Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Winter/Holiday issue of Princeton Magazine.
The beautiful cover photograph is of a stained-glass window at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Hopewell. It is one of many featured in Sarah Teo’s article on “Regional Churches with Rich Histories,” for which she visited and photographed lesser-known area churches with an emphasis on their stories and stained-glass windows.
In advance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or Semiquincentennial, next year, Wendy Greenberg takes an in-depth look at Gen. George Washington’s December 25, 1776 crossing of the Delaware River and its annual reenactments. There are plenty of related activities on both sides of the river this December, along with a replica Durham boat being built at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia and a new Visitors Center under construction in Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville.
Semiquincentennial is such a long word, I’m sure it’s going to show up in many spelling bees in the next few years.
Don Sanborn is a terrific writer, and here he tells us about American Repertory Ballet’s The Nutcracker and its annual return to McCarter Theatre. He goes behind the scenes of the production, as well as the history of the famous ballet that is performed all over the world.
Jeff Tryon’s festive layout also features historic prints and sketches of past costume designs, and photographs of the ballet from long ago.
American Repertory Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker will also be presented at the Two River Theater in Red Bank and the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick. Other area productions are also noted at the end of the article.
Everyone is very excited about the new Princeton University Art Museum opening in the center of the campus. Regardless of the various comments about it architecturally, once you get inside, it is a spectacular space with an outstanding museum gift shop with a lot more than just souvenirs.
Anne Levin’s article on the rich offerings at museum gift shops takes us there, as well as to shops at Morven Museum & Garden, Ellarslie, the Penn Museum, the New Jersey State Museum, the Michener Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and others where you can find unique gifts this holiday season and year-round.
Don Gilpin, a longtime writer for Princeton Magazine and Town Topics, is retiring, and for his final article for the magazine he has written about HomeFront, the nonprofit that is dedicated to eradicating homelessness in Central New Jersey and helping families break the cycle of poverty. HomeFront offers many programs for its clients, and opportunities for community members to volunteer and donate.
For holiday shopping, I recommend that you go to their Treasure Trove thrift store on West Broad Street in Hopewell. You can buy some great gifts at a very good price. You can also donate items that you don’t want anymore in support of HomeFront.
Merry Christmas to HomeFront and congratulations to Don on his retirement.
Of course, no holiday season is complete without entertaining, and Mary Abitanto provides tips to celebrate the holidays in style. She is not only a spectacular chef, but she also takes her own beautiful photos, which are featured throughout the layout.
Check out the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Squares. The other thing that caught my eye is the Savory Sweet Potato Casserole. Enjoy what Mary has brought you for the holidays.
Our Holiday Wish List pages feature fun, mostly local items curated by Sarah Teo. They are artfully presented by our intern, Stephanie Tan, who has done a fantastic job of putting the gift items together.
Ilene Dube’s wonderful story about writer A.M. Homes shows how she finds humor in unlikely places. Besides her numerous novels and memoirs, Homes has done many great things, including public art in New York’s Times Square and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
She is currently the acting director of the Princeton University Department of Creative Writing and has a fascinating background that also includes playwriting.
Stuart Mitchner’s Book Scene celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with a plethora of books on the writer who is more popular than ever after all these years. It’s amazing all the research that Stuart does for his articles in Princeton Magazine and Town Topics, and I can’t tell you how fortunate we are to have him writing such thorough and amazing pieces in every issue.
I wish you all the very best for this holiday season, and do remember we’re in Princeton. It’s a very special town — I call it the best little city in the world. It is truly the best little city in the world because it has everything that a good city has and should have — right here! And we should all feel very fortunate this holiday season to be able to celebrate despite all the political difficulties surrounding us.
Happy Holidays to all of you from the staff at Princeton Magazine!
Respectfully yours,
J. Robert Hillier, Lh.D, FAIA
Publisher
