Harmony Museum, located in Harmony, will host the second part of the Vintage Harmony event, scheduled to take place on Aug. 14. Submitted photo.

From successful alcohol businesses that bolstered Harmony’s economy to a historic trolley route that passed through it, the borough has a storied past going back to its founding in 1804.

Presently, the borough is one of the rare, enduring historic sites in the vicinity, said Laura Reid Riggin, a board of directors member for Historic Harmony, the nonprofit that operates Harmony Museum.

The organization seeks to shed light on some of that history by hosting a Vintage Harmony event, which will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14.

The event will feature German cuisine prepared by Nicholas Saxon, a private chef, and wine selections for tasting curated by educator and owner of Tastegreatwines, Jill Kummer.

“They’re very entertaining (and) informative,” Reid Riggin said. “The food will be wonderful.”

Guests will start at Woodville House showroom and transfer to the museum, where they can explore the venue’s wine cellar built in 1809. Food and wine will be provided.

Museum docents will give presentations about Harmony’s history at both venues.

Among other topics, docents will discuss the impact of wine on the local community, as well as the significance of the parts of the borough which are included in the event’s proceedings, Reid Riggin said.

Mitchell Sienkiewicz, another member of Historic Harmony’s board of directors, said the borough does not get the love it should due to insufficient exposure.

The idea of Vintage Harmony, the first of its kind for the nonprofit, partly stemmed from what the organization saw as a need to address that lack of publicity, said Reid Riggin.

“The goal is to try to get the community and surrounding communities interested and curious about the history of Harmony,” she said.

Sienkiewicz agreed.

“We want to have people come in and feel attached to Harmony, whether you live here or not,” he said.

Another objective of the event is to take more advantage of historic buildings as spaces of gathering, said Sienkiewicz.

He said Vintage Harmony is designed to be an educational experience where attendees can explore spaces the organization preserves.

Vintage Harmony is also a fundraiser event. Funds will go toward maintenance and repairs of the multiple properties owned by the museum.

“There’s a lot of costs involved in maintaining a historical society. This is to help with those costs,” Reid Riggin said.

For Historic Harmony, the event also serves as the launching point of a future event campaign, Sienkiewicz said.

Currently, German Christmas is the nonprofit’s signature event of the year for fundraising and outreach; the organization is working to kickstart smaller events that can help it increase visibility and boost membership, Sienkiewicz said.

For physical space purposes, the guest list at the event is restricted to 50. As of July 20, 20 registrants had signed up to attend, said Sienkiewicz.

With a new president and board of directors this year, he added that Historic Harmony is also focused on becoming more organized.

The cost to attend Vintage Harmony is $85. More information can be found online at harmonymuseum.org/vintage-harmony-a-wine-history-experience.