“I think that the Keeler Tavern instilled a love of history and a love of Ridgefield in me that I carry with me to this day,” said Tom Pesce.
Tom Pesce is a teacher and magician who has lived in Ridgefield all his life. From 12 to 4 p.m. on June 15, he will awe audiences with a performance at the Keeler Tavern Museum’s 300th birthday party.
“Performing for the museum’s birthday is both a thrill and an honor,” said Mr. Pesce, who has been to the museum many times as a child and adult.
“I think that the Keeler Tavern instilled a love of history and a love of Ridgefield in me that I carry with me to this day.”
Admission to the event is free and everyone is welcome.
Mr. Pesce has been doing magic since he was just 12 years old.
“I was completely intrigued by it,” the 31-year-old magician explained. “I really went into magic for the same reason I went into teaching — I love people. I view magic as teaching; I’m trying to sell something to my kids like I’m trying to sell something to my audience.”
Mr. Pesce’s experiences as a fourth grade teacher in Rye Brook, N.Y., have helped him grow as a magician, and his greatest joy comes from instilling people with wonder and fun-on stage and in the classroom.
Disappointed by many “hokey” magicians he saw as a kid, Mr. Pesce decided early on that he wanted to truly make an impact on his audiences. He doesn’t like cheesy magic, “where the joke is always on the viewers.”
The magician said that he wants his audience to love his magic and “feel great about themselves.” For Mr. Pesce, magic “pushes our minds to ask questions and stirs positive emotions inside the human heart and imagination.”
With his routine, he said, “you’ll never know what to expect.”
Mr. Pesce said his show is appropriate and entertaining for all ages, and he describes it as a combination of Disney, Nickelodeon and Vegas.
“I’m really big on music and bright color and being very professional,” Mr. Pesce said. “It’s very fast-paced with lots of visuals and sound effects.”
On June 15, Pesce will have a few set show times but he will also walk around the museum’s campus, engaging children and adults all day. He hopes that people who see his performance will be inspired “not just by magic, but by the magic and history of the museum” as well.
Magic is just one component of the events planned for the Keeler Tavern Museum’s big, family-style celebration in June. The museum will offer vintage car and bicycle shows, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, period crafts such as pottery and hat making, food, an amateur birthday cake contest and silent cake auction, local live music, and many other birthday surprises.
A special highlight will be guided walking tours of the property, called “A Walk Through History,” where party-goers can hear costumed re-enactors discuss the colorful lives of past residents who have lived on the site in the last 300 years. People can sign up for tours ahead of time keelertavernmuseum.org.
The Keeler Tavern’s birthday party is part of a year long celebration of the centuries of history the museum embodies. “The stories of the people who lived or visited here really illuminate Ridgefield’s, as well as our nation’s evolution, politically, economically and socially,” said Joel Third, president of the museum. “That’s what makes the Keeler Tavern Museum the most significant historic site in Ridgefield as well as the town’s oldest gathering place. Mr. Pesce will honor this town’s and this country’s history at the birthday party with his performance.”
For more information on Mr. Pesce and his magic, visit “The Magic of Tom Pesce” on Facebook.