POETRY IN THE HOUSE ON FATHER'S DAY & MORE MUSIC!!!

Father's Day was not just a beautiful day outside, but also a stimulating and enjoyable day indoors...at The Rat, The National Hotel's cellar pub. What a great way to spend a Sunday, enjoying the People's Poetry (our poetry open mic, now officially the 3rd Sunday of EVERY month!). It was supposed to be just 2 hours (2 p.m. - 4 p.m.), but we had so many participants, so many poets "in the house," that it ran past that hour, and everyone happily lingered until the last poet read the final poem of the day. We had writers reading poems that dated back to their school days, to others sharing poems remembering their fathers in honor of Father's Day, to poems about deeply moving and personal topics, life-altering experiences, and tragic losses. From laughter to having a knot in your throat after listening to some of the poems, the People's Poetry did NOT disappoint.

I'm uploading some webclips and more photos to share in another blogpost, of last Sunday's People's Poetry. Next time...

We're nearly a week away from The National Palooza, an all-day live music celebration in honor of The National Hotel's 160th anniversary and its "official" grand opening. Each day that passes, brings us closer to this special day, Saturday, July 3rd. Pete and I can hardly believe that it's been nearly one year since we signed the papers that put this grand old lady of a building in our hands. Nearly one year since our lives changed course and we experienced a new dimension--a new depth--to how we became a part of the fabric of the community of Frenchtown. This community, this circle of friends that is always open and welcoming of outsiders, has filled our days and nights with stories, laughter, and wonderful challenges that have allowed us to demonstrate to ourselves and those around us, the value of integrity and character. That is the essence of The National Hotel--it's all about the community, the people who fill its many rooms. This has been a unique part of its history, and today, its future.

[Ray McGeehan]

The artistic community in Frenchtown and the surrounding areas, have brought the arts to the building, very organically, not forced, not conjured. See what some of the artists who have participated in the many cultural programs offered at The National Hotel have shared with us:

[Chuck Schaeffer and the Chuck Wagon]

[Jeffrey Fadden--Guitar, & Suzan Bartels, Marie Scodari, Lori Ingwerson, and Ren Porter--vocalists]

[Jay Wilensky and Marie Trontell]

Mark your calendar for more music--12 hours of it!!--on July 3rd. As the day nears, we remember the months it took to take the boards off the facade of the building, clean and restore, polish the brass and bring the bar back to its splendor. We remember the many, many friends and neighbors who helped us, who stopped by to help clean, to plant flowers, to weed, to provide professional assistance here and there. We remember the break-neck pace at which we renovated and restored, fortunately mostly cosmetic at the core, but the weeks that became months, until November 3rd rolled around, and we quietly, without any fanfare or comprehensive marketing plan, opened our doors.

Then: And Now:

July 3rd will mark eight months to the day, eight months of having our establishment breathing, welcoming new patrons and old friends, eight months of sharing our lives together. Even today, when I had scheduled a meeting with one of our very first supporters, Chris Poh, editor of American Public House Review and Pub Talk, at 8:30 p.m. and he called to confirm but also to alert me that it might be later than that...he said, "I know you like to be home for your children, so if tonight doesn't work for you, perhaps we can find an earlier time another day to meet." This is why I know that our friends, our patrons, are so in tune with our lives. They know that we are parents and that our children come first. They know that I can do certain things from home, by computer, or in the building during the day, but that Pete is always on hand, every day, to make sure all the details are looked after, all the pieces falling into place. Our patrons know that Pete is in the building not because he has to be there, but because he just loves being there. He loves the conversation, the energy, the spirit of community.

So on July 3rd, The National Hotel will pull all the elements that are important front and center: great food, live music, companionship, and drinks to boot. Oh, and let's not forget about the 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. dancing-under-the-stars session. Right there, in our back area--the parking lot will be converted into a tent-covered area, where people can dance, eat, drink, and just enjoy a wonderful Saturday in Frenchtown. And why not stay 'til the bitter end: bring in July 4th and help us celebrate our great nation's Independence Day as we close out The National Palooza.

Do call 908.996.3200 or email Pete (pete@thenationalhotelnj.com) directly for information on tickets or day's performers. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Frenchtown National Night Out over the summer.

The National Palooza will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, quickly followed by numerous live performances, including Chuck Schaeffer and the Chuck Wagon, Top Soil, Rainbow Fresh, among other local entertainers, that are sure to delight and bring people out to the dance floor.

The National Palooza is an outgrowth of The National Hotel's cultural events, including a weekly Open Mic Night on Thursdays in our Rathskeller Pub and our Sunday Musical Afternoon series, in addition to our poetry open mic (The People's Poetry) the 3rd Sunday of every month, in addition to other cultural events (e.g., dinner theater in July, Boxing with Gaia) in conjunction with River Union Stage. It's going to be a great way to start the 2010 summer season!!!

We hope you'll join us for these events, and make The National Hotel a place where you can feel comfortable, connect with great friends, and enrich your lives with the talent that so many artists are willing to share with all of us. Share your thoughts here by posting a comment if you have a minute, or send us suggestions/ideas for future events or activities you'd like to bring to the table. Talk soon...

Poetry Open Mic, Music, and More!

Sunday was a beautiful day. Sunny, flowers blooming...oh yeah, still can't get over Kristine Marinelli's ability to keep this hidden from me for so many months...beautiful cars driving slowly

by, taking in the sights and enjoying a spring day on Race Street in Frenchtown.

