Brenda's Berry Farm

April in Florida means the season is ripe for picking a dark blue commodity that used to be associated with colder north climates, blueberries. This sweet little berry, rich with fiber and full of anti-oxidants, has moved south.

The University of Florida launched a blueberry breeding program in 1976 and it produced three strains of southern highbush blueberries developed for Florida’s mild climate. Thirty years later these efforts have bloomed, so to speak. 

Pasco County now boasts numerous commercial blueberry farms and several of them are you U-Pick patches. One is Brenda’s Berry Barn. Located on Hudson Road three miles east of little Road. The Short family has a U-Pick farm which backs up to Brenda’s son Brad’s commercial farm.  What’s the difference? Brad’s produces more than 80,000 pounds of berries while Brenda’s hosts people from around the world who pick the 30,000 pounds her farm produces. 

Brenda Short



International you say? Yes, on a recent morning the Gottwald Family from Berlin, Germany stopped by and harvested ten pounds of berries to enjoy while on vacation here in Pasco. Later that day tourists from Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia stopped by to pick a few pounds, according to Brenda.

You can also purchase fresh berries that Brenda has ready for you. Visitors can also pick up a bottle of blueberry syrup or jam to satisfy their sweet tooth. Brenda has also written a children’s story about her berry farm and it makes a nice memento for time spent in the patch picking our own dark blueberries full of bliss with your family.

In an effort to increase the knowledge of blueberry farms in Pasco, local farmers have put to together the Blueberry Jerry Jamboree in memory of Brenda’s husband Jerry and there son Justin she lost several years ago. The jamboree on April 27-29, features none other than a blueberry pancake breakfast (Sat & Sunday), puppet shows, a ham dinner, face-painting, balloons and music and lots of blueberries.

If you want to strike up a conversation with Brenda when you visit ask her about her Blueberry Cobbler.

New twists rekindle Suncoast Arts Fest

Wesley Chapel -- This year’s Suncoast Arts Fest at the Shoppes at Wiregrass drew crowds in excess of 100,000 in late January and added a few new aspects to what many consider one of the fastest growing art festivals in Central Florida. For the seventh year in a row the show continued to grow and draw talented artists from across the region.

A 5k run was added to raise money directly for area schools’ art classes and chalk artists were dotted through the hundreds of vendors. Fantastic food was featured and there was a Flash Mob Dance on Sunday.

“The dance group was excellent,” said Pam Marron, co-chair of the Suncoast Arts Fest. “It was kind of a surprise because normally Wiregrass doesn’t allow flash mobs, in-line with a lot of other area malls. So it was a neat one-time event.”

The two-day festival featured 85 artists displaying and selling their work. There were also ten vendors offering a variety of goods.

“We had people from around the region come to this event to display their wares and art,” explained Marron. “I also had 21 other artists come to the event to see it first-hand and they decided to sign up for next year.” The dates for next year are already set for Jan 19-20, 2013. Artists came from the local area plus, Orlando, Punta Gorda and Sarasota. “Each year we draw artists and visitors in from further and further distances,” said Marron.

As in the past the Fest used smart phone technology to push out the information on the musical performances, as well as specials offered around the Shoppes of Wiregrass.

“We worked hard this year to make the event more interactive,” Marron said. “We used QR codes, Facebook and twitter to keep our visitors aware of the events as they happened.”

The School District played and even larger part in the festival this year according to Marron. Art teachers and their students made up a bulk of the volunteer force.

Marron said that a number of the sponsors were extremely happy with the turn out and one boasted a 40% increase in sales over the previous year. What will they think of next as they continue to grow what has become a featured art festival in the region?

Pasco EcoFest Photo Competition

Photo by Andrea Webb

The Chasco Camera Club, Progress Energy Art Gallery and the West Pasco Arts Guild hosted the inaugural Pasco EcoFest Photographic Competition as one of the outdoor opportunities during the three-day festival last November. The photos from that forum are being displayed at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey for the month of January.

The Camera Club has been around since 1973, currently has 42 members and holds two meetings a month; on the first and third Tuesdays at the Hudson Library. Throughout the year the Club sponsors around ten exhibits, according to Charlie Srsich, a long-time member.

“I think the EcoFest was great overall,” said Srsich. “I think that next year people will have a better idea of what to expect and even more will participate in all the activities, especially photography.” A photographer since the 1950, Srsich lamented about the challenge of nature photography.

“You can be one place, one day at a certain time and you will have wildlife all around you. Next visit there may not be any. It takes a lot of patience to capture a great photograph.”

Srsich knows that people who participated in this competition enjoyed it and the fact there were 11 winners, five from the Chasco Camera Club, will bring even more submissions next year.

Club information and membership, events and competitions is available at chascocameraclub.org

Winners from the competition are:

First Place – Cheryl Molennor for “Elegance and Grace”

Second Place – Joan Bold for “Five Sandpipers”

Third Place – Steward Harrison for “Flight”

The photos can be viewed from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizen’s Drive, New Port Richey.

Lacrosse Anyone?

Will the Krunch repeat?

The 6th Annual Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions, the boys’ club lacrosse national championships, returns to Wesley Chapel District Park and Wesley Chapel High School December 30, 2011 - January 1, 2012.

This marks the fifth consecutive year the tournament has returned to Pasco County. The three day event is estimated to bring in an economic impact to the area of more than $2 million.

