PINE PLAINS — Early morning rain transformed to humid sunshine just in time for the 10:30 parade and ceremonies on Memorial Day, May 30. Crowds lined the streets in the middle of town three-deep in many places. People of all ages, young and old and even their pets, gathered to honor those who served their country and to see those marching this year. While each year is the same in many ways, there are also differences, with some long-familiar faces missing and some new additions to welcome to the crowd and parade. A welcome breeze kept the warm weather from being too oppressive for the marchers, who included those who served in many branches of the military, and ranging in time of service from World War II, Korea and Vietnam up through the current conflicts combating terrorism. There were also Boy Scouts, Junior Girl Scouts, Daisy Scouts, children and parents from the day care, the Pine Plains Hose Company, the Pine Plains High School Band, the FFA and more. Laurann Beliveau, the proprietor of Main St. Cafe, ran a welcome refreshment stand outside her shop. She served cool drinks and bomb pops with help from an enthusiastic young lady who used a tiny bullhorn to encourage those in the crowd to partake in the fare.Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said Memorial Day is the best day of the year in Pine Plains, when many people return home to commemorate the day with their families and friends. He thanked all in the crowd for coming downtown to take part in the ceremonies. “It’s time to put the memorial back into Memorial Day,” he said. “Only 28 percent of people in the United States know the true meaning of Memorial Day: to honor those who have served, those still serving, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”Veterans handed out small flags to children in the crowd, much to their delight.The Pine Plains High School Band played a rousing military medley, including the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Master of Ceremonies George Keeler said the band had already played in two ceremonies that morning, and commended them on their hard work and abilities. After the parade and ceremony at the Clocktower, all gathered for solemn memorial services in the town cemetery.
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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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