The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum will welcome the Berlin Airlift band to its lawn for a concert at 6 p.m., this Sunday, with attendees encouraged to dress in their “grooviest” gear to win prizes.
The exterior of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum in Berlin is pictured.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum will welcome the Berlin Airlift band on its lawn Sunday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their “grooviest” gear to win a prize.
The event is free, and music listeners may bring a chair or blanket to relax and enjoy the tunes.
Museum President Melissa Reid said beer and wine will be for sale. The wine will be donated by Cheers.
The band is comprised of local musicians. According to Reid, the name Berlin Airlift was born from a concert almost held in the town in the 1970s. The late Hale Harrison of the Harrison Group Resort Hotels and Restaurants had connections with promoters who wanted to bring a festival like Woodstock to the area. The series of concerts was to be called “Berlin Airlift.”
The museum president said the Harrison family owned the land around Stephen Decatur High School at the time and some parcels still today. The idea was that the event would take place in the space and attract popular 1970s rock bands.
The festival organizers were getting permits and discussing logistics with the local government when politicians started to push against the musical venture. Reid said that residents at the time were worried it would be too similar to Woodstock and bury Worcester County with car traffic and rowdy tourists.
Reid’s father was a lawyer during the proposed concert conversations. “He was attending meetings about what a concert on that level could have done in terms of overwhelming resources,” she said.
While the massive festival never took off, the Berlin Airlift band pays homage to that period in the town’s history.
Residents are encouraged to enjoy the musical stylings on the facility’s lawn on Aug. 11. Reid said that proceeds from beverage sales will go toward “telling stories of the museum.”
The concert is the second to last Sunday concert hosted by the Taylor House this summer. On Sept. 8, Berlin and Worcester County residents can close the season with an ’80s-style party with music from the band Full Circle. Attendees are encouraged to dress on the theme for the retro occasion.