BERLIN– Threats of rain could not dampen the 6th Annual Peach Festival, held on the lawn of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum on Saturday, Aug. 2.
Hundreds showed up to attend one of Berlin’s signature events that included live entertainment, family activities dozens of variations on peach dishes.
Mayor Gee Williams opened the ceremonies with a ribbon cutting, joined by 2013 Little Miss Berlin Peach MaryAnn Rutzler and Little Mister Berlin Peach Brody Olsen.
“They have both done an excellent job during the past year of representing the Berlin Heritage Foundation and our town of Berlin,” Williams said. The 2014 Little Miss and Mister Peach will be crowned during the town’s 2nd Friday Art Stroll on Aug. 9.
Williams called the event the “coolest peach festival in America” and thanked “whoever kept the rain away.”
The museum offered tours and showed off their two newest pieces, a Scottish grandfather clock from the early 1800’s and an antique English knife set, both donated by the Arcadia Questers.
Organizers were hopeful early during the festival that forecasts of rain throughout the day would prove wrong.
“I’m very, very optimistic that everything is going to be perfect and we’re going to have a really, really good crowd,” said museum Docent Carol Rose. “We had a lot of phone calls all morning and we’re just keeping our fingers crossed that everything is going to be okay.”
The Peach Festival recalls the days, decades ago, when the Harrison family owned and operated hundreds of acres of peach nurseries in and around Berlin, driving the local economy. Sandra Dewey was one of several descendants of the family on hand for the festival.
“My husband and I live in Washington, but it’s great to be reconnected to Berlin since the start of Peach Festival in 2008,” Dewey said. “Because I’ve been involved in doing research to try to find out more about the nursery business – since I paid little attention to it when I was growing up – it means that I’ve learned a lot about my grandfather and all the family I never knew because they died long before I was born. All they had done when they moved to Berlin – it was extraordinary the things they were doing over 100 years ago.
“They were traveling to Europe and buying trees and having 100,000 Norway Maples shipped to the U.S. because they thought they were the best trees possible and no one in the U.S. was propagating them,” Dewey continued. “Little facts like that that no one ever talked about are fascinating to me now. It’s a wonderful day for the family to reconnect.”
Nina Tomaselli, co-owner of Baked Desserts Café , ran a stand selling her peach dumplings, the official dessert of Berlin.
“Just yesterday alone we made 500 peach dumplings for this,” she said. “It’s been like an all-day all-night ordeal. We were up at the crack of dawn, but I’m happy that it’s going on today. I was kind of worried that it was going to get rained out, but it looks like it’s turned around. We’re really excited about it.”
Bluegrass band the Country Grass performed on the porch of the museum for the duration of the festival.
“This is banging,” said musician Mickey Justice, who performed with the band. “I was shocked with the turnout. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a little like playing in someone’s living room and we like that kind of close connection. And the festival has everything I like: food and sweet food.”
Along with live entertainment and the throngs of food vendors, the festival offered games and contests for all ages. Seth Hudson won the Junior Pie-Eating Contest, and Patrick Salisbury won the adult contest.
“I was really trying to train all week for this and get myself psyched up,” he said. “My coach was saying, ‘Patrick you’ve just got to go for it,’ so that’s exactly what I did.”
Susan Taylor, curator of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, helped organized the festival.
“It’s a wonderful turnout and we’re all very pleased,” she said. “Every year it gets bigger. This year we weren’t sure what was going to happen because of the rain, but I think there are actually more people.”
Hundreds showed up to attend one of Berlin’s signature events that included live entertainment, family activities dozens of variations on peach dishes.
Mayor Gee Williams opened the ceremonies with a ribbon cutting, joined by 2013 Little Miss Berlin Peach MaryAnn Rutzler and Little Mister Berlin Peach Brody Olsen.
“They have both done an excellent job during the past year of representing the Berlin Heritage Foundation and our town of Berlin,” Williams said. The 2014 Little Miss and Mister Peach will be crowned during the town’s 2nd Friday Art Stroll on Aug. 9.
Williams called the event the “coolest peach festival in America” and thanked “whoever kept the rain away.”
The museum offered tours and showed off their two newest pieces, a Scottish grandfather clock from the early 1800’s and an antique English knife set, both donated by the Arcadia Questers.
Organizers were hopeful early during the festival that forecasts of rain throughout the day would prove wrong.
“I’m very, very optimistic that everything is going to be perfect and we’re going to have a really, really good crowd,” said museum Docent Carol Rose. “We had a lot of phone calls all morning and we’re just keeping our fingers crossed that everything is going to be okay.”
The Peach Festival recalls the days, decades ago, when the Harrison family owned and operated hundreds of acres of peach nurseries in and around Berlin, driving the local economy. Sandra Dewey was one of several descendants of the family on hand for the festival.
“My husband and I live in Washington, but it’s great to be reconnected to Berlin since the start of Peach Festival in 2008,” Dewey said. “Because I’ve been involved in doing research to try to find out more about the nursery business – since I paid little attention to it when I was growing up – it means that I’ve learned a lot about my grandfather and all the family I never knew because they died long before I was born. All they had done when they moved to Berlin – it was extraordinary the things they were doing over 100 years ago.
“They were traveling to Europe and buying trees and having 100,000 Norway Maples shipped to the U.S. because they thought they were the best trees possible and no one in the U.S. was propagating them,” Dewey continued. “Little facts like that that no one ever talked about are fascinating to me now. It’s a wonderful day for the family to reconnect.”
Nina Tomaselli, co-owner of Baked Desserts Café , ran a stand selling her peach dumplings, the official dessert of Berlin.
“Just yesterday alone we made 500 peach dumplings for this,” she said. “It’s been like an all-day all-night ordeal. We were up at the crack of dawn, but I’m happy that it’s going on today. I was kind of worried that it was going to get rained out, but it looks like it’s turned around. We’re really excited about it.”
Bluegrass band the Country Grass performed on the porch of the museum for the duration of the festival.
“This is banging,” said musician Mickey Justice, who performed with the band. “I was shocked with the turnout. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a little like playing in someone’s living room and we like that kind of close connection. And the festival has everything I like: food and sweet food.”
Along with live entertainment and the throngs of food vendors, the festival offered games and contests for all ages. Seth Hudson won the Junior Pie-Eating Contest, and Patrick Salisbury won the adult contest.
“I was really trying to train all week for this and get myself psyched up,” he said. “My coach was saying, ‘Patrick you’ve just got to go for it,’ so that’s exactly what I did.”
Susan Taylor, curator of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, helped organized the festival.
“It’s a wonderful turnout and we’re all very pleased,” she said. “Every year it gets bigger. This year we weren’t sure what was going to happen because of the rain, but I think there are actually more people.”