The Laker/Lutz News

Zephyrhills Noon Rotary

Zephyrhills prepares for its 108th Founder’s Day

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Zephyrhills’ Main Street is rallying merchants, community activists and citizens for its 108th Founder’s Day celebration on March 10.

Gail Hamilton, of Zephyrhills Community Development, and Anna K. Stutzriem, Main Street coordinator for Main Street Zephyrhills, are in the midst of planning festivities for the daylong event.

Stutzriem hopes this year’s event will help restore the glory of the community’s time-honored Founder’s Day event.

The goal is to provide hands-on opportunities, so visitors can see how the city got to where it is today. This year’s theme is “Moonshine, Turpentine & Timber.”

Model T Fords rolled down the road in a previous Founder’s Day celebration in Zephyrhills. (Courtesy of Madonna Jervis Wise)

Plans include a morning race to kick off festivities. People of all ages are encouraged to take part. They can choose from a one-mile run/walk; a 5K race or a 10K race.

An old-fashioned Florida parade is planned as well, with Greg First serving as the master of ceremonies.

The parade will take place on Fifth Avenue at 10 a.m. A number of awards will be given for categories, including best costumes, best walking/marching unit, best of theme, and more.

Warren Earle, who was named citizen of the year by The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, will be the grand marshal for the parade.

The 90-year-old volunteer is known for bringing fresh doughnuts and a bouquet of flowers on Monday morning for the workers at City Hall, when he arrives to make preparations for City Council meetings. He’s been volunteering in Zephyrhills for 15 years, and has worked tirelessly in supporting the Zephyrhills Little League, the Zephyrhills High School band, the Zephyrhills Color Guard, the Zephyrhills ROTC, the Zephyrhills Fire Rescue Cadets, the Elks Lodge Project, and the renovation of the historic Howard B. Jeffries House.

Following the parade, there will be a ‘Community Picnic Table,’ similar to the old-time “Dinner on the Ground,” available from the south side of Eighth Street, extending along Fifth Avenue.

The elongated table will be adorned in a classic red gingham cloth where folks can converse, savor the local food from area restaurants and vendors, and enjoy entertainment provided by local dance studios on the nearby Eiland Band Stage.

New this year, vendors will be placed near the median along Fifth Avenue. To facilitate safety and comfort for the anticipated crowds, a police officer will be stationed on each city block of the parade.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office’s mounted patrol took part in a previous Founder’s Day celebration in Zephyrhills.

Hayrides will be available from the New Era 4-H Club of Zephyrhills, pulled by draft horses with a host narrator in vintage costume who relates accounts of Zephyrhills history, including a few morsels from the past.

New Era 4-H will host a downtown petting zoo for children and families, as well.

Zephyrhills Brewing Company will blend a pre-prohibition beer recipe for Founder’s Day. Proprietors Terry Hilferding said that she and her husband, Robert, have collected recipes throughout the years and will concoct a batch reminiscent of the 1911 timeframe.

An Open House at the Howard B. Jeffries Home at 38537 Fifth Ave., in Zephyrhills, will include “Tales on the Porch” from noon until 4 p.m.

The Hopkins Family Porch was recently renovated by Dwight Hopkins who donated materials and volunteered labor to replace the porch.

Speakers will deliver informal anecdotes about pioneer life starting at noon, and guided tours will be available of the historic home.

Arts and crafts booths, as well as food and merchandise vendors, will be stationed along Fifth Avenue.

Old-fashioned kids’ carnival games also will be offered by Boy Scout Pack 72.

And, the Women’s Club of Zephyrhills will host an open house.

In addition, there will be a Beard and Moustache Competition at 2 p.m. Categories include: natural beard, styled beard, longest beard and mustache.

Numerous other activities are planned, including a Master Gardener Booth, where you can learn more about Florida plants and ask gardening questions. Master Gardeners Diana Williams and Jeannine Thompson will be on hand.

Meanwhile, at the Zephyrhills Airport, Zephyrhills Noon Rotary, with Mike Fike coordinating, will host a Skydive Exhibition beginning at 4 p.m.

