Monday, November 11, 2013

Children & Parents Day 2013 ushers in culinary component and outreach initiatives. Pineapple Fruit-themed event featured local food, art and Florida history. 2014 theme is Apple Fruit

On Sunday, March 3, 2013, the pineapple fruit had a starring role at the 8th Children & Parents Day.  The family event was sponsored by Target stores and presented by the non-profit Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History.  New to the event is an outreach component with an art exhibit at a local gallery and a classroom cooking demo.


 

Children & Parents Day celebrated the pineapple fruit for National Nutrition Month and the 500th anniversary of Florida entitled Viva Florida.  Pineapple fruit farming had a major historic impact during the agricultural development of Palm Beach County and the State of Florida from 1860 to the 1930s. The Master of Ceremony was Virginia Sinicki, Morning Co-Host of the KVJ Show on Wild 95.5. Children & Parents Day was held at the historic Boynton Woman’s Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.

 
 






Kingston & Associates sponsored a significant donation of their Sugar Pines MD2 Gold brand of pineapples.  The farm-to-table lunch, smoothies, cooking demos and kids cooking classes infused the Kingston pineapples.
 
Personal appearances were by real farmers from the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the  Palm Beach County and Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau. These agriculture bureaus participated in the event by hosting an information and farm-related activity station pertaining to farming in the State of Florida. 


 
 
 
 

 
Children & Parents Day also featured pineapple fruit-infused cooking demos, Make-Me-A-Pineapple kids cooking classes, pineapple-themed arts and crafts stations with local artists, souvenir photos in the pineapple patch, a personal appearance by the Pineapple Farmer Patty, entertainment, music and an all-you-can eat farm-to-table lunch.
 
 


 
 
 




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tortilla wraps from Tortilleria Gallo de Oro of Lake Worth were used to create fruit wraps with MD2 Gold Sugar Pines pineapples.  The recipe came from the Academy of Dietetics which sponsors National Nutrition Awareness Month.
 
 
The lively Chef Chrissy Benoit of The Little House restaurant of Boynton Beach conducted a cooking demo and kids cooking class highlighting the use of the fresh pineapple fruit.  Chef Benoit demonstrated the Pineapple Salsa with tortilla chips and created a Pineapple Upside-Side Down Cake for the kids cooking class. The tortilla wraps and tortilla chips were sponsored by the Tortilleria Gallo de Oro of Lake Worth.  Bonnie Brown of Bonnie’s Best Bests in Boynton Beach created Tropical Fruit Pineapple Cupcakes; and Chef Phillip Herman of the Secret Garden CafĂ© of Boynton Beach developed an amazing 5-course farm-to-table meal that incorporated the Sugar Pines Pineapples.  Pineapple smoothies were created live at the event by The Juice Bar of Lake Worth. South Tech Culinary Academy students assisted the chefs with the kitchen management, demos and kids cooking classes.
 
A specially designed pineapple fruit-shaped cake made with Sugar Pines pineapples created by Pastry Chef Lara Fisher of Cakes by Lara of Lantana was unveiled at the Children & Parents Day.
 
Other food ingredients and fresh produce were from the Boynton Urban Farm and Target grocery store. 
 
Pineapple fruit cutting, tasting and planting demos was showcased by the Boynton Garden Club.
 
 



 
 
Pineapple-themed and culinary-themed arts and crafts were the fun interactive experience for the children and their families.  Local artists from Boynton Beach and Delray Beach hosted creativity stations that offered arts-making of pineapple masks, ceramic tile painting, art drawing and coloring. The artists included Rolando Chang Barrero of ActivistArtista, Barb Lentz of Art-Sea Living, Nadine Hamil of Artful Dreamers and Inge Behrens of CIB Art Gallery. The CIB Gallery hosted a 3-week display of the pineapple art work created by the kids at Children & Parents Day. Students from American Heritage School of Boca/Delray National Honor Science Society were the official student volunteers for the arts and craft stations.  And, the welcome greeters were from the National Honor Society of Palm Beach Lakes High School of West Palm Beach, Florida.
 
