A quiet summer afternoon at an outdoor concert

Enjoying a warm, sunny August afternoon, about 30 people attended a concert at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, on August 16. (photo by Carla Gade)

by Mary Grow

A concert presented by Bill Berlinghoff at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, on August 16. (photo by Carla Gade)

Over two dozen area residents listened appreciatively to folksinger Bill Berlinghoff as the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, held its first public event since March.

Berlinghoff sang and played guitar and banjo on the library’s south lawn. His repertoire includes songs composed and/or made famous by such Maine people as Jud Strunk, Dave Mallett (Mallett’s The Garden Song, also known as Inch by Inch, had audience members singing along) and Gordon Bok, as well as several songs by Berlinghoff.

Berlinghoff’s songs are listed on his website, www.billberlinghoff.com, for people who would like to hear some of them and read the lyrics.

Another well-received number was Jan Harmon’s The Lobster License Plate Song,”composed in 1988 to recognize Maine’s addition of a red lobster to its license plates. The song is copyrighted, so it can’t be reproduced here; again, interested readers can find it on the web by looking up the title.

Carla Gade and Miranda Perkins, the new librarians at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, are planning other public events this fall as long as the weather allows continued outdoor gatherings. Watch for notices on the library’s signboard, in this newspaper and elsewhere.