Katie Raquel from Katie’s Coldpress is part of Event Watsonville’s Entrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights
Event Watsonville presents “Entrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, and there will be a few food/drink/farm-related speakers in the mix plus delicious food and drink for sale. Representatives from different local businesses will talk about how they started their business and what drives them to do what they do.
This is the second “Event Watsonville” evening; the first was in February. Matthew Swinnerton, who founded the popular Event Santa Cruz series a few years ago, decided to expand to South County to showcase even more of our local community.
“I am super excited to come back to Watsonville,” says Swinnerton. “It’s been far too long since we did the last one back in February and I definitely won’t let that happen again. I love the energy and excitement coming out of the Watsonville entrepreneur community. Events like this really show that off.”
As always, the evening begins with time to mingle and buy food and beverages starting at 6 p.m. Selections for sale will include tacos from My Mom’s Mole and beer from Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co. In addition, food samples will be available from a variety of area vendors.
The setting is Specialized Helicopters in Watsonville. There will also be helicopter rides available for purchase.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.
Speakers begin at about 7, after the hour of mingling is over. Katie Raquel from fresh, organic juice business Katie’s Coldpress says she is participating as a presenter because she has found these types of events to be “a huge source of inspiration. It’s a total joy hearing from other entrepreneurs and connecting deeper with the community.”
Katie’s Coldpress is family-owned and operated. “We infuse every part of the business with love and attention,” shares Raquel. “I started KCP two years ago out of a desire to make the highest quality raw juice more accessible to people with busy lives—all of us, right?!—and to make products that are truly delicious, with a focus on excellent and personal customer service.” Her business is committed to staying 100% plant-based, and it’s in the process of being CCOF certified organic, after two years of being certified organic through the state of California.
Jessica Ridgeway from Farm Discovery at Live Earth is also a speaker. She’s excited to speak about the farm-based nonprofit she co-founded a few years ago, which works to empower youth and families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social and natural systems. Farm Discovery offers “educational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their relationship to food, farming and nature.” She adds, “We steward our working farm and its wild spaces as an environmentally and economically viable piece of the food system and a learning space.”
She says it’s a perfect time to share the vision and programs with community members who may not be aware of the nonprofit. “Farm Discovery is reaching a new level or organizational maturity,” says Ridgeway. “We are in a place where we now have the capacity to actively create new partnerships in our local community. Participating in events like this helps Farm Discovery to build important relationships with other local businesses, individuals, and organizations in order to transform personal and community health and improve our impact on earth by building and sustaining collaborative agricultural, ecological and social systems.”
Other participants, in alphabetical order:
- Chris Gularte – Specialized Helicopters
- Sindy Hernandez de Cornejo – Queen’s shoes & more
- Jacob Martinez and Gabriel Jesse Medina – Digital NEST
- Luke Taylor – Corralitos Brewing Co.
Details
Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016: 6 p.m. doors open/food & drinks begin, 7 p.m. speakers begin
Cost: $10
Location: Specialized Helicopters, 150 Aviation Way, Watsonville
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