MILLBROOK — Community members gathered on the lawn of the Thorne Building to witness the lightening of the menorah in celebration of Hanukkah on Wednesday, Dec. 21. It was the third annual celebration here. Rabbi Hanoch Hecht from the Rhinebeck Jewish Center lit two candles on the public menorah for the second day of Hanukkah. Hecht followed the lighting by leading the attendees in Hebrew prayers and Jewish songs. The ceremony was followed by hot latkes, apple cider, doughnuts and singing at the Parish Hall of Grace Church. Hecht gave a brief history of why Hanukkah is celebrated.“Hanukkah is the celebration that Jewish people celebrate of the triumph of good over evil,” said Hecht. “As the Hellenistic Greeks went into Jerusalem and defiled the temple, they made certain laws forbidding Jewish people to follow the practice [of their religion]. The Maccabee Jewish warriors got together and were able to defeat the unbelievably huge Greek army. When this took place they went into the hidden temple and they only found one jug of oil left that still had the seal of the holy priest.”Hecht said the Jewish people went to light the oil for the one night but the oil burned for eight days and nights instead. From that year on, Jewish people started celebrating an eight-day festival of Hanukkah, everyday kindling one more light on the menorah. Hecht said that’s why Jewish people traditionally eat food fried in oil, such as doughnuts and latkes during the holiday, because it symbolizes the miracle of the oil.“It’s a great celebration, and it’s a celebration that shows a level of religious freedom because here the Hellenistic Greeks, headed by the king, wanted to abolish Jewish religions,” said Hecht. “Here we are able to live on and that’s a beautiful thing to stand here in Millbrook as well as other places that have Hanukkah and public menorah lightings to show that we are proud to celebrate this wonderful holiday.”The lighting of the Millbrook menorah was organized by the Millbrook Chanukah Committee, which includes Sheldon Lobel, Adele Lobel, Joan Blanksteen and Steven Peter. The pastor of Grace Church, Doug Fisher, came up with the idea of having the attendees come to the Grace Church Parish Hall after the ceremony for food and singing. Between 30 to 50 people attended.“We wanted the Jewish people to have something in the community, and this event commemorates the holidays,” said Sheldon Lobel. “They only had oil for one night but it lasted eight nights; it was like a miracle. Everyone can get involved in the festivities, with the singing of songs, eating latkes and doughnuts. It’s a fun time.”
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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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