Berlin’s Calvin B. Taylor House’s 16th peach festival is expected to draw thousands of attendees to the museum’s lawn on Aug. 3.
Attendees are pictured buying bags of peaches at last year’s festival. The annual event will return to the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum lawn next week.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
Berlin’s Calvin B. Taylor House’s 16th Peach Festival is expected to draw thousands of attendees to browse the fruit-themed booths and shops on the museum’s lawn. The event is slated from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Aug. 3.
The peach festival is held yearly to celebrate the history of Orlando Harrison and the Harrison Brothers Nurseries in Berlin, which at the time “dominated the United States’ peach market,” the municipality’s website states. The farm, which developed many varieties of peaches and other fruits, was founded in the late 1800s and, season-dependent, created between 250 and 500 jobs in and around the town.
Taylor House Museum President Melissa Reid said that the nursery was once the largest fruit-order company in the world. The orchids had catalogues that people would write to, requesting fruit and trees.
While Worcester County’s fruit nursery is no longer here, Harrison’s home, Windy Brow, also called the Orlando Harrison House, still stands near the railroad tracks in Berlin. The annual Peach Festival honors the heritage the fruit farm and its founders cultivated in the town.
Reid noted the event had roughly 3,000 attendees last year. Officials hope to reach a similar number this time around.
“It is the biggest event in Berlin,” Reid said.
Local peaches and peach-flavored slushies will be for sale. The Salisbury University communications department helped develop a brand-new festival t-shirt. According to Reid, the students created an image, which the event organizers adapted for the garment. Local books on Berlin history, totes, and mugs will also be available.
Reid maintained that the event would include entertainment. Visitors can enjoy musical stylings by George and Pat Bilenki of the local Bilenki Duo, catch a cooking demonstration by Worcester Technical High School culinary and pastry arts teacher Chef Phil Cropper, and witness a performance by magician Magic Jack. The museum president also said that food will be available made by the WTHS students.
Amateur bakers will have the chance to participate in a peach pie-baking competition. The registration deadline is Thursday, Aug. 1, and only 12 entries will be accepted. The Taylor House’s website says that the desserts must be delivered on the day of the festival between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Competitors must include a list of the ingredients.
Reid said there will be an adult and children’s pie-eating contest. Contestants will be judged on who can eat one pie “down to the tin” the fastest. Participants can sign up on the day of the event. The winner of the kids’ competition will receive an Island Creamery gift card, while the champion of the older age group will be given a free peach festival T-shirt.
The Briddell Family Foundation, founded by a Berlin family with roots from the 1870s, will have a table on the lawn. Reid said that the family still has descendants in the area and has formed a group focused on literacy and advocating for higher education.
The foundation’s official website describes itself as an organization that works to “aid the community in … humanitarianism, benevolence, education, and scholarship gifts.” Festival-goers will have the chance to learn more on Aug. 3.
The peach festival will feature Baked Desserts Café’s peach dumplings, flowers from Bay Street Blooms and kid’s games set up on the lawn. Attendees can purchase the official Berlin flag, and profits from the sales will help fund the proposed community center.
“This is our largest fundraiser, so we rely on people coming out,” Reid said.