By Jennesa Regios
BEVERLY — Nearly 50 couples a year recite their nuptials among the blooming gardens at Lynch Park, with the sound of the sea as a backdrop.
The pink roses and Grecian columns create the perfect setting for a wedding. The only thing the 16-acre park is missing is a place to hold the reception, but the Lynch Park Advisory Committee hopes to change that.
The carriage house, built sometime between 1897 and 1903, would be the perfect place for such a reception, but years of neglect have made it unsafe. The building is unheated and is not handicapped-accessible. The house needs just $150,000, which has already been raised, to make it leasable, but Mayor Bill Scanlon says it will take several million to complete it.
"It has the potential to be a real jewel," Scanlon said. "Right now, it's a diamond in the rough."
To help raise funds for the carriage house, the committee will hold the second annual Beverly's Got Talent on Dec. 10. The cabaret-style evening will feature performers with Beverly ties, or "locally grown Broadway performers," as committee Chairwoman Denise Dechamps put it.
The evening will feature singers, a performance from members of the University of Massachusetts Amherst ballroom dance team, an a cappella group, the Beverly High School vocal ensemble and the Beverly High School jazz band.
The carriage house is scheduled to be leasable this spring, and the revenue it will make from weddings, baby showers and other private events should raise enough to maintain the building. The carriage house will also be available to the Recreation Department.
"This is the only way to preserve as much as possible," Dechamps said. "It would be a great expense to the city to maintain."
The committee plans to maintain as much of the original, historical look as possible.
"We hope to keep as much of the internal look as we can," said Bruce Doig, director of parks and recreation. "But as much as it will be a historic site, it will be a community center that can generate revenue."
Tickets for Beverly's Got Talent can be purchased online at www.bevrec.com or by calling 978-921-6067.
If You Go
What: Beverly's Got Talent
When: Thursday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m.
Where: Beverly Senior Center, 90 Colon St.
Cost: $100 premier tables, $50 reserved seating, $25 general admission