T.K. Hayes, of Skydive City, will facilitate a multi-person jump to be followed by a flag ceremony. Subsequently, a concert series will culminate in fireworks at the airport at 7:45 p.m.

Planning to attend the parade?
Be sure to arrive well before 10 a.m. to find parking. Bring a folding chair and place it along Fifth Avenue, or nearby.

After enjoying festivities downtown, you can go to the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, at 39450 South Avenue, around 4 p.m., to see a Skydive exhibition, enjoy music and watch fireworks to cap off the day.

Want to run or walk?
People of all ages are encouraged to take part in the one-mile run/walk, 5K or 10K. Those interested can sign up at FoundersDayRace.com.

‘Ryals ’n Shine’
Sip a taste of the vintage recipe entitled ‘Ryals n’ Shine,’ on March 10 at the 108th Founder’s Day in Zephyrhills. Robert and Terry Hilferding of Zephyrhills Brewing Company, who collect recipes and brew up signature beers that date back to colonial times, will salute the community’s past with a pre-prohibition ‘recipe’ they have coined for Stanley Ryals, a Zephyrhills businessman who was recognized for citrus, ranching, building, lumbering and moonshining.

By Madonna Jervis Wise

Published February 28, 2018

Zephyrhills chamber ‘pays it forward’

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The seventh annual Pigz and Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest is over, but its community impact lingers on.

The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce earmarked more than $19,000 in scholarships and donations during its annual “Pay it Forward” dinner on Feb. 23, at the Silverado Golf and Country Club.

Evan McBride, part of a grilling group called Peachy Boys, from Mount Dora, turns some meat on the grill during the seventh annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest on Jan. 21. Revenue from the event allowed The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce to earmark more than $19,000 in donations and scholarships to civic clubs, youth groups and graduating seniors from Zephyrhills High School.
(File)

The post-barbecue banquet celebrates volunteers’ efforts during the Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest, which just wrapped its seventh year on Jan. 21. More than 100 sponsors, participants and volunteers attended the celebration.

Throughout the banquet, the chamber handed out $14,500 in donations to 11 civic clubs and youth groups, from money raised through the barbecue event.

Those donations ranged from $250 to $1,900.

The chamber also announced $5,000 in scholarships to graduating Zephyrhills High School students in May. Among those are a $1,000 performing arts scholarship, a $1,000 culinary arts scholarship and a $1,000 scholarship to a student “who may not have started well, but has made a turnaround in his or her scholastic life.”

Organizations receiving donations were the Pasco County Sheriff’s Posse, Zephyrhills Civil Air Patrol, Zephyrhills Noon Rotary, Zephyrhills Museum of Military History, Zephyrhills/Wesley Chapel Ministerial Association, Relay 4 Life committee, and the Resurrection House Mission.

Several groups from Zephyrhills High School also were rewarded, including Army JRTOC, Interact Club and Drama Club.

Each organization, which contributed the bulk of the festival’s 3,000 volunteer hours, was also presented with various certificates, plaques and other prizes.

The seventh annual Pigz in Z’Hills festival, meanwhile, was its most successful to date, chamber officials say.

Net revenue from the event totaled more than $50,000 — the highest mark yet, according to Melonie Monson, executive director of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, the economic impact for the city of Zephyrhills from this year’s barbecue fest was estimated at about $500,000, Monson said.

Pigz in Z’Hills, now a mainstay for east Pasco, drew somewhere between 11,000 and 14,000 attendees.

It also featured 54 teams, and more than 140 vendors.
In a release, Monson credits some of the event’s success — both financial and turnout — to the new festival venue, which was completed just prior to the barbecue shindig.

The $70,000-plus venue spans 14 acres, and includes amenities such as a 20-by-40 stage, and 50 spaces equipped with water and electric.
It was constructed via a public-private partnership, with contributions from Florida Hospital Zephyrhills and the City of Zephyrhills. Additionally, John Kinsman, of Martin Electric, and Paul Correia, of Sunstate Aluminum, contributed labor and expertise in electrical, plumbing and construction.

The venue is now expected to be used for various events and fundraisers organized by nonprofit organizations.

Published March 8, 2017