Wednesday, July 15-Berlin To Honor The Peach

BERLIN – The Berlin Heritage Foundation has announced its sponsoring a peach festival on Sunday, Aug. 9, beginning at noon on the grounds of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum.

Celebrating the rich agricultural heritage of Berlin and loosely based on the “Great Horticultural Meetings” hosted by Harrisons’ Nurseries in the early days of the 20th Century, the festival promises to be both educational and fun.

Free family activities will feature a talk by nationally renowned organic gardener and National Public Radio personality Mike McGrath, basket making and quilting demonstrations by Linda Davis, a peach pie eating contest, a peach pie bake-off and games and crafts for the kids.

McGrath hosts the nationally syndicated show, You Bet Your Garden, which airs every week on National Public Radio stations across the nation as well as on Sirius satellite radio. The show is also available via the Internet at Audible.com. According to his biography, McGrath lives in Lehigh County, Pa. with “his family, organic garden and an inconsistent number of rescued cats.” He plays pinball, enjoys baseball, grows way too many tomatoes and will not eat lima beans, no matter how much money is offered.

Exhibits will feature memorabilia from what was once the largest mail-order nursery in the country, Harrisons’ Nurseries, J. G. Harrison & Sons, Proprietors. The Taylor House Museum will be open for tours.

And don’t forget about those yummy, juicy peaches – grown by Bennett Orchards of Frankford, Del; frozen in Chesapeake Bay Farms ice cream; mixed into beverages sold by the Berlin Lioness Club; and baked into bread by Peggy Hagy of the Berlin Coffee House, as well as in endless fattening concoctions by the Arcadia Questers #1388. Picnic fare will be available from the Berlin Lions Club.

Other sales will include commemorative T-shirts, Calvin B. Taylor House Museum merchandise, Berlin books and peach pit jewelry.

Frank Nanna will provide music during the day, with Backfin Banjo taking over the entertainment at the foundation’s monthly Concert on the Lawn at 6 p.m. Locals and tourists alike are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets and to plan on spending the day on the property.

Sponsors for this major event include the Worcester County Arts Council, the Maryland State Arts Council, Berlin Main Street Program, the Harrison family, the Harrison Group, the Town of Berlin, Bennett Orchards and many others.

The Berlin Heritage Foundation works to preserve and to educate the public about the cultural history of the Town of Berlin and its surrounding area. Come help celebrate the product that contributed to a booming local economy back at the turn of the last century.

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