 






 
 
 
 
 




 

 


 
 
Tortilla chips made from tortillas from Tortilleria Gallo de Oro of Lake Worth. Pineapple salsa by Chef Chrissy Benoit of The Little House of Boynton Beach. 

 
 



 
 
 
  

  
 
  




 
 
 
 
 


 

 


 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The 8th annual Children & Parents Day is an official Community Event Partner for the 500th anniversary of the State of Florida, Viva Florida. Pineapple Farmer Patty made a personal appearance at the event and conducted storybook reading about the history of pineapple farming in Palm Beach County and a pineapple magic show.  And, souvenir photos were hosted in the Pineapple Fruit Patch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Master of Ceremony Virginia Sinicki in the Pineapple Patch

 








 
  
 
 
 
The 8th annual Children & Parents Day went on the road with a display of art work created at the March 3, 2013 event that traveled to the Inge Behren's CIB Art Gallery in the Pineapple Grove Arts District of Downtown Delray Beach, Florida
 
Residents from the Boca Woods Country Club viewed at the Inge Behren's  CIB Art Gallery the pineapple art work created by kids at the 8th annual Children & Parents Day 2013. Inge Behren's was one of the artist at the event who offered interactive art-making.
 
Click here to read some of the editorials about the 8th annual pineapple event. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sugar Pines MD2 Gold Fresh Pineapples are sponsored Kingston & Associates


Kingston and Associates Marketing was founded by David O. Kingston, Owner and CEO of the Company. Over the past forty years, our mission has been to grow, pack and ship the freshest high quality produce possible to our food service and retail customer partners across the United States. Although Kingston began in the volcanic soils growing famous Idaho potatoes, we have steadily grown our customer-driven offerings to a produce portfolio of over 30 fresh programs sourced from all over North and South America. The key to this success has been in providing the highest level of customer service and, throughout the years, staying true to our brand promise: “a relentless commitment to quality and food safety.” At Kingston, we live this promise everyday and truly love what we do! This promise is made a reality by our integrated supply chain, enabling Kingston to control each step of the process and deliver added value to our customers. We find that retail customers and foodservice distributors alike enjoy the benefits of working with a seasoned provider of quality programs where quality food programs are supported by food safety, transportation & logistical capabilities, and state of the art warehouse facilities. Together, we offer true “Planting to Plate” service and dependability.
The 8th annual Children & Parents Day was an official community event partner for the 500thanniversary of the State of Florida, Viva Florida.
 
 
 
 
The 9th annual Children & Parents Day is set for Sunday, February 23, 2014.  The theme is the Apple fruit.  Click here for more information.  
 
The annual non-profit Children & Parents Day is presented by MLFH and sponsored by Target, the Patricia Ann Ravo Fund and the Boris & Edith Rueger Fund. It was established in 2005 with the purpose of providing a fun-filled day of family adventures with arts, crafts and history education activities for children. The event has grown to include culinary experiences and features local farmers, local chefs, kids cooking classes and interactive crafts coordinated by local artists.  Lori J. Durante established the program which is sponsored by the Target corporation.  Children & Parents Day is one of the Official Community Event Partners for the State of Florida's Viva Florida campaign.  Children & Parents Day has also joined National Nutrition Month and the Let's Move Campaign to fight childhood obesity. The family event is held annually at the historic Boynton Woman’s Club in Boynton Beach.  The ninth annual Children & Parents Day celebrating the apple fruit is scheduled for Sunday, February 23, 2014. For more information, call 561-243-2662 or email Apple@ChilrenParentsDay.org. Visit ChildrenParentsDay.org.
 
Children & Parents Day went on the road for National Farm To School and Apple Month on October 30, 2013. Click here to read about it.