Saturday, October 24, 2015

Halloween Fun Starting Today including a Paranormal Night on Thursday and an Annual Halloween Party Next Saturday

Have you ever felt like time literally slips through your fingers? How one day becomes one week, and suddenly you are playing catch-up with things? Well, that's the only down-side to life these days, because the flip-side is that life truly is amazing in Frenchtown! There's just so much to do, so many ways to feel connected to the community and be a part of the amazing "fast-casual" and yet, excitingly chic life of our little hidden gem, that sometimes my writing just takes a backseat. Or at least, the writing that I'm willing to post...

So after a long and beautiful summer, the leaves are finally transforming into a museum-quality painting with their beautiful autumn colors. Did you know that when the Hudson River School masters first showed their 19th century landscape paintings in Englad, people there thought the paintings were fake? The colors of the leaves in the UK during the fall foliage season do not turn the myriad colors we see from bright orange and red to even purple. Interestingly, CBS Sunday Morning featured a story about this less than a week ago:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/art-show-with-something-old-something-new
As beautiful as the Hudson River area is, I truly see beauty that is unparalleled right here, right in our own backyard by just taking a stroll to the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park (a.k.a. the tow path) that runs parallel to the Delaware River. Some of the photos that have been posted on facebook that are just minutes from Frenchtown are incredible! There are hiking trails, picnic spots, camping sites, and all are open to everyone. What an amazing place to live!
Photo courtesy of Gaetano DeSapio
On a selfish note, we at The National Hotel, have a lot happening this week. From live music featuring Chris Bauer tomorrow from 5-7 pm in our Restaurant and Bar, to the launch of our new fall menu on Tuesday--and to a special homage to our National Wine Club members, by opening up a special selection of our wines to everyone for ONE WEEK ONLY, all at 50% off!!--to a special on-site internet broadcast on Thursday, October 29th (8-10 pm) by Unknown Origins Radio,
where everyone is welcome & invited to come in and share their paranormal experiences, memories, and stories, followed by our Halloween-themed Open Mic Night in The Rathskeller Pub (a.k.a. The Rat), to, of course, our annual Halloween Celebration featuring one of our faves, Rainbow Fresh on Saturday, October 31st! Join us for special drinks and fun starting at 4 pm, with music starting at 9 pm. Prizes for best costumes will be awarded towards the end of the night. These is a Frenchtown tradition now, so make sure to mark your calendars!!



And beyond activities at The National Hotel, Frenchtown itself has tons of activities from a Zombie Crawl in town that kicks off later today, to special events like:


  • The Book Garden’s World Explorers Kids Club that welcomes Laurie Wallmark, author of Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine on October 25th. 
  • Even our local High School (DVRHS) has a special event, when Emmy-winning CNN correspondent and writer, Tom Foreman, makes a special appearance on Tuesday, October 27th, on his run (yes, on foot) from Maryland to NYC to participate in the NYC Marathon in early November. The event is co-sponsored by The Book Garden and the Delaware Valley Education Foundation (DVEF). Ticket admission includes a signed copy of his book and benefits our local HS kids.
  • The events culminate on Friday, October 30th in a Halloween Parade sponsored by the American Legion awarding prizes for best costumes and providing snacks and refreshments!



This is absolute proof-positive that Frenchtown is the center of the universe...in my mind...because we are so accessible from Philly, from Princeton, from NYC, and elsewhere. Just take a look at the reviews from our overnight guests who continue to return, year after year. There's truly something special about Frenchtown. And for those guests, boy do we have special activities planned too...

And of course, thank you to so many of you who continue to join us every week for our weekly activities, including:
  • Open Mic Night every Thursday
  • Karaoke every Wednesday
  • Trivia Night every other Tuesday
  • Saturday Night Live Music in The Rat
We're incredibly grateful also to those of you who have stopped by on Monday nights now that The Rat is open from 5 pm - midnight (drinks only). It's great to have a little time to catch up with friends in a low-stress atmosphere that allows everyone to decompress after the 1st day of the work week has begun: Monday Madness at its best! (And Happy Hour from 5 - 7 pm doesn't hurt either!!)

Please continue to send us your comments via email or on this blog. We look forward to seeing you soon at The National Hotel. Thank you for your continued patronage.

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