This year’s tournament has expanded to five divisions totaling 80 teams. Last year’s elite champion the Kanienkehaka Krunch (New York) returns as well as the two-time runner-up Road Warriors from North Carolina.  The Krunch were the first US team to win the elite trophy.

The sport of lacrosse was created by Native American tribes and the Kanienkehaka Krunch are from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. In the tournament's previous five elite finals, a team from the lacrosse rich nation of Canada took home the coveted Dick's trophy. 

Twenty states will be represented, along with six clubs from Canada and 16 teams from Florida. Teams will compete in pool play on Friday, and will then be seeded for the championship brackets based on pool play results.  The five national championship games will be held on Sunday, January 1 starting at 8 a.m. through 1:00 p.m. at Wesley Chapel District Park.

For a complete list of the teams and brackets in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County log onto http://www.laxtoc.com/. For more on Pasco County go to www.visitpasco.net.

Happy Halloween!

One of Pasco County's own, Lawrence Feeney, filmed a short screen story just for Halloween. The short film industry and New Port Richey's past has been buzzing since Feeney and his partners entered the PRISONER 34655 into the Producer's Guild Weekend Shorts Contest at the end of September.

Log on to VIMEO to take a peak at Feeney's film. I'm sure you will see some of Pasco County's finest venues in the flick.

Since we are days away from Halloween we can thank our friends from the Patch at discovering what haunts Pasco County. Please stop there is no inside joke or pun. Keeping with the last blog about the former silent movie stars that graced New Port Richey there's tales of the Richey Suncoast Theater and of past president and patron Willard Clark's spirit roaming the balcony.

Check out the story here.

Happy Halloween Pasco County!

Hello Everybody I'm Pasco County!

We are back! Our destination is always boasting about taking a vacation and sometimes the destination's blog takes a vacation. For this post we'll focus on film. Celebrities began flocking to New Port Richey in the roaring 1920s, when New Port Richey residents Mr. and Mrs. George Sims invited friends to visit from Great Neck, New York—a prominent movie and stage colony in the north. Sims Park, along the Pithlachascotee River on the edge of downtown, is named for this couple who introduced so many to the area and truly encouraged the city’s growth.

Cash's former home on the Cotee

Soon after the incorporation of the City of New Port Richey in 1924, Warren E. Burns of New York City began to develop his extensive holdings here. Lots were sold to silent screen idol Thomas Meighan, renowned comedian Ed Wynn, theatrical stars Raymond Hitchcock and his wife Flora Zabelle, movie stars Gloria Swanson and Leon Errol, jazz musician Paul Whiteman, and grand slam champion golfer Gene Sarazen. Meighan was among the first to build a home along the river. Today, boaters can view Meighan’s gatehouse, Swanson’s home, and Sarazen’s riverside residence.

While many expected New Port Richey to flourish as a movie and stage colony in the 1920s, the city never reached this destiny. The 1929 stock market crash and untimely death of Thomas Meighan in 1936 brought an end to such dreams. Nevertheless, New Port Richey did not develop into the Hollywood destination. However, it did lure a music legend like Johnny Cash. Our friends at the PATCH have the story http://bit.ly/py4fO4.

Lawrence Feeney has a short screen story to tell and you can be a part of it. Feeney is an actor, producer and director that is part of this upcoming weekend's Producers Guild Weekend Shorts Contest. Feeney is filming a documentary on Pasco County and how the area can be used for all kinds of film projects. Plus, he's producing a short film for the contest that will feature Pasco County actors and destinations. Contact him attheatrainplays@yahoo.com. You never now you could be the next Thomas Meighan or Johnny Depp.

Wild Thing’s Eco-Adventure

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” We are not in Oz, but in Dade City on Pasco County’s east side. The yellow brick road leads to Dade City’s Wild Things Zoo. It’s a path winding under a magnificent tree canopy and though a spacious garden on the Stearns’ property. A two mile trolley ride from the gift shop on Meridian Avenue begins your adventure.

Kathy Stearns is your host and she has developed an ecotour that allows hands-on encounters with many of the zoo’s 170 residents. That path winds past various types of monkeys, black bears, tiger and lions. The tour consists of explanations of their various habits and information about their behaviors in the wild. Many of the animals on the property have been rescued or recovered from people who could no longer care for them. Kathy has developed a close bond with each of her residents and it amazing how they respond to her and her staff.

The most popular part of the tour is the one-on-one encounters with some of the zoo’s infant animals. Following the guided tour, you can arrange to have s sit down session with tiger cubs Rajah or Ruari, the shy little foxes, Tippy Cooper and Billy Blue, pet the Roe Deer fawn Buckwheat, or pose for photos with the ever rambunctious snow monkey, JaJay.

One of the newest encounters available is swimming with the tiger cubs.

“This is the only place I know in the world where you can actually get in the water and swim with tigers,” said Kathy. Another idea being developed is opening up the property to tours and events in the vast natural botanical garden. There is room for social events including weddings with tours of the animals as an additional amenity.

Photos of your encounter are available upon return to the gift store. Dade City’s Wild Things is located at Meridian Avenue & 17th Street, 37245 Meridian Avenue, Dade City, FL, 352-567-WILD (9453). Their website is www.dadecityswildthings.com.