BERLIN – The lawn of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum on
North Main Street will be loaded with peaches, peaches and more peaches on
Saturday, Aug. 4, during the Berlin Peach Festival.

In recognition of Berlin’s past as a prominent peach grower
and distributor, the fourth annual event will bring thousands to participate in
numerous activities on the museum’s lawn.

“Every year seems to get bigger,” said Debbie Speier, member
of the museum’s board of directors and an organizer of the event. “The first
year, we didn’t know what to expect and we have been amazed at how many people
come.”

An opening ceremony featuring a bagpipe introduction played
by Joel Todd and a ribbon cutting by Matthew Holland and Trista Harner, Little
Miss and Mister Berlin Peach 2011, will officially get the festival started at
11 a.m.

Popular activities such as a peach pie-baking contest, a pie
eating contest and performances by local musicians will take place on the
museum lawn, where there will also be numerous vendors selling peaches,
peach-inspired products and general gift items.

Local fiddler Frank Nanna and a band called 3 Sheeps are
scheduled to perform on the museum’s side stage where its monthly Concert on
the Lawn series is held.

Demonstrations of specialized skills like basket weaving and
wooden decoy carving will be performed by local artists.

For the children, some activities will include face pairing,
walnut shell boat races, a performance from juggling expert Cascading Carlos
and many others.

According to Speier, many children look forward to “shake
their booties,” an activity in which they will be able to make and take home
homemade ice cream.

As it is expected every year, the Taylor House Museum will
purchase copious amounts of peaches from local growers and resell them at the
festival.

This year’s peach suppliers are Bennett Orchards and T.S.
Smith from Delaware and Garden of Eden from Salisbury.

“[The peaches] are ripe and juicy, and everyone loves them,”
said Susan Taylor, curator of the Taylor House Museum.

All peach vendors suggested scheduling the event this
weekend specifically so attendees could get the ripest peaches possible.

Museum tours will also be available at a suggested donation
price of $2. Children will be allowed in for free.

The museum, which is a restored nineteenth century house,
offers an opportunity to experience what life was like when Berlin was in its
infancy.

Last year, the festival operated while rain continuously
poured down on the lower than usual amount of attendees, so organizers have set
a rain date on the following day, Sunday, Aug. 5, in preparation of a
worst-case scenario. The times will stay the same if the rain date is used.

The fourth annual Berlin Peach Festival is funded by state
and county grants, along with aid from several local businesses.

All activities on the lawn will end at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit www.taylorhousemuseum.org.