By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(April 9, 2026) Smoke will rise from the lawn of Berlin’s Calvin B. Taylor House Museum later this month when it presents its fourth annual old-fashioned pig roast. This year, organizers are adding a twist: using local actors to bring Berlin’s past to life.

The Taylor House’s pig roast, set for April 18 at 4 p.m., is held each year in partnership with the Burley Building Company to raise funds for the museum and to offer attendees a traditional barbecue meal.

According to Taylor House Executive Director Melissa Reid, the event is sponsored by the Burley Building Company to secure funding to correct carpentry issues and ensure the structure is cared for, with a focus on historical preservation.

The building business often completes repairs to the site, including rebuilding shutters and replacing the roof. Most recently, the company mended sections of rotten wood discovered on the outside of the museum.

The pig roast was begun to pay for the restorations. Now, however, the goal is to foster community engagement and bring Berlin residents and visitors into the museum to view its exhibits and refresh themselves on the town’s history.

Part of that effort is to offer locals and tourists an authentic, old-fashioned barbecue.

Burley Building Company owner Nate Reister said that the pig comes from a butcher in Dagsboro. Reid added that volunteers from Burley Building roast the pork overnight and serve it at the event the next day.

“We started this four years ago,” the business owner said. “Initially, we were trying to fill in gaps in funding for the museum to do repairs …When we decided to do the pig roast, we were looking to do an event that would be historic in nature in terms of the type of thing that we would be serving.

“The goal is to raise funding and awareness… for the most part, we have shifted our understanding to focus on pulling in young families and local people because it’s the very beginning of the event season. It’s locally oriented. We’re trying to get younger families to be involved in what’s going on.”

The museum is also trying out a new addition this year: actors to remind citizens of the museum’s mission. How it will work is that four Berlin residents will come to the event in character and costume, each portraying an influential town figure.

Reid said that citizen Patricia Dufendach will act as Mary White, a Berliner from the 1830s; Nick Purnell will act as the Rev. Charles Tindley, a minister and gospel music composer from the area; Jack Orris will act as Calvin B. Taylor, a humanitarian and the museum’s namesake; and Deb Speier will act as Mary Humphreys, a biology professor and doctor.

The project has been labeled “Museum Comes Alive” by Taylor House officials. The actors will be maneuvering between the inside and outside of the facility, introducing themselves as their historical personas to event guests and providing a first-person narrative of the figures’ impact on Berlin.

“We’re really excited about this Museum Comes Alive event because we feel it will remind people that we are a museum and we have lots of historical stories that we can tell about Berlin,” Reid said.

The director added that the pig roast will be the only time during the season when all four actors are present together. However, each individual will be at other museum happenings throughout the spring and summer.

The pig roast will also include live music by the Zion Reggae Band and beer available by Berlin Beer Co. Reister said that George’s Beverage Company will be on-site with a signature mixed drink.

Organizers hope that the pig roast yields as many attendees as in years past. Reister noted that last year, the event sold 500 platters. The team hopes to reach similar numbers this time around.

The Taylor House Museum officially opened on April 1. New exhibits were created in time for the 2026 season kickoff, highlighting the restoration of the Town of Berlin. Reid said that she hopes the event on April 18 will spur interest in the updated displays.

“The nice thing about the pig roast is the museum will be open, so people can come and see those new exhibits that we have done about the restoration of Berlin and things like that,” Reid said. “We’re glad to have an opportunity for the community to come to the museum.”