By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — After the overwhelming success at last year’s inaugural Party at the Museum beer tasting event, Dearborn Historical Museum Chief Curator Jack Tate is excited to host a second one.
The second annual party will take place from 5 to 11 p.m. Sept. 26 on the McFadden-Ross House grounds, 915 S. Brady.
Tate said the party last year was the most attended event ever at the McFadden-Ross House and rivaled the opening of the Commandant’s Quarters as a museum, which occurred in 1950 and featured a visit from Gov. G. Mennen Williams.
“We hoped the fundraiser would draw a crowd of around 300 or 400 to the museum,” Tate said of last year’s event. “We ended up having more than 1,200 visitors.”
He said the response “was wonderful and overwhelming.”
“To me, the amount of people that came in support of the museum last year showed how much this community is interested and concerned that we continue to have a local history museum,” Tate said.
Tate said that in response to the popularity of last year’s event the museum will have four beer tasting stations serving Michigan-made brews, three food trucks, live entertainment and a shuttle service from the parking lot at Ford Field Park to the museum for guests.
“We’re planning for 2,000 and we hope to make that number,” Tate said. “We’ve taken measures to accommodate for a larger crowd and to make things easier and more enjoyable for party-goers,” Tate said.
He added that wine and root beer will be available for those who do not drink beer and that taste-testing is not the only reason to attend the event.
“The party is a chance to ask questions about the museum and history of the city, listen to good music and have fun,” Tate said.
Tate said last year’s event netted a profit of about $5,000 for the museum, which goes into its operating budget and helps pay for other events.
Tickets for the Party at the Museum are $10, which include a souvenir mug and the first fill of beer, wine or root beer, are available at the museum office or on its website, www.thedhm.com.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)