
Join the iconic folk musician for a Christmas concert not to be missed! Noel Paul Stookey, of the legendary group Peter, Paul, and Mary, will perform and sign The Night Before Christmas, a new hardcover joyously illustrated by Eric Puybaret containing the last recording ever made by Mary Travers—a rendering of the classic poem. Join us at the Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave in Belfast, Friday, December 16 from 4 to 6 PM. Books will be available for sale at the concert, or obtain your copy at the Belfast Mr. Paperback store today.

Peter, Paul, and Mary's music has been an iconic part of American culture for decades. Their many hits include “Blowing In The Wind,” “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” “Lemon Tree,” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” Their second single, "If I Had a Hammer," became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and was performed by the trio at the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech. The group has won five Grammy Awards, produced thirteen Top 40 hits, and earned eight gold and five platinum albums. Their music has echoed for five decades as a call to freedom, justice, and humanity, and continues to be handed down by parents, grandparents, and now great-grandparents to the next generations.
The Night Before Christmas is a joyous and fun-filled rendition of Clement C. Moore's beloved Christmas poem, a holiday classic since 1823. Acclaimed painter Eric Puybaret, whose version of Puff, the Magic Dragon stayed a number one children's bestseller on the Publisher's Weekly list for 16 consecutive weeks, is renowned in his native France, and his illustrations have been called "elegantly rendered" (The New York Times), "graceful and whimsical" (Publisher's Weekly), and "lovely...and indeed magical" (Kirkus Reviews). His version of the classic poem enchantingly captures the story’s magic and wide-eyed wonder: a cozy home with stockings hung by a mantel, visions of sugarplums dancing in the dreams of sleeping children, and, of course, jolly Santa, with his merry dimples and twinkling eyes, coming down the chimney with a bagful of toys.
The book contains a three track CD which includes three very special songs. "A' Soalin" has been a Peter, Paul, and Mary holiday favorite since its release in 1963 on their second album. "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" is Stookey's performance version, brilliantly set to a rollicking melody composed by Stookey and Matthew Quinn. And "Christmas Eve with Mary" is Mary Travers' final recording, the poem read with a clear smile in her voice at an improvised studio in her Connecticut home, completed shortly before her death in 2009. She narrates over special background music written by Noel Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow as a tribute to their longtime collaborator.
For every family who loves to read "The Night Before Christmas" as a yuletide tradition and for every child or adult who has been inspired by Peter, Paul, and Mary, this free concert at the Hutchinson Center is a holiday event not to be missed.
For questions or more information, call Mr. Paperback in Belfast at 338-2735.