RHINEBECK, New York (AFP) – Wedding bells aren't ringing yet, but the cash tills are, as the countdown begins in tiny Rhinebeck to Chelsea Clinton's celebrity wedding on July 31.
"It's like having the Olympics in your town," exclaimed Alex Batkin, manager of the up-market Wing and Clover arts-and-craft boutique.
Like the rest of the world, locals can only guess at details of the secrecy-shrouded marriage between Chelsea, daughter of former president Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her investment banker beau Marc Mezvinsky.
The guest list remains under wraps, with names as varied as Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey thrown around on gossip websites, but President Barack Obama apparently is not showing.
The location is assumed to be the posh Astor Courts estate just outside Rhinebeck, almost a three hours drive from New York City, though even this has never been confirmed.
In any case, Rhinebeck, population less than 8,000, is laying out the welcome mat.
"Congratulations to Marc and Chelsea!" a poster in the window of Pete's Famous Restaurant, an old style diner, says.
"Mazel tov," reads a sign in Samuel's sweets shop, using the Hebrew for "good luck" in a nod to the Jewish Mezvinsky.
Mixed with goodwill is hunger for good business in a sleepy town shifting from rural roots to the glitzier role of retreat for New York's wealthy.
Echoing the Clinton family news blackout, no one here will openly discuss their share in the bonanza brought by the expected 400 guests at a no-expenses-spared party. But, clearly, no one wants to be left out.
One of the big winners is believed to be the picturesque Beekman Arms inn, which claims to be the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States.
Workers were adding a lick of white paint under the roof Tuesday as staff lugged in suitcases to fully booked rooms.
Asked who was staying, the normally polite front desk clerks became stony faced.
"No comment," one told a reporter. Another conveyed the same message by raising her hands to make an X with two fingers.
Batkin's store revealed at least one success: a painting bought as a gift for the betrothed.
The picture is emblazoned "Chelsea and Marc" over a naive-style depiction of a wedding cake surrounded by trees, squirrels and a fish-filled river.
Of course, Batkin wouldn't say how much the painting went for -- or to whom.
"I just can't," he said apologetically.
Across the road at Liquors and Wines, Mike Haley said the supplier for white wine at the party would be Clinton Vineyards from the happily named nearby town of Clinton.
"It's light and dry. It goes good with fish or chicken," he said.
Haley looked wistfully at his huge selection of bottles. "I'd love to supply. I haven't had a call from them yet, though," he said.
Hoping to get at least a few financial crumbs from the wedding table, he did put some bottles of Clinton Vineyards Tribute 2009 in his storefront window.
Another entrepreneur seeking wedding joy is Rhinebeck Deli, where the menu features the Hillary Clinton-themed "Secretary of Steak."
Even the Hudson Valley Renegades, a minor league baseball team, wants to get in on the act.
Their mascot, a man dressed as a raccoon, stood at Rhinebeck's main crossroads Tuesday with a sign reading: "Chelsea Will U Marry Me?" Locals and bemused tourists grinned at the sight.
"We're trying to get a little buzz going for the team, so people come down to the park and check us out," explained teammate A.J. Tomeny.
All the excitement would implode spectacularly if it turned out Rhinebeck was not the real wedding location, but an elaborate diversion in the Clinton information war -- as a few conspiracy minded locals suspect.
The Hudson Valley News, a local weekly that has become a must-read for the growing international press corps in the town, says not to worry.
Without citing sources, the latest edition reports that the wedding will indeed take place at Astor Courts, starting at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) Saturday and that police will shut down roads in the vicinity.
"CONGRATULATIONS CHELSEA AND MARC" the slightly premature front page banner headline reads.
Drinking coffee in Pete's Famous Restaurant, 79-year-old Ed Hammond calls the hoopla "insane."
"I think they've lost track of the two people at the center, the ones actually getting married," he said. "Myself, I'll get the hell out. I'm not much of one for crowds."
© Copyright (c) AFP
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