JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETE
The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum in Berlin reopens for the season on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. Additionally tickets, $50, are still available for the third annual Afternoon on the Lawn event on Sunday, June 10.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 17, 2018) The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum in Berlin will reopen for the season on Monday, May 28, Memorial Day.

To help kick off the season, the nonprofit museum, on 208 North Main Street, is also prepping for one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, the annual Afternoon on the Lawn, Sunday, June 10 from 2-5 p.m.

With the fundraiser in its third year, event committee Co-Chairwoman Melissa Reid said organizers decided to “change it up a little.”

“We really focused on rejuvenating and updating the menu and making it all about Eastern Shore tastings,” Reid said.

She said the updated menu would include crab hush puppies from Burley Inn Tavern, barbecue sliders from J&M Meat Market, and mini peach dumplings and sweet potato biscuits from Baked Dessert Café.

Additionally, Fins Ale House and Raw Bar, across the street on 119 North Main Street, will sponsor an oyster raw bar, and Big Oyster Brewery and George’s Mary Mix will collaborate to create a signature drink.

Beverage sponsor Cheers will provide additional beer and wine.

Reid said Earl Beardsley’s band would return for the third year to provide music, but this year would add a drummer to the lineup.

“Instead of ragtime, it’s going to be a bit more swing,” she said.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the town this year, Reid said several vignette displays would be brought outdoors during the event. The museum itself will also be open.

“Three vignettes will includes the early history of the museum, then maybe late 19th century and early 20th century, and then current time,” she said. “We envision photographs of different aspect of Berlin, some kind of representative clothing, and then some objects that would help explain both the Taylor House Museum and the history of the town.”

Event Co-Chairwoman Lisa Cook added the idea was for guests to be able to “stroll around and look at [the vignettes] while they’re eating food or having a beverage and listening to music.”

Also, Reid said the large, white tent on the museum grounds, a signature of Afternoon on the Lawn, would return. And, speaking of the lawn, new irrigation systems and sod were recently installed thanks to a grant from the Humphries Foundation.

Reid said The Moore Companies Inc. did the irrigation and the sod, and Rayne’s Sand & Gravel removed a large tree stump and graded the lawn. Both companies are based in Berlin.

“It was a connective partnership between those two companies and then Humphries Foundation gave the money, so we’re very excited to have everyone stand on this beautiful, emerald-green grass,” she said.

Tickets are $50 and include food tastings and two glasses of beer or wine. A cash bar will be available.

“We wanted to have an event that really showcased how you could put a tent on the lawn and wasn’t as crowded as the Peach Festival,” Reid said. “It’s a little more of a meet and greet.”

“The lawn party definitely showcases the museum,” Heather Nottingham of the special events committee said. “The Peach Festival is more of a family event with crafts and things, while this event is all about the museum.”

Contact the museum for tickets by June 5 at 410-641-1019, or email taylorhousemuseum@verizon.net.

Reid said the museum board is considering a capital campaign to repair the aging roof of the museum, originally built in 1832.

Event sponsorships are also available. To inquire about sponsorships or donations to the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, contact Curator Susan Taylor at 410-641-1019.