Downtown Hoe-Down a big success, organizers say

More than1,000 people moseyed on down to downtown Sebring Circle for an evening of food and fun Saturday, at the Highlands Hometown Hoe-Down hosted by the Leadership Highlands Class of 2010.

The event was held to benefit the Heartland Food Reservoir. Lots of canned food and cash was collected, as well as fundraising food sales, which made the overall event a big success.

Kris Schmidt, class of 2010 president, said Monday that event totals were still being tabulated.

She believed the food sales and donations, including pre-sold tickets, came to more than $3,500 for the food bank.

"We are really pleased," she said. "We did well."

Lorrie Key, class of 2010 event chairperson, said they ran out of food twice.

"Also, the ice cream and funnel cake guy had to leave and come back because he ran out of dough," she said.

One vendor just pulled up with boiled peanuts and asked if he could set up, she said.

"The boiled peanut man gave us $50," she said, as a donation. "Then he turned around and gave us more money; he did so well."

They showed a free outdoor children's movie titled "Racing Stripes" on a large inflatable screen. It's a film about a zebra that meets a race horse and then he wants to become a race horse.

Nearly 1,000 pounds of food was collected, according to Bill Stephenson, president of the Heartland Food Reservoir's board of directors.

Stephenson attended the event, helping out on the Circle with other volunteers, next to the food pantry's truck, where they collected cans of food and cash donations from the public.

"More people showed up than anybody expected," he said. "A lot of young families were bringing 2-and-3-year olds with cans of food and had them place the cans in the barrels."

They explained to their children that some families are going hungry and about the value of giving and helping them, he said.

Stephenson said in its first eight months the Heartland Food Reservoir has placed about 250,000 pounds of food into the hands of the community through local food pantries.

"We only work through the food agencies," he said.