disappear with the help of his assistant and made it reappear inside a bag, which was inside two more bags and three boxes. The crowd was astonished by this trick, with everyone trying to figure out how it could have been done.
Matthews’s last trick of the afternoon involved rearranging a photo to create different counts of children. This trick was sent home with every child so they could start their journey with magic. The children jumped at the chance to perform for everyone in their lives and started talking about the trick immediately.
This afternoon of magic was a wonderful way to beat the heat and engage audience members of all ages. Matt Matthews utilized tricks of all skill levels to amaze his audience and bring in more children for the summer reading program. The NFPL is offering countless events all summer to get kids reading and excited for the school year.
