On Monday, July 31, the Adam Ezra band will perform a benefit concert for the Boothbay Sea and Science Center in East Boothbay. The event will be held in The Barn on property that once belonged to the Luke family of East Boothbay boatyard fame. According to Steve Berger, Knickerbocker Group project manager, John Luke built the structure during the 1940s to build and store boats. Knickerbocker Group is in charge of design, renovation and construction of The Barn. Knickerbocker architect Susan Mendelson is the designer.   

Bill and Kate Horgan own the property now. Bill is the founder of Newmarket International, a provider of cloud-based group and event information technology solutions such as Delphi, which automates the process of booking large group events into hotels around the world. Kate is an interior designer. The couple has a combined family of seven children and five grandchildren.

Their grandchildren participate in summer activities at the Sea and Science Center. Kate is enthusiastic about the non-profit center and wanted to give back. “They combine sailing and science, children are introduced to the potential of a future maritime vocation. Right now they have a “Women of the Sea” program and they’re studying marine biology, ” she said. “Pauline (Dion) is doing a great job. She’s very creative and the kids love it.”

Tickets are $75 for the concert alone, and $100 for the concert and dinner at the Horgans’ house, where concert attendees will be able to meet band members. Horgan said she hopes to see about 200 people at the event. Frank Luke of Paul E. Luke Boatyard has given permission for attendees to park on that property. Complimentary beer, wine and soda will be served.

Meanwhile, the Knickerbocker Group crew is working hard to finish the project. The top half of the barn is completely new, with a cupola, rows of windows, and lighting for both the barn and the stage. New cedar shakes pepper the barn’s outside. A stainless steel roof will keep The Barn dry. The barn doors arrived as this interview was happening, and Brian Stedner and Shawn Vigue from Oberuch Electric in Edgecomb were installing lights. The Barn’s future weather vane, a blue heron, sits in a box waiting to be installed on top of the barn. Two shiny metal horse troughs filled with sunflowers will be located outside the building. A stage already existed in the barn when the Horgans purchased the property. That, in part, prompted their decision to hold a concert there.   

Bill and Kate Horgan have been summer residents in the region for many years. They owned and lived on Indiantown Island before selling that property and purchasing Hunting Island, off the tip of Southport. When they decided to move off island, they found property in East Boothbay that had been for sale for some time. The barn was on the property, which also included a “shell of a house,” according to Kate. The house has undergone extensive renovation and the surrounding property is newly landscaped.

The Barn will be ready and waiting for its premiere guests. It’s the perfect place to hear a great band with your friends and family on a summer night, and to support a good cause. Tickets are going fast. For  more information go to: boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org, or email Dion at: info@boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org