Liberty Hall Museum to Host Titanic-Themed Luncheon, 6/21

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University invites visitors to experience fine dining on the high seas without ever leaving shore at Dining on the Titanic (Saturday, June 21; Noon to 3 p.m.), an elegant luncheon saluting the unparalleled cuisine of history's most famous and ill-fated ship. Inspired by the Kean family's own multiple voyages on the RMS Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic, Dining on the Titanic complements the museum's superb travel retrospective, Bon Voyage! 200 Years of Luxury Travel (open now through November 20).

"It was the Kean family's favorite ship," said Director of Museum Operations Bill Schroh, Jr. of the Olympic, the first of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the legendary White Star Line, which included RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic (both of which ended in tragedy). The Keans were frequent passengers on the Olympic's voyage from Southampton to New York, which took "five days, seven hours, and twenty-nine minutes," according to Mr. Schroh.

Guests accustomed to the museum's lavish Downton Abbey-themed events, hosted in the historic 1882 Carriage House, will enjoy a much more intimate experience at Dining on the Titanic, according to Lacey Bongard, Liberty Hall's Coordinator of Museum Programs. "Dining on the Titanic will be a served meal, instead of a buffet, similar to what was served aboard the ship," Ms. Bongard explained, noting that Liberty Hall's anticipated menu was inspired by the Titanic's own bill of fare. "Guests will be eating off replica china from the ships [the Titanic and Olympic]," added Mr. Schroh, who stated that guests will be served in Liberty Hall's famed glass-enclosed porch "to evoke two specialty restaurants, the Café Parisien and À la Carte Restaurant," patronized by the doomed ship's first-class passengers. He and Ms. Bongard hope the stunning vistas of Liberty Hall's gardens will prove a fair substitute for the Café Parisien, described in White Star Line's promotional material of the time as a "charming sun-lit veranda, tastefully decorated in French trellis-work with ivy and other creeping plants."

Admission to Dining on the Titanic is $55.00 per person, and includes a guided tour of Bon Voyage! 200 Years of Luxury Travel. Reservations are required by June 14; please call 908-527-0400 or email libertyhall@kean.edu to reserve. Space is limited, so guests are encouraged to reserve as soon as possible to ensure availability. Additional dates include July 19, August 16, September 13, and November 15.

Liberty Hall's celebrated porch will also play host to the museum's extraordinarily popular Afternoon Tea series, which continues the second and fourth Wednesday of the month (June 11 & 25) from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Guests are invited to enjoy an exquisite traditional tea service featuring a selection of scones, assorted pastries, traditional finger sandwiches, and fresh fruit in the grand tradition of Mary Alice Kean, the last resident of Liberty Hall. Admission is $40, and includes a guided tour of Bon Voyage! 200 Years of Luxury Travel. Reservations are required by calling 908-527-0400 or emailing libertyhall@kean.edu.

Liberty Hall Museum's Community Farmer's Market operates rain or shine every Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., through October 30. The market features Jersey Fresh produce, bread, wine, cheese, baked goods, honey, prepared foods, and natural skin care products, as well as food trucks.

Liberty Hall Museum is proud to participate in Blue Star Museums, a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation's service members, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families from Memorial Day, May 26, 2014 through Labor Day, September 1, 2014. Leadership support has been provided by MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families. For more information, please visit http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums.

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University chronicles more than 240 years of American history. The museum also houses extensive collections of furniture, ceramics, textiles, toys and tools owned by seven generations of the Livingston and Kean families. The Firehouse Museum, built in 2004, houses three antique fire engines, including a rare 1911 American LaFrance Metropolitan Steam Engine. Tours of Liberty Hall run Monday - Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the hour; the last tour departs at 3 p.m. General admission is $10 for adults, $8 for Kean alumni, and $6 for children and seniors. Kean students and faculty are free.

For reservations and further information, please call 908-527-0400, e-mail libertyhall@kean.edu or visit www.kean.edu/libertyhall.