Gather around on the Palmer Square Green to sing holiday songs from 5 to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24.
The Palmer Square Christmas Eve Brass Band will lead the festivities, and attendees can expect a special visit from Santa after caroling. This event is free and open to the public, so bring the whole family to the Square at 40 Nassau Street. more
End the holiday season in celebration by joining the Arts Council of Princeton on Saturday, January 4 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., for a special dance performance at the Fiesta del Día de Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. Three Kings Day is celebrated throughout the world to mark the culmination of the 12 days of Christmas. This live dance performance by the Arts Council’s flamenco program, led by Lisa Botalico, will feature multiple dance numbers as you learn about this cultural holiday.
Tickets are $10. All proceeds benefit Arts Council community programming.
The Arts Council of Princeton is located at 102 Witherspoon Street, and tickets can be purchased here.
This holiday season, consider donating to HomeFront, toward a community where all families thrive.
The nonprofit, based in Lawrence Township, says, “We know that when we all succeed, when all families are thriving, our community is stronger. Your support of HomeFront is more than a donation, it is an investment in making this vision a reality. Because of you, HomeFront served 30,676 individuals this year, each with unique stories.” more
Decorate your own gingerbread house for the holiday season at Morven Museum & Garden at the Gingerbread House Decorating and Family Night on Wednesday, December 18, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Stockton Education Center, 55 Stockton Street.
Inspired by the holiday decorations that adorn Morven each year, create your own unique gingerbread house and explore the magic of the Festival of Trees with the whole family. more
Trenton Patriots Week 2024 returns December 25 with a variety of special events, including the 72nd annual Christmas Day Delaware River Crossing, reenactments of the first and second Battles of Trenton, a Colonial Ball, and a planetarium show that re-creates the stars lighting up the sky in December 1776.
The events, all taking place between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, are free to attend unless indicated; many requiring advanced registration. Visit patriotsweek.com for details.
Festivities kick off with the annual Christmas Day Delaware River crossing reenactment on December 25 from 12 to 3 p.m., when several hundred reenactors in Continental military dress will row across the river from Pennsylvania to New Jersey in replica Durham boats. The actual crossing will be at 1 p.m., but it is recommended that attendees arrive by 11:30 a.m. for good viewing positions. Admission is free. more
Hammerstein types while sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the porch of Highland Farm. (Photo courtesy of Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center)
The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center in Doylestown, Pa., has received its first historically significant gift — two of the iconic rocking chairs used on the porch of Highland Farm, the 1940-1960 family home of the lyricist who wrote Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and other groundbreaking musicals.
The chairs were a gift from Ted Chapin, the former president and chief creative officer of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization for 30 years and a member of the museum’s honorary advisory board.
Chapin worked for Hammerstein’s son and was given two of the chairs from Highland Farm used by the lyricist, but decided they belonged at the museum. One chair has been placed on display for house tours this month. more
Dear Readers,
As 2024 comes to a close, Americans are emotionally strained from the threats to our democracy, catastrophic hurricanes fueled by global warming, and concerns that wider wars are on the horizon.
I look forward to the promise of a new year, in hope that we can find strength in unity as we work towards resolving difficult conflicts, launching new initiatives, and responsibly rebuilding communities that are vulnerable to climate change disasters.
Instead of using this letter to provide insight into stories, I am taking the opportunity to announce my retirement as Editor-In-Chief of Witherspoon Media Group, and to share a bit of my own personal journey. It is a Princeton-centric story driven by family, perseverance, and fate.
After 27 years of working at Town Topics newspaper and 15 years of publishing Princeton Magazine, it’s time for me to step away. There are many people I want to thank but I need to begin with the early days, when Jeb Stuart and Bob Hillier expressed their trust and confidence in me.
Interviews by Donald H. Sanborn III and Lynn Adams Smith | Stained glass by Tiffany Studios
Lance Liverman was born and raised in Princeton and met his wife and raised their three children here. The owner of Liverman Associates real estate company, he served on the Princeton Township Committee and Princeton Council for 15 years, and on numerous boards for and in Princeton. He has been of service for decades to First Baptist Church of Princeton on John Street.
I am thankful for so many things. Let’s begin with the basic items we take for granted. I am thankful for life. The list goes on and we must include family (especially my wife and children), friends, church members, neighbors, mentors, dedicated work contractors, and great tenants.
I am grateful for the many residents of Princeton that continue to have their hands open to help others. Princeton is a loving and giving community. It’s easy to pass the blame to others for not helping. But in Princeton, I am so grateful to all of the people and organizations that help our less fortunate.
My belief is you can measure the greatness of a town by how that town helps the less fortunate. Princeton is truly trying and the accomplishments are proof of a caring town. I am thankful to live in Princeton.
I am hoping that 2025 brings all of us peace and prosperity in health, finances, family relationships, and a renewed spirit of volunteering. My dream is that no child in the world, but especially in Princeton, would go to bed hungry and that everyone who wants housing will find housing at the rate they can afford to pay.
By Laurie Pellichero
The recent opening of the Graduate by Hilton Princeton hotel on Chambers Street and the long-awaited reopening of Triumph Restaurant & Brewery in its new location on Palmer Square have brought more delicious culinary options for area diners and beyond.
Here we meet their chefs, who also share some of their favorite recipes. more
By Ilene Dube | Photos by Jeffrey E. Tryon and Halkin/Mason Photography
For nearly 30 years, Fay and David Sciarra would drive to Stockton, with its rolling vistas and farmland, to spend time with their friend David Holman. Holman, once a sought-after New York City interior designer, retreated to the countryside when his passions veered toward restoring old homes and estates. In the 18th-century stone farmhouse he lived in, it was more about preserving it as it was. “He wanted to keep its integrity and charm,” recounts Fay.
