The Pitman Manor 7th Annual Just Peachy Festival was one sweet treat for residents and community.
Mother Nature did not want to cooperate and dark clouds and the threat of rain forced the 7th Just Peachy Festival inside. However optimism prevailed and the rain could not dampen the spirits of the residents, guests and volunteers who enjoyed the evening’s activities despite the change of venue. A joint Activities and Marketing event, the Festival was a salute to one of South Jersey’s favorite summertime fruits – the peach. Summit City Orchards, Mood’s, Duffield’s and Rowand’s provided Jersey fresh peaches for the event. Not to be outdone Heritage Vineyards donated peach cider while the Mantua Chick-Fil-A donated certificates for free frosted lemonades. Among the highlights of the evening included music from singer Greg Armstrong who serenaded the guests with popular tunes from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others from the “Rat Pack.” He was joined by surprise guest singer Daniele Spence, whose mother-in-law resides at Pitman Manor. This year’s newly crowned 4H Peach Princesses Carolyn Pepe and Norah Stankoski, joined Peach Queen Victoria Hepler in helping Pitman Manor celebrate the evening in regal style. Residents, invited guests and associates also had an opportunity to sample over a dozen home-made peach desserts, along with peach yogurt and peach tea as well as some freshly picked peaches to take home. “We like to hold evening activities for residents and community members and this one was a lot of fun. I brainstormed with Jessica Hepner and Carolyn Slickmeyer of the Community Life Department to come up with an event that was sure to appeal to everyone’s tastes and I think is safe to say we all had a sweet time,” said Pam Mezis, Director of Marketing. “I am always so impressed by the creativity and enthusiasm of my co-workers. When we asked for peach desserts I thought we would get a lot of the same items but we didn’t get two of the same. Our residents and staff loved tasting all the cobblers, cakes, cookies, crisps, cheesecake, cream puffs and peach-inspired treats that were donated. The judges certainly had a difficult time picking the winning entries since everything was just so delicious,” added Mezis.