How appropriate that it's National Poetry Month and that The National Hotel would be carried into the month by the hands of those who write and read poetry, who took the time to organize, arrange, and participate in our first Poetry Open Mic.

We had the most amazing weekend at The National Hotel. When Pete and I started planning upcoming events, we had our “wish list.” Among them was our Open Mic Night where music would fill our grand old building. Another “wish” was to have poetry readings, so that local artists could have a venue where they could feel free to share their creative talent, express themselves, and enlighten those of us fortunate enough to be in the room listening.

However, Pete nor I could ever have envisioned the support we received from the community, and especially from our local Frenchtonians. Between Alex Wolfson, Banjo Bill, and Jesse Ketchel (among others stepping in & out of the picture when there were conflicts with schedules) taking the lead in organizing and hosting our Thursday Open Mic Nights, to now having Skye Van Saun (a poet, editor, author and teacher) with her partner in crime in this undertaking, John Smith (a Hunterdon County high school teacher and poet), to organize and host our monthly Sunday afternoon Poetry Open Mic, Pete and I are in awe of just how fortunate we are. As my mom said,

“How appropriate to carry forward the tradition of the arts that have been a center-point of The National Hotel for more than a century and a half. Writers put on paper what we all feel, what we wish we could say, what needs to be shared. What a wonderful experience to share with everyone.”

What’s next on our wish list? You’ll have to keep checking-in.

Our Poetry Open Mic launched this past Sunday with very little fan fare, no media coverage, no e-invites, no special planning…just Skye and John putting up flyers all over Frenchtown, and verbally mentioning it to people. How amazing to walk downstairs on Sunday at 2 p.m. and find that 10 people were already sitting in The Rathskeller Pub Lounge. And by 2:45, we had 40 people…STANDING ROOM ONLY!

The power of the written word, recited for all to hear, was mesmerizing. The beauty of the angst, the pain, the humor, and the tales of love lost, love gained, and love shared in a mere two hours of poetry readings, left us trying to figure out just what we’ve done right in some past life to deserve an afternoon filled with creative treasures within our reach. As Julie Andrews sang in The Sound of Music, “I must have done something good…"

The joy of listening to writers read their works, and to readers who read others’ poems that resonated deeply and profoundly with them, is a very personal experience. For both Pete and for me, poetry and the arts are a necessary part of life. Pete shared with Skye how his mom used to read poetry to him as a child. She is a wonderful poet, orator and has a memory for sharing stories and poems that is astounding. Pete can credit much of his ability to tell stories like no one else I’ve ever heard, to his mom. (Take that with a grain of salt, because he is my husband, but I really do feel that way). My own mom is a published author in my home country, Chile. To this day, I find poems, words, written and scribbled on scraps of paper near her bed when I visit her. Every time I read them, I can hear her voice and see the beauty of things through her eyes. Poetry has been a part of her life since her youth, and she always made it a part of my brother’s life and my own. Our daughter, Shiara, participated in a poetry anthology workshop in her old school in New York City, PS 6, The Lillie Devereaux Blake School. Her teacher submitted the work to the Anthology of Poetry book series, where her poem was published, which delighted my mom most of all. And our youngest, Laina, has a way of capturing the essence of what she sees in just a few words. I think her favorite poet to date is Shel Silverstein, and his book "A Light in the Attic." Wait till they both get to Edgar Allan Poe—I’ll need to take them to the famed street on the Upper West Side of New York City, where Poe lived and worked for many years and where Edgar's Cafe now stands in the spot where Poe had his farm nearly 200 years ago, at 255 W. 84th St. And what about Robert Frost…oh, there are so many wonderful writers and poets.

And oh, how many wonderful writers and poets abound in Frenchtown! If you joined us, you know that what I’m saying is the absolute truth. If you missed it, be sure to join us next month for the next installment. You missed witnessing young men, barely at the start of their 20s, filling the room with stories about their first true love or heartache, followed by a more “mature” poet, spilling her heart out about her ex-husband, or another one about her dead husband; the age range and depth of content was incredible. I created a little vignette of the poetry that was read on Sunday, can be found at the bottom of this post and on youtube too, but if you want to hear the entire poems, you'll need to join us next month!

It reminded me of the nights I’ve been in The Rathskeller with Pete and how we enjoy listening to the conversations of the 22 year-old customer talking with the person next to him who is 50 years his senior—but both are enjoying the same vibe and rhythm of conversation. Only in Frenchtown. Only at The National Hotel.

This was followed by yet another appearance of The Jericho Mountain Grass (“The Grass”), who wowed a room-full of diners with their new-age grass tunes and unique sound. It was a pleasure seeing them again following their last appearance in February. Our two daughters called it “foot-stomping happy” music…how true! Check out the YouTube clip for a little glimpse on The Grass's performance this past Sunday.

That’s what can happen at The National Hotel. This building is unique. It’s an institution. It’s a gathering place for all and a hub for town events—better yet, life events. This great old lady of a building creates the ambiance, the “seductive atmosphere” that a patron described just two weeks ago. She couldn’t get over how the building seemed to be alive, to draw people, to be inclusive and inviting. She found the entire building, with its historic charm to be a “seductive atmosphere.” You gotta love that! How fantastic that Pete and I are along for the ride.

Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment, share a story, ask a question. Pete and I hope to see you soon, at The National Hotel. You never know. Pete might take the microphone next…