Holman lavished his attention on the garden, and when the Sciarras came to visit he would take them on tours of his perennials. It was from Holman, Fay says, that she learned everything she knows about gardening. more
By Stuart Mitchner
With the holiday season in mind, I’ve been surveying a formidable array of luxury coffee table books published by Abrams, Assouline, Phaidon, and Tachsen. My reason for beginning with Abrams isn’t merely alphabetical; it’s because the renowned poet, screenwriter, and novelist Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima mon amour) wrote the introduction to Yves Saint Laurent: Icons of Fashion Design & Photography (Abrams 2020).
While the Abrams press release calls the book “a gorgeous homage to the uncrowned king of haute couture,” Duras offers something more compelling. How does Saint Laurent go about doing what made him designer royalty? The penultimate paragraph of her introduction, from a 1987 essay, begins: “It is like a road. From the night of the intellect comes forth a road and to start the journey down that road one word is needed, or two: ‘hips,’ let us say, and ‘strut.’ Then the hips sway into motion along the road and the rest comes after: legs, arms, the top of the body — they rise out of those sinuous hips swathed in pink, the rest black or a wild blue or a secret red they call amarante, from Cayenne, like the flowers of the same name, like people, like Rimbaud, like Mozart.” more
By Laurie Pellichero | Art by Linda Zacks
“The world is a treasure hunt, and a box of 64 crayons is like a 24-carat diamond.”
—Linda Zacks
The moment you enter the Princeton home of Linda Zacks, you are surrounded by brightly colored art, eclectic treasures, and creative energy. more
By Taylor Smith | Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.com
Every year, the Earth undergoes changes in weather and seasons. Sometimes these are extreme (like eight months of biting winds in the taiga forests of Canada) or brief and subtle (a couple months of 50-to-60-degree temperatures in the southern U.S.).
Many animals react to these changes as a means of self-preservation. While the term hibernation is familiar to most, many would be surprised to learn that very few species actually sleep non-stop for the entire winter. Instead, most are experiencing torpor, a state of reduced physiological activity that includes lower metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature. more
By Taylor Smith | Images by Shutterstock.com
The last few years have brought significant advances in many areas of medical care. From artificial intelligence to revised treatments, tests, vaccines, therapies, and more, research continues to produce often life-changing impacts on those affected by a variety of illnesses and conditions.
In fact, one of the benefits of living in the modern age is that the latest technology can help everything from skin growth in burn victims to spinal cord stimulation in those who have suffered paralysis from a stroke. Following are some recent breakthroughs. more
Portrait of John Notman by Samuel Bell Waugh, 1845. (Wikipedia)
By Anne Levin
For two months last summer, an exhibit about architect John Notman was on view at Princeton Public Library. “John Notman: All the Presidents’ Houses” was small, but significant — so much so that it was moved to the building’s lobby during Princeton Reunions weekend, the annual Princeton University event that brings thousands to town.
Those alumni were likely familiar with the four buildings in the show — the Walter Lowrie House (1845) on Stockton Street, which is home to the president of the University; Prospect House (1851) , today a dining club on campus for University faculty and staff; Guernsey Hall (1852) in Marquand Park, which was eventually divided into condominiums; and Springdale (1851), the Mercer Street home to the president of Princeton Theological Seminary. Three of the buildings are Italianate in style. Springdale, described as “cottage Gothic,” is the only outlier. more
By Wendy Greenberg | Photos courtesy of PACF
When John Hatch and David Henderson attended Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey’s performance of Trenton-born composer George Antheil’s Ballet Mecanique and other compositions at the Roebling Machine Shop this past spring, with the Trenton Circus Squad charming audiences at intermissions, they were “ecstatic.”
As advisors of the Trenton Arts Fund through the Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF), Hatch and Henderson had played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing the festive evening to fruition, and as Trenton residents they could see their generosity in action. more
Shop Small Business Saturday in Princeton at stores like the independent The Cloak & Dagger Bookshop, 349 Nassau Street, on November 30. All over Princeton small businesses are preparing to celebrate Small Business Saturday with specials and events. Check Experience Princeton’s website for special promotions as the day approaches at experienceprinceton.org.
At Cloak and Dagger, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., all in-store book purchases at the mystery bookshop will be discounted by 10 percent when the customer says “I love small shops” at checkout. more
Wander on winding paths through a dazzling winter wonderland surrounded by the glow of a million colorful lights that has been called one of the “most ‘Instagrammable’ spots.”
December Enchanted Evenings, on weeknights December 2 through December 30 at Peddler’s Village, give visitors the chance to enjoy after-dark entertainment on select evenings and the opportunity to take photos and stroll the village when it is less crowded than it often is on holiday weekends.
Enjoy 60-plus small shops and boutiques with one-of-a-kind gifts, tasty food and beverages, and music played throughout the village. See a stunning display of 100 gingerbread creations, and the Tunnel of Lights.
Shops are open until 9 p.m. Restaurants are open for dinner, and the lights will remain on until 10 p.m. Parking and admission are free. more
Get ready for the 250th anniversary of America’s independence by connecting with the “ghosts” of the Founding Fathers. Every month, channel your inner George Washington and lead your friends and family to Princeton for a ghost tour and paranormal experience like none other.
The next Patriots Ghost Tour and Paranormal Experience led by Princeton Tour Company is on Friday, November 30 at 7 p.m.
On the two-hour tour, you and your troops will see locations including Aaron Burr Jr.’s childhood home, where Alexander Hamilton shot that famous cannonball; Princeton’s Tea Party; and the nation’s first Capitol and White House. There is more to learn while investigating these historic “hot spots” to connect with our famous founders. The cost is $38 per participant. more
