NORTH CANAAN — After months of research, the North Canaan Elementary School (NCES) PTO has come up with a plan for a new playground to be installed at the primary end of the school.The PTO selected a design by Playworld Systems that includes a wide range of play structures for children from preschool all the way to grade eight. A pirate ship, a castle and a dinosaur “skeleton” in the middle of a giant sandbox will offer inspiration for imaginative play. But the surface is what is really special, and will take the playground to new levels of safety and handicapped accessibility.Brightly colored poured-in-place rubber will provide a cushiony surface that eliminates the need to create a mulch pit. The rubber will be thicker and softer in spots as needed, such as beneath swings. It is extremely durable and, unlike mulch, can last for many years.PTO representatives came to the Board of Education meeting Feb. 14 to describe the plan, which includes redeveloping the entire northeast corner of the school grounds. The PTO is not asking the school board for money. The group decided to take on responsibility for the playground last year. A team of volunteers spruced up the grounds and built a new sandbox last summer, using materials and equipment donated by local businesses. But it was clear the more-than 15-year-old primary wing playground equipment, although state-of-the-art at the time, is well past its prime.Now that a plan is in place, fundraising will begin. Grants are also being sought. With supervision from Playworld Systems, a “community build,” using local volunteers for the approximate three-week project, will save about $80,000 in installation costs. That alone is more than the cost of the existing playground. The quote for the entire project is $458,000.For security purposes, a large swath of trees was recently removed from between the school and Sam Eddy Field. It eliminates an undesirable hangout spot. The field can now be seen from the school and playground, and can be used during recess. The “corner” between the playgrounds will provide a spot for gardens that can be used as outdoor classrooms and a musical instrument area, with hand-played babel drums, a marimba and emperor chimes.Also planned are picnic tables and a NEOS electronic playstation with lights that create random patterns that the user reproduces. It will be wheelchair accessible and the company claims it helps build peripheral vision and auditory and spatial skills. An asphalt sidewalk will connect the playgrounds and extend all the way around the back of the school, providing better access for playground visitors and emergency vehicles. “The PTO spent a lot of time with many companies. This is the one that understood their vision,” said NCES Principal Rosemary Keilty. “There is also not much for kids to do now after school out there or in the summer.”In response to a concern from the public about vandalism of such a pricey installation, Keilty said there is surveillance camera there now.
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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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