More than 5,000 people flocked to Ward’s Supermarket’s 63rd Anniversary Fall Food Festival on Saturday, where families and fresh foods packed vendor tents and lined the parking lot.
The festival was free to the public and featured local vendors like The Hyppo, Gville Sweets, Sweetwater and Shawnee’s Greenthumb Popcorn. Some businesses traveled for the event, like Spring Head Ranch, which came from Lake City, Florida, and Firefly Farm, which came from Brooker, Florida.
Local vendor Susan Niemann started her soap company, Thrive Handcrafts, about three years ago.
She said as a full-time mom, the chemicals and preservatives in soaps concerned her, so she came up with her own recipes. She used cold-pressed vegetable oils, steam-distilled oils and other natural additives.
Her soaps are mostly vegan and vegetarian, with the exception of milk, beeswax and honey. For fragrances and flavors, she uses natural ingredients like coffee and tea, as well as clay for color.
“I wanted to make a pink soap for my daughter, so I asked her, ‘What should it be called?’ and she said, ‘Fairy Sparkle,’” Neimann said. “Fairy Sparkle is a mix of lavender, grapefruit and mint.”
UF psychology junior Christian Garcia said it was his first time going.
“I like that I can visit each tent and talk to the owners who are producing the food and making the products,” the 22-year-old said. “I don’t have to search the company online and read about them. Instead, I can ask the owner questions in person.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/27/2014]
Ward’s Supermarket at 515 NW 23rd Ave. held its 63rd Anniversary Fall Food Festival on Saturday. The event included store sales, product samples, wine tastings and a pumpkin sale.
