By: Brianna Pearson
On Jan. 26, Saint Leo continued its commitment as an official sponsor for the Kumquat Festival, held in Downtown Dade City. There were over 200 vendors and more than 20 food trucks and stands, providing meals from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saint Leo helps sponsor this festival every year and loves to do so.
The Kumquat Festival is an annual event that many locals get excited for every year. There were many dishes and other snacks made from kumquats including kumquat pie, honey, ice cream, wine and other drinks. The kumquat pie was a beautiful dish that was tart, but also very sweet, similar to key-lime pie. They also sold bags of kumquats along with kumquat trees allowing persons to grow their own kumquats.
A kumquat is a small fruit about the size of a cherry tomato and is closely related to other citrus fruits. Kumquats have peels and acidic pulp, but unlike oranges, the peels of kumquats are edible, most people bite them in half and eat the remaining half after.
For lunch, Italian sausage seemed to be a big treat along with cheeseburgers from one of the food vendors. Other vendors had kettle corn, funnel cakes, boiled peanuts, pretzels with dip, Amish honey, pies and salsas.
There was so much diversity shown through the event, as different craft makers and artisans were present. There were people who made costumes for dogs, painters, artists who work with metals or woods, wine slushies, beef jerky makers and jewelry makers.
Saint Leo Students brought the cheer as they sang several songs eliciting responses from the attendees of the event. Credit: April Vanderlip
Many of Saint Leo’s faculty and students attended the event like John Feiler, junior theater major, and President Dr. Jeffery Senese. Feiler attended the event with Saint Leo’s singing group called TABS (Tenors, Altos, Basses and Sopranos). Feiler sang the song “Tattooed Heart” with the group, and the audience members were in agreement over how amazing they sounded.
Dr. Senese attended the event and had a blast, reporting his favorite part of the festival was the car shows. “While I am not a fan of Corvettes, I love the old cars” Senese stated. Feiler’s favorite part was all of the food, having an affinity for the kumquat pie.
Saint Leo is a participant in the event every year.
Dr. Senese spoke on the University’s involvement stating, “We are a member of Pasco County and a close neighbor to Dade City. We would like Dade City to continue to grow and provide opportunities for our students to eat, play and enjoy,” said Senese. He continued, “We are the only University in Pasco County, and we want to be a good member of our community.”
Credit: Brianna Pearson
There were many non-profit foundations at the festival, but the Thomas Promise Foundation stood out the most. The foundation held a contest in which the rules were simple, guessing how many kumquats were in the water jug. The Thomas Promise Foundation provides Pasco County children with things that many of us take for granted. They give out backpacks, non-perishable foods and other foods on the weekend when school meals are not available.
The festival also featured live music for attendees to enjoy, including a young band of boys who played classic rock hits. The festival uplifted many of the citizens of Dade City and the surrounding areas that are predominantly older persons. Festival organizers look forward to the event growing larger over time with significant buy in from the younger community.
