Last Saturday, a group of Plant City Women Owned Businesses got together for our first ever “Friends don’t let friends shop chain stores” event at the corner store. Amanda Pope of Restore Soul Studios, came up with the idea for a group of “girlfriends” to get together and showcase their products and services. Cynthia, owner of the corner store, very kindly opened up her store to hold the event. With about 10 different businesses present, the corner store was packed! Sister’s and Company, Southern Posh, Ego Girl Outfitters, Momma Knows Bows, Heather Dykstra’s Tabata Fitness and Michelle Ferguson Photography were some of the exhibitors present.
photo courtesy of Ego Girl Outfitters
Cynthia allowed us to set up behind the bar, so we brought a lot of goodies for snacking. We set up a sampling station with marinated mushrooms, marinated artichokes and our new crushed olive spread. This crushed olive spread is made with green olives and jalapenos, so be ready for a spicy bite. We also sampled our Amish made cheese curds. If you ever wondered what they taste like, the best way to describe them is a salty mozzarella. They are already cut in little pieces so they are great for snacking.
We also brought our Strawberry Salsa and our Five Amigos Roasted Pepper Salsa for dipping with our Veggie Chips. But we couldn’t truly have a sampling station if we didn’t sample some of our new jams. We had Peach Jalapeno, Gooseberry Jelly, Tropical Jam and Christmas Jam. The best seller by far was the Gooseberry Jelly. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it reminds me of guava jelly. The Tropical Jam was also well received; it’s made with coconut, mango, kiwi, banana and pineapple. It definitively packs a nice punch of flavors. The Christmas Jam is made with strawberries and cranberries and it’s a perfect mix of sweet and tart.
While the event was great to raise awareness and showcase a lot of small businesses in Plant City, the highlight of the event was Madison’s Mission. This little girl who is raising money to help families in need is wiser beyond her years. All the local businesses donated items or their services as raffle prizes to raise money for her to help a single family or two during the holidays. Seeing our community rally together makes me glad I live in Plant City. If you were unable to make it, but would like to help Madison fulfill her mission, please contact her by email at helpmadisonsmission@hotmail.com.
