08/09/2026
My heart is full today. 💙
After months of planning, worrying, changing plans, adding ideas, taking ideas away, and wondering right up until the last minute how today would turn out… Recipes & Recess is officially in the books.
And I am incredibly thankful.
To every family who came through the gate, every child who participated, every volunteer who jumped in wherever they were needed, every sponsor who believed in the idea, and every vendor who took a chance on a first-year event — thank you.
And an EXTRA thank you to everyone who came and actually stayed in that heat. 😂 I can already promise you one thing about the next Recipes & Recess: it will NOT be in August. Lesson learned!
When I first started planning, I had much bigger numbers in my head. As the event got closer, I started wondering if anyone was going to show up at all. So to look around yesterday and see families spread throughout Pine Holler, kids decorating cakes, playing games, running through foam, visiting vendors and just enjoying themselves meant more to me than I can really put into words.
Please also show some love to the vendors who spent their Saturday with us. Small businesses and local vendors take a chance every time they set up at an event, and they are a huge part of what makes community events possible. If you saw something you liked yesterday, go find their pages, follow them, and keep supporting them after the tents come down.
And I can’t say enough about Pine Holler Florida Farm. What a wonderful venue to have right here in our community. The property gave us room to take an idea like this and turn it into an entire day for families. We are fortunate to have a place like Pine Holler — and the people behind it — here at home.
Was everything perfect? Absolutely not. I have a whole mental list of “next time we’re doing this differently.” 😂 But that’s what a first year is for.
Yesterday wasn’t about having the biggest event. It was about creating something new, bringing people together, giving kids a day to just be kids, supporting local businesses, and carrying forward a little bit of the legacy that inspired Recipes & Recess in the first place.
For our first one, I’m proud of where we started. And I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who was part of it.
Thank you for showing up. 💙
