New Twists On Tap For Berlin Peach Festival

BERLIN — The 3rd Annual Berlin Peach Festival will be held on Sunday, Aug. 14, from noon-6 p.m., on the grounds of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum. Admission is free.

The festival, winner of the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council Outstanding Event for 2010, promises to be bigger and better in 2011, full of old-fashioned fun for all ages.

New among the displays, demonstrations and sales tables are performances by Twisters Gymnastics and Cheerleading and by Smith Island storyteller Janice Marshall; demonstrations of whisk broom making by Richard Norman and beekeeping by Wes Townsend of Back Street Apiary; hand-painted signs and furniture from Designs by Di; and peach haiku poetry. New vendors include the Worcester County Developmental Center; Baked Desserts Café; Historic St. Martin’s Church; and Museums of Worcester County.

The Coastal Stewards will offer educational games for families about the history and nature of Assateague Island. Also, Grow Berlin Green will be giving attendees the opportunities to make their own peach smoothies on a pedal powered bike.

The Worcester County Arts Council artists will be on-hand to sell paintings, cards, bookmarks and other works. Glass peaches by Jeffrey Auxer, clay peach pins by Marge Coyman and hand-painted peach gourds by Joanne Khom will also be available for sale.

Previous years’ exhibitors and vendors will return again this year, including the Lilley Family, Bennett Scott, Terry Jordan, St. Martin’s Community House, R & B Ranch and the Charles Tindley Heritage Festival. Main Street Berlin, Grow Berlin Green, Linda Davis, master gardeners and the Peach Pickers will participate again.

Food vendors include Arcadia Questers, Berlin Coffee House, Berlin Lions and Lionesses, Buckingham Presbyterian Church, Chesapeake Creamery and Stevenson United Methodist Church.

There will be a quilt raffle by The Nassawango Outdoor Quilt Show/Furnace Town Living Heritage Museum. In addition, the Berlin Heritage Foundation will hold a raffle for a basket filled with vouchers and gift certificates valued at $300. Festival goers can win a $25 gift certificate to Main Street Berlin shops by guessing how many peach pits are in a jar.

The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum will be open all day for tours of the historic 1832 house, as well as of the upstairs exhibition “Images of the Past.”

There will be nostalgic peach photo ops, featuring signboards from old Harrison’s Nurseries catalogs and a display of other Harrison’s Nurseries memorabilia.

The museum will also host a sales table featuring programs and information, 2010 commemorative T-shirts and fans, homemade peach jams and preserves, “peachy” neck coolies, peach pit jewelry and more.

At 12:30, the first of the children’s activities begins as the kids “shake their booties” to make ice cream. Other activities for the kids include a peach toss; walnut shell boat races; an old-fashioned cake walk with cupcakes; temporary peach tattoos; and a scavenger hunt.

At 2 p.m., three local food professionals will begin the judging for the pie-baking contest. First prize is a gift certificate for one night in a Lightkeeper Suite at the Lighthouse Club at Fager’s Island in Ocean City. Second- and third-place prizes will also be awarded.

The pie-eating contests begin at 2:45, with categories for kids, adults and town celebrities vying for monetary prizes.

Finally, a picnic hour begins at 5 p.m. with nostalgic games on the lawn. Food and beverages will be available throughout the day; however, several vendors will stay late so that everyone will be able to purchase a picnic supper.

The festival will draw to a close at 6 p.m., listening to the music of Peter’s Voice at the museum’s monthly Concert on the Lawn.

Th festival is sponsored by the Berlin Heritage Foundation, with grants from Worcester County Tourism, Worcester County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council and donations from many others.

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.