Enjoying chocolate covered strawberries in New Hope, 1979.
I was 14.
Ahhh, New Hope. The city of artists, poets, and witches.
The magical place that used to be a once-a-year day trip with my parents and my best friend Pam is now a nearby town that I can visit easily and as often as I want.
Pam and I would look forward to our Halloween weekend in New Hope all year long, and we LOVED every minute of it!
At age 11, 12, 13, my parents would let us walk around this picturesque place by ourselves... walking in and out of stores, crunching in the leaves, exploring, drinking sodas and giggling, eating pizza, and spending our babysitting money on novelty items, jewelry, gingerbread men, and chocolate covered strawberries. Even at that age, we appreciated the stores filled with handmade items and arts and crafts; especially the store loaded with retro toys and naked mannequins, a hologram store, and the dozens of galleries that featured contemporary art. I can still remember the wonderful aroma of the shop that sold just candles, and the delicious herbal scent of a store called "Strawberry Jam" with it's array of handmade soaps. I remember giggling browsing the collections of gothic oddities at "The Creeper Gallery", or nervously purchasing a crystal or two from the witchcraft store.
Even though New Hope was notoriously crowded with other tourists walking in and out of the art galleries, restaurants, and antique shops, we knew our way around, revisited our favorite places, and felt like the town existed just for us. We'd see some unusual characters there, but everybody belonged. Traipsing in and out of the eclectic shops made us feel special and more worldly than our pre-teen friends back home.
A few years later, we’d go there dressed for Halloween, posing for pictures with every single Halloween display we came across (and the occasional biker if they'd let us stand in front of their Harley.) We’d buy ourselves sterling silver rings inlaid with turquoise and coral made by a local artisan, collect artsy business cards from the stores we visited, get our palms read, maybe buy a cool tee shirt or top that we liked, and sneak a henna tattoo at The Shop of India... all of this making us feel cooler, more sophisticated, and edgier than any other kid in our school.
In the New Hope of my childhood, the autumn colors were even more colorful, and there was always a warm river breeze. The Halloween decorations were some of the wildest I'd ever seen, and the freedom we felt was limitless. The fountain cokes were sweeter, the slices of pizza were the tastiest we’d ever had, and the days lasted forever. I still love New Hope. Everybody does.
Pandemic or not, I haven't missed visiting New Hope at Halloween time in 45 years!
Does anybody else remember New Hope's
BEST STORE EVER... Strawberry Jam?
Pam and I continued our tradition well into our thirties, at times still tagging along with my parents on their autumn visit! As soon as the pandemic ends, we have plans to meet in New Hope for a beers and giggles and a nice long lunch. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from the time we decided to walk around New Hope.... as bags of jellybeans:
Senior year, 1982.
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