Irish Eyes Smile in March

While I usually discourse on Halloween, I have been noticing the many amazing displays that celebrate the wearing of the green and bring out the Celtic in all of us.

Maybe it is the cold snowy March driving people to visions of rainbows or the stress of tax time that has people thinking green, but this year has been a particularly active one for St. Patty’s Day decorators.

Here are some highlights:

We start our tour of St. Patrick’s Day décor with this reveling mailbox holder.  I can’t put a finger on why this out-of-place-in-NJ sea cow holding a mailbox amuses me.  However, when its stewards dress it for holidays it is taken to the next level and I cannot help but smile.  The only thing that could make this more engaging is an accompanying flock of yard geese in complimentary attire.

photo by: R.D. Brookes

Bear with me; I am sliding toward the sublime.

Cruising through the neighborhoods of Hunterdon County I spotted a number of other honorable mentions.  These include the house for all holidays on Sandhill with green plywood cutouts of Shamrocks and Leprechauns on the lawn (a future column in this blog will feature this lawn’s Halloween extravaganza).

Another sight, and inspiration for this blog, was found in Frenchtown where a cast iron kettle hanging from a tripod—the kind that will soon have spring flowers growing in it-has been adorned to look like a pot of gold.

However, the grand dame of St. Patrick’s Day displays is found indoors and comes from a Grand Dame.  Mitchell’s Café in Lambertville is a distinguished place located at 11 ½ Church Street.  It has been a bar since the 1860’s and came to be in the hands of the Bishop family about 100 years after its opening.  Mitchell’s is a timeless space that could transport you to an Irish public house any night of the year, but March is a special time when the Leprechauns are let out to play by the barkeep, Carol Bishop. 

The impressive display of eclectic decorations run the gamut from Byers' Choice dolls to wreaths filled with Shamrocks.  It is enough to make all eyes smile, Irish or not.  Here are some favorites.

Frosty bedecked with beads

Byers' Choice Dolls

What could improve such a scene? Just one thing a Guinness Stout poured into the perfect glass by Carol Bishop.

One of a number of wreaths

If Mitchell’s Café sounds enticing you can learn more about it from, dear friend, Chris Poh at the Pub Talk blog:  https://aphr.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/mind-your-manners-lads-theres-a-lady-in-the-house/

Mitchell’s is also home to one of the longest running Irish Sessions in the U.S. check out the American Public House Review article here: http://americanpublichousereview.com/2007.10/mitchells_cafe_lambertville_nj/index.html

A moving tribute

It is time to bid you adieu so that I might attend to the visions of bunnies hopping in my head. Until next time, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Erin go Bragh!

Wearing the green

Oh Sweet Terror!

Not only is this the season of mocking our fears, but it is also the season of candy. Sure sweet treats are important to a lot of holidays, but, given our modern celebration's ties to beggars night, they are the superstars of Halloween. It is no surprise, then, that candy stores are some of the first places to decorate for the season.

Here's a no brainer, Lambertville's La Chocolate Box, has its window filled with vintage-look cat and pumpkin-head figures.  They also have black branches woven with a black bulb light string to create a spooky thicket against the glass while black vines and bats lead to the ceiling where a dark canopy awaits.

Minette's Candies in Frenchtown, has kept it seasonal with hay bales and artificial squashes including Rouge Vif D' Etampes pumpkins--the preference of Cinderella's fairy Godmother.  It is look that can work from September through November with a little tweaking.  Here the scene takes an eerie bend with the addition of a black light tree and crows.  Amazing how one simple addition makes the difference between fall and Halloween.

The Goody Bag & Basket Company in New Hope, PA has never been a shrinking violet when it comes to the macabre.  Here they show off a split personality with a warm orange window and a sinister green window. The former with autumnal decorations and Jelly Bellies. The latter features everybody's favorite green, electrified, Victorian monster and old favorites like Pop Rocks, wax fangs and licorice pipes.  I like the juxtaposition of the two seasonal windows.

Where do I find brilliance?  All these windows make great use of vertical elements, the vines in Lambertville, the tree in Frenchtown and Frankenstein with green lights in New Hope, that move the eye both up and down to take in the entire scene rather than keeping the elements at normal eye-level.  Although it is difficult to see in the pictures they also suspended things from their respective ceilings which is great way to get more elements into your scene and make it more robust.  Additionally, everybody was well merchandised with smaller thematic items.

Don't let these frightful windows scare you off, take a trip downtown and see how your own Main Street is celebrating this season. While you are there you may want to pick up some sweet indulgences for yourself, how much is between you and your dentist.

A Walk in Lambertville

Let's face it, on any fair-weather day or evening, Lambertville, NJ is a great urban hike.  Lambertville is home to numerous historic homes and buildings that have been meticulously restored and adaptively reused.  It also contains numerous bars, restaurants and inns overlooking the gentle flow of the Delaware River.

However, when October rolls around, Lambertville takes on an additional persona.  It becomes a Halloween city.  Private residences are bedecked with ghouls and goblins then bathed in black light in celebration of the spooky holiday.

Earlier this month I took a walk through the streets of Lambertville while many of the standout exhibits were being assembled by their creators.  Below are some examples of brilliance that I found in a few short blocks.

First up: this resident took the typical sheet ghost to the next level by creating a faceless specter.  What a cool way to imagine a ghost.  He or she also made sure the ghost was accessorized with skeletal hands clutching chains and a lantern.

This Frankenstein-green house has made the most of its structure by using the door to display a mural of the body of the revived monster.  The head is above the door; presumably trick-or-treaters will enter through the belly of the beast.

This Victorian inn has gone skeletal.  These popular, poseable, plastic skeletons have been making the rounds—not surprising considering they are weather proof and light weight.  I find brilliance here because the designer dismantled one of the skeletons and used the upper and lower sections separately for comedic effect.

Some other standouts include: a haunt based on Van Gogh’s (or is it Van Ghost’s) Starry Night (not pictured)—I would have never even thought of that as a theme; and a pirate ship on a deck (not pictured)—which is an excellent exploration of theme.

Of course, no tour of Lambertville in October would be complete without a stop at the home of Dolores Dragan on North Union Street.  This spectacular black light installation grows annually.  It was even filmed for TLC’s Four Houses in 2012.  This celebrated home does not need me to gush over its genius, but this haunt is the complete package and well worth the trip.

If you have an evening free between now and Halloween: don comfortable walking shoes, grab a flashlight, park on the edge of town, and to spend an hour or two enjoying the sights.  While you are there make a night out of it by trying one the restaurants, coffee shops or public houses. 

For more information about fun activities in Lambertville and along the Delaware River check out: http://delawarerivertowns.com/.

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