KENT — It’s fair to say that the schedule of activities for the Kent Memorial Library (KML) is awaited with anticipation. The library is notable for the high quality of the events it sponsors and the world-class speakers it entices to be interviewed as part of the Great Performances series. In past years, speakers have included Meryl Streep, Marilyn Horne, Colin Powell and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.Marketing and Special Events Director Lucy Pierpont was fairly mum about who is being invited for this year — and also about what car will be the top prize in this year’s fundraising raffle.She did confirm that the popular summer book sale will begin as always on Memorial Day and end in mid-October. This is one of the largest library book sales in Litchfield County. Tables are set up in the parking area next to the library, and are stacked with a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction books. There are also DVDs, CDs and videocassettes.In addition to cultural and fundraising events, the library also offers instructional programs, such as the eBook clinic in January that will help library patrons better enjoy electronic books. Clinics are by appointment only and will be held on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon; Friday, Jan. 18, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at the library. Call 860-927-3761 for an appointment.A library talk and book signing will be held Feb. 2 (snow date Feb. 9) from 4 to 6 p.m. The Rev. Christopher Weber, who lives in Sharon, will read from and sign copies of his book “American to the Backbone,” the story of 19th-century freed slave James Pennington.Art exhibitions will be offered, including one in March and April featuring the work of artist Susan Grisell. In May and June, the library will host an exhibition of portraits curated by Leslie Lillien Levy.Also in May, Joe Baxer will return to to the library with another lecture on his worldwide travels.A musical event will be offered in partnership with St. Andrew’s Church on May 19. Pianist Jeffrey Siegel will be featured in “Keyboard Conversations” as part of the Music in the Nave series offered by the church each year.In July and August there will be an exhibition of work by Litchfield photographer Jeff Pudinski. And in September and October works by Southbury artist David Merrill will be featured. The year will end with a family group show featuring works by Mary Terrizzi, Scott Bricher and Naya Bricher of Kent.Also in December, the Junior Room will host the second annual children’s book signing.For information about the library and its programs, go to www.kentmemoriallibrary.org.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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