{"id":2443,"date":"2016-08-23T19:37:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T23:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/santacruzfoodie.com\/?p=2443"},"modified":"2016-08-23T19:37:58","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T23:37:58","slug":"event-watsonville-hosts-enticing-evening-with-local-entrepreneurs-food-and-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/santacruzfoodie.com\/?p=2443","title":{"rendered":"Event Watsonville hosts enticing evening with local entrepreneurs, food and beer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Katie

Katie Raquel from Katie’s Coldpress is part of Event Watsonville\u2019s Entrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights<\/p><\/div>\n

Event Watsonville<\/a> presents \u201cEntrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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This is the second \u201cEvent Watsonville\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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“I am super excited to come back to Watsonville,\u201d says Swinnerton. \u201cIt\u2019s been far too long since we did the last one back in February and I definitely won\u2019t let that happen again. I love the energy and excitement coming out of the Watsonville entrepreneur community. Events like this really show that off.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s Mole<\/a> and beer from Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co.<\/a> In addition, food samples will be available from a variety of area vendors.<\/p>\n

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The setting is Specialized Helicopters<\/a> in Watsonville. There will also be helicopter rides available for purchase.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speakers begin at about 7, after the hour of mingling is over. Katie Raquel from fresh, organic juice business Katie’s Coldpress<\/a> says she is participating as a presenter because she has found these types of events to be \u201ca huge source of inspiration. It’s a total joy hearing from other entrepreneurs and connecting deeper with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie\u2019s Coldpress is family-owned and operated. \u201cWe infuse every part of the business with love and attention,\u201d shares Raquel. \u201cI started KCP two years ago out of a desire to make the highest quality\u00a0raw\u00a0juice more accessible to people with busy\u00a0lives\u2014all of us, right?!\u2014and to make products that are truly delicious, with a focus on excellent and\u00a0personal customer service.\u201d Her business is committed to staying\u00a0100% plant-based, and it\u2019s in the process of being CCOF certified organic, after two years of being certified organic through the state of California.<\/p>\n

Jessica Ridgeway from Farm Discovery at Live Earth<\/a> is also a speaker. She\u2019s 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 \u201ceducational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their\u00a0relationship to food, farming and nature.\u201d She adds, \u201cWe steward our working farm and its wild spaces as an environmentally and economically viable piece of the food system and a learning space.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says it\u2019s a perfect time to share the vision and programs with community members who may not be aware of the nonprofit. \u201cFarm Discovery is reaching a new level or organizational maturity,\u201d says Ridgeway. \u201cWe 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\u00a0and improve our impact on earth by building and sustaining collaborative agricultural, ecological and social systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other participants, in alphabetical order:<\/strong><\/p>\n