July 16th, 2025 2:30-5pm, Silent Film at 6pm

On July 16, 2025, the Historic Organ Restoration Committee will present a unique day of music in conjunction with the Soar & Shore Festival.  The world’s largest pipe organ will, for the second time, accompany a classic silent film!  The day begins at 10:00 AM with a Curator’s Tour that takes you inside the pipe organ at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.  Tickets for the tour are $10 and available at www.boardwalkorgans.org.  At Noon, organist Brett Miller, Music Director of the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, will play a free half-hour recital on the Midmer-Losh organ.  Guests can head out to the boardwalk after the recital and enjoy the air show portion of the Soar & Shore festival.

At 2:30 PM coinciding with the end of the air show, we will open the doors of Boardwalk Hall to the public for a free Classic Car show on the arena floor.  If you are interested in bringing your car to the show, registration is free and includes two tickets to the silent film in the evening.  Registration is available by clicking the button below or by calling 609-221-5435. There will also be brief demonstrations of the Midmer-Losh organ during the car show.  The car show finishes at 5:00 PM, and at 6:00 PM we will shift the arena to host a showing of two great silent film comedies, Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK, JR., and Laurel & Hardy's TWO TARS accompanied by organist Brett Miller. This is the second annual silent film on the world's largest pipe organ!  Tickets for the film are $30 and are available at the door or by clicking below.

Sherlock, Jr. is the story of a kindly movie projectionist (Buster Keaton) longing to be a detective. When his fiancée (Kathryn McGuire) is robbed by a local thief (Ward Crane), the poor projectionist is framed for the crime. Using his amateur detective skills, the projectionist follows the thief to the train station -- only to find himself locked in a train car. Disheartened, he returns to his movie theater, where he falls asleep and dreams that he is the great Sherlock Holmes.

Two Tars follows Stanley and Oliver, two sailors on shore leave, who rent a car and go driving with dates but get stuck in a traffic jam. A minor fender-bender starts an escalating series of retaliations that leaves the vehicles in pieces.