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Open Paint opens up communities of east, west Berlin

 (Sept. 21, 2107) Close to 100 people attended a first-of-its-kind Open Paint and Community Potluck event, Saturday at the Germantown School Community Heritage Center in Berlin.
Guests brought boxes of fried chicken, trays of fresh fruit, platefuls of baked goods and other goodies, and took turns painting on several panels that will eventually be hung outside of the Berlin Welcome Center on Main Street, downtown.
Between painting and the feast, dozens gathered around a makeshift choir that sang hymns written by the late Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley, a Berlin native.
Barbara Purnell, who oversees the Germantown School, dubbed the event a success.
“It was great,” she said. “Everybody enjoyed themselves and had a great time – they enjoyed everything from the painting, the food and the singing, and the fellowship was wonderful.”
She said the choir was made of up representatives from the New Bethel, St. John’s, St. Paul’s and Tyree churches.
“They did great. Some came out that day, so they just pulled them in and they joined right in,” Purnell said. “I think things turned out really well and I’d like to see it happen again.”
The event was designed to bring the communities on both sides of Route 113 in Berlin together. An open paint was held at the Calvin B. Taylor House during the Peach Festival in August, and the mural created during that event was brought to the Germantown School on Saturday.
“Now that people have come and they’ve seen what it’s like, I think [a future event] could draw more people. They’re going to tell the people that weren’t there,” Purnell said. “They had such an interest in that painting – it would just be such a wonderful idea to try it again.”
Purnell said co-organizer Robin Tomaselli, owner of Baked Dessert Café and a member of the Berlin Arts and Entertainment Committee, pitched the idea of hosting a “Tindley Day” in Germantown in the future.”
“That could include painting and all, if they’re interested in doing that,” Purnell said. “I think it was a great event and the attendance was good for the first time – when you’re planning these things, you never know if they’ll turn out.
“People did take time to come and the weather couldn’t have been better,” she continued. “I don’t think [about 100 people] was bad for a first time. In another year, we’ll have 200.
“It’s something we’re looking forward to next year. We just thank everybody for their participation and for supporting it,” Purnell said.
A separate unveiling of the mural panel, downtown, is in the planning stages.