Local Non-Profit Feature Gardopia Gardens Gala

The Gala featured an amazing lineup of MCs and guest speakers, including Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert and Community Activist Nneka Cleaver. The two of them created a great atmosphere of support and leadership during the night’ s festivities. They were supported by a cast of civic leaders, including COSA World Heritage Office Director Colleen Swain, Young Mrs. International Kimberly Quijana, and COSA Metro Health - Healthy Neighborhoods Manager Anna Macnak.

The final and pivotal speakers included SAISD Woodlawn Academy Principal Andre ’ a Pitts and COSA Office of Innovation Director Brian Dillard talking about the new SMART Farm at Young Women ’ s Leadership Academy: Primary!

The Garden Awards Gala was a culminating event that included the Spring Garden Competition, an online data entry event with the objective of collecting information on food production in the San Antonio metropolitan region. The competition was followed by the youth garden games, a garden centric field day with activities such as potato sack races, egg relays, spelling BEE, and garden designing.

When the night was over, all of the silent auction items were sold, envelopes of donations were filled to the brim, and a cloud of inspiration and hope filled the room. When the pennies were counted, Gardopia had 160 guests in attendance and successfully raised $7,000 after all expenses were paid. The night sowed seeds for a bright future, coalescing and championing urban agriculture for many years to come!