FALLS VILLAGE — Teams have already formed for the Housatonic Valley of Connecticut Relay for Life event, set for the weekend of June 4 and 5. But there’s still time for newcomers to sign up for the fourth annual relay, one of many that will be held across the nation to benefit the American Cancer Society.The Relay for Life turns the track and athletic field at Housatonic Valley Regional High School into a virtual tent city full of families who want to raise money for a good cause — and who are there to support a cancer patient, celebrate a cancer survivor or remember a loved one who was lost to the disease.Organizers Dan Wouri and Ashley Allyn said last week that fewer teams have signed up for the fourth annual Relay. The upward trend over the last three years had been amazing, however, and set a high level of expectation. Experience has also shown that many people will come out during the event to make donations and participate in some of the numerous ways available. “We have about 200 people signed up on teams,” Wouri said. “That’s pretty low for us. We have 32 teams, some with only one person. We were up to more than 40 teams [in previous years].” They particularly hope that area residents will sign up for the CSP-3 survey that the Northwest Corner Relay has been selected to participate in. The American Cancer Society chooses areas where the response to Relay for Life has been especially passionate. That kind of commitment is needed for the success of the survey, which spans multiple years. It is the third in a series that began in the 1950s.The survey questionnaires are sent out by mail and are simple, anonymous and few and far between. But they provide vital research information for the cancer society.Participation begins with a registration process on June 4 from 3 to 7 p.m. Participants need to be between the ages of 30 and 65, without a prior cancer diagnosis. Participants do not have to live in Connecticut. No appointment is needed.The goal is to register 160 participants; the Cancer Society is looking for a minimum of 128. So far, about 50 people have registered.It is not necessary to register ahead of June 4, but doing so will help ensure enough supplies are on hand.“Numbers are down for all the relays that have been held so far this year,” Wouri said. “We need to get people out there and show them what we’re made of.”Relay for Life is an all-nighter for many. Teams are supposed to keep members on the track at all times. It begins June 4 at 2 p.m. with lots of festive activities. Walking begins with special laps that recognize those battling cancer, survivors and caregivers. Themed laps will be held throughout the Relay.There is a dinner for cancer patients and their families. There will be a bounce house, face-painting and massages.The Steven Dunn Band will be among the live performers.Always the most moving portion is the lighting of the luminarias, purchased in honor or memory of cancer patients, which will encircle the track. At dark on Saturday, about 9 p.m., the luminarias are lit and walkers parade around the field with candles.There are lots of ways to connect and keep up with Relay information. To register for the CPS-3 survey, or for information on forming a team and other ways to help, contact dan0462@yahoo.com or 09ALALLY@alma.edu.There is also www.relayfor life.org/housatonicvalleyct and a Facebook page at Housatonic Valley Relay for Life.
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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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