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Kumquat fest gains even greater fame
By CHASE SQUIRES SAINT JOSEPH -- For an event just heading into its fifth run, east Pasco's Kumquat Festival is getting plenty of attention. The latest media spotlight on the big-time celebration of the tiny fruit comes this month in Southern Living, which dedicates a full page to Roxine Barthle and her Saint Joseph outpost, Katy's Country Corner. "While you're here, feel free to say "quat' as often as you like," the article penned by Joe Rada suggests. "It'll bring a smile to your face." The Kumquat Festival, scheduled this year for Jan. 26, is the creation of Barthle, Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce director Phyllis Smith, and the late Carlene Ellberg. In its four years it has grown from a small-town celebration to a full-scale regional event. Last year, the festival scored national television exposure during coverage leading up to football's Super Bowl. This year, the festival was featured in a summer edition of the magazine American Profile and now in Southern Living. Barthle opened her store -- named after kumquat growers' mascot, "Katy" -- about eight years ago in what is billed as the nation's kumquat capital. The tangy fruit finds its way into jams and preserves and cakes and breads that line the store's shelves. Barthle said she got a call from Rada after he apparently learned of her shop from a mutual acquaintance. That was in May. "He was asking all kinds of questions, looking at everything," she said. "He was here for 30 or 40 minutes before I knew why he was here, that he was writing about us." Barthle said she learned by her experience about the long lead time required for a magazine piece. A few months after the reporter's visit, a photographer stopped by, snapping pictures. A few months after that, the story came out, just in time for next month's festival, she said. Smith said this year's festival includes a car show, recipe contest and the Kumquat Queen pageant and has enjoyed so much success that organizers are able to be more and more choosy in approving vendors. This year, with more than 200 already signed up, Smith said the focus is moving toward top quality, handmade arts and crafts. Eventually, the festival wants to feature a prestigious juried art show, she said. In the meantime, the festival continues to grow as word filters to the outside world, Smith said. Barthle said she can't help but feel that the spirit of her friend, Carlene Ellberg, has something to do with all the attention her store and the hometown festival is getting. Ellberg died in September 1999. "This was Carlene's dream -- for us to get exposure and reach people from all over," Barthle said. "I know she's my guardian angel."
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From today's Pasco Times |
