With No Music, Talkhouse Pivots With Pop Up Affair
A week after learning that, despite their best efforts to make the experience safe in the era of COVID-19, the Stephen Talkhouse could not continue with live, ticketed music performances, the establishment is finding new ways to utilize the outdoor area they have created for the public.
In an event that is the brainchild of Ruby Honerkamp, the owner’s daughter, the Talkhouse will convert its front patio space on Amagansett Main Street this Saturday to allow local artists, arts and crafts makers, and a local organic beauty care purveyor to display their goods. Honerkamp explained on Monday that the event, called a Talkhouse Pop Up Affair, is a continuation of the family-owned business’s mission to serve the community.
The well-known nightclub, one of the few establishments actually zoned as such in the Town of East Hampton, could, under the State Liquor Authority’s guidelines, fill its interior with customers up to 50 percent capacity. But, the Honerkamp family prefers to use outdoor areas for its clientele.
Ruby’s father, Peter Honerkamp, told IndyEastEnd.com last week the plan in place at the Talkhouse was for customers to sit outside and view musicians playing onstage inside on numerous video screens placed in the outdoor seating areas. They ran the program with success for a couple of weeks, before the SLA posted new guidelines that prohibited the sale of tickets for live acts or the hiring of acts to draw customers. Any live music must be incidental.
It was back to the drawing board as the owners sought to stay connected to the community.
“It can become something we do for the fall, maybe make it an art gallery space,” Ruby Honerkamp said about this weekend’s pop-up shop. She said she is looking forward to getting feedback from the public.
Those participating include Superflower, which deals in natural skin healthcare products, Jillian Aldrich Jewelry, Bjorn Vintage and Aluna’s Vintage, Coaco Masks and Meese’s Pieces Mosaics. The event will be held from 2 to 6 p.m.
“We just want to continue to be a place for the community,” Ruby Honerkamp said.
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