Berry grower-marketer Wish Farms celebrated the grand opening of its new office headquarters in Plant City, Fla., with a PixieRock! music festival.
Hundreds of guests flocked to the physically distant, outdoor event on Wish Farms’ front lawn, according to a news release. The concert featured live performances by Giselle Gutierrez, Atlanta Rhythm Section, BlackHawk and headliner, Young the Giant.
“We wanted to throw an unforgettable, unique party for our employees, growers, vendors, customers and friends to celebrate our beautiful new space,” owner Gary Wishnatzki said in the release. “An added perk was that we raised a lot of money for our newly formed charitable foundation.”
PixieRock! garnered 45 corporate and individual sponsors from central Florida, from local businesses to agriculture industry leaders. Individual ticket sales, a silent auction, food and beverage sales, and slide rides, pushed the grand total raised to more than $450,000.
A portion of that sum will be shared with the event’s three designated beneficiaries: United Food Bank of Plant City, Redlands Christian Migrant Association and Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. The rest of the money will go toward supporting causes that also represent the three pillars of giving for the Wish Farms Family Foundation: food insecurity, youth education and community.
Top sponsors of PixieRock! included Monte Package Co.-Bunzl Agriculture Group, RCS Co. of Tampa, Farm Credit of Central Florida and John Jerue Trucking. A complete list of all sponsors is at www.pixierock.org.
“For this being our first year taking on an event of this size, it couldn’t have gone more perfectly,” Wishnatzki said in the release. “We now have a successful blueprint for next year’s celebration commemorating our company’s 100th birthday. I also have some fun surprises up my sleeve.”
