Mardi Gras (also known by the more solemn name of Shrove Tuesday) is Feb. 12 this year, followed by Ash Wednesday on Feb. 13. These two dates signal the start of the season of Lent.According to the website www.sharefaith.com, “The name Shrove Tuesday is derived from the word ‘shrive,’ which means to confess and receive absolution. The name denotes a period of cleansing …”For many Christians, especially historically, Lent was a time of fasting. To prepare for it, the larders were emptied of perishable foods such as eggs, butter and milk. In England, it became a tradition to eat pancakes on the last day before the fast began, because they used up so many of those low-shelflife foods. Here in the Northwest Corner, Shrove Tuesday is observed with pancakes, sausages and the playing of board games at Trinity Church in Lime Rock. The Rev. Heidi Truax explained why some churches, such as Trinity, and some Christians will observe Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent while others might not. “After the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century in Europe,” she said, “most non-Roman Catholic Christians did not want to celebrate the feasts of the Roman Church, which they considered to be unbiblical. So, generally, many of the Protestant denominations have steered clear of holy days such as Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and other traditions which are not literally found in scripture. Jesus did not eat pancakes nor mark the sign of the cross on his own or any other foreheads (that we know of). Jesus did, however, celebrate all the traditional Jewish holy days of his time.“The Episcopal Church, along with its mother, the Church of England, has always tried to walk the ‘via media’ or middle road, between the Protestant and Roman Catholic faith and traditions, and so has continued with many traditions that we believe to be biblically justified. “For example, throughout Hebrew scripture (the scripture that Jesus read and taught) people who are mourning or repenting sit in sackcloth and ashes. In many religious traditions it is customary to have a time of reflection and self-examination or self-denial during the year. So, we believe that God tells us, through scripture, tradition and reason, that taking time to repent, and renew is important. “Symbolically we have ashes placed on our foreheads as a symbol of that repentance. Shrove Tuesday is the day to prepare for the important season of Lent, and after 40 days, our celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.”People find unique ways to observe Lent, though the goal is the same, Truax said: “Lent is a time of reflection and self-examination. We take time to consider all the things that individually and corporately we have done wrong in the past year. Many of us go in for an ‘annual housecleaning’ in the form of private confession to a priest or trusted advisor during this time. “It is an opportunity to simplify our lives, and focus on those things that really matter. Often times we give up things that clutter our lives in order to focus on the things that we identify as life-giving. So, we may give up chocolate or dessert, or alcohol or caffeine, but it’s also just as good to consider giving up some time-sapping activity that may prevent us from getting back to the basic things we value.”At Trinity, on Feb. 12, “we will be having pancakes and sausages, and playing board games. We will have a small bonfire in which the palms from the previous Palm Sunday will be burned to become the ashes for the next day, Ash Wednesday.”Everyone is welcome. The evening begins at 6 p.m.The UCC in Cornwall will hold its second annual Pancake Supper on the same night. Everyone in the community is invited for pancakes, sausages, applesauce and maple syrup, (with eggs for those who do not eat wheat). There will be jazz music playing and beads and all ages can make masks. It will be in the Parish House at 8 Bolton Hill Road, from 5 to 7pm. Donations will go toward a church work trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.For a more secular celebration of the flapjack, head for the nearest International House of Pancakes (there is one in Orange, Conn.), for National Pancake Day on Feb. 5. You can get a free stack of buttermilk pancakes anytime between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.; you will also be asked to make a donation, if you choose, to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital (you can also opt to donate to a local charity).
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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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