Joshua Willebrandt and Ashley Willebrandt marched as grand marshals in the Fredonia Farm Festival parade.

Dennis and Carol Willebrandt, owners of Harvest View Greenhouses, stated they were approached by the Fredonia Farm Festival committee and they gladly accepted being Grand Marshals for this 49th year of the festival. Dennis’ daughter, Ashley, and nephew, Joshua, will be representing Harvest View Greenhouses throughout the eventful weekend.

The Grand Marshals of the Fredonia Farm Festival are selected from criteria related to farming, solid business practices and community involvement. Their business that started 33 years ago is located at 4936 West Main Road, Fredonia.

The farm which had grapes and fruit trees was acquired in 1984. Dennis and Carol began to bring the farm back to life by cultivating the land and the grape vineyard. At that time, Dennis worked at the Dunkirk Steel plant as well as on the newly-purchased family farm. Over the years, he grew many row crops for his fruit and vegetable market stand which was then located on the side of Route 20. Tomatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers and corn, to name a few, as well as strawberries, were harvested every year on the farm. The freshly harvested crops were sold at his market as well as at the Clinton-Bailey Farmers Market in Buffalo, which still operates today.

One year, Dennis decided to grow some flowers for the ladies working at the farm stand. It didn’t take long for Dennis to realize he had an abundance of plants, more than he knew what to do with. So he put them out for sale at the farm stand.

They all sold and that’s where it all began.

For more than 30 years, Harvest View has been servicing upscale garden centers and mom and pop road stands across Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania. Dedicated hard-working family members have turned the little fruit and vegetable stand into a four-acre greenhouse facility; 3.5 acres of outdoor fall mums, which at one point neared 50,000 mums; and eight-acres of pumpkins and decorative gourds. Family truly is the workhorse and the heart beat of the operation, and without them, the two-division company wouldn’t be as successful as it is today.

“What sets us apart from many Garden Centers is that we don’t have to deal with a middle man,” the Willebrandts said. “Our entire product line, wholesale or retail, is grown on the premises; this allows us to maintain a competitive cost to our customers. The Wholesale Division is comprised of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, potted crops, hanging baskets, flower pouches, decorative containers and fall mums. The Retail Division is a combination of annuals, perennials, herbs, potted crops, hanging baskets, flower pouches and decorative containers. It also offers Fall mums, hay/straw bales, corn stalks, apples, unique garden accessories, topsoil, potting soil and more.”

The Grand Marshals have demonstrated unique marketing by partnering with other local businesses to promote “Taste of Spring” in March for the past five years. The event sells out quickly and is limited to the first 150 purchased tickets. Event activities include: wine tasting, desserts, hors oeuvres, and of course, plants. Guests create a combination planter utilizing plant varieties being offered for the upcoming spring season. Harvest View will then grow the planted container until Mother’s Day week, when guests will then take home their custom container to enjoy all summer long. The community is invited to this special event.

Harvest View is active in community involvement. It’s a longtime contributor to the St. Columban’s on the Lake Retirement Home Summer Festival. It is also active in the Fredonia Beautification project each spring. Fundraising opportunities are offered to local school, profit and non-profit clubs, and organizations like the Rotary Hanging Basket Fundraiser.

Local involvement is not only good for sales, but it also invests money back into local businesses.

Harvest View has its eye on the Future. Continuing and maintaining a quality product has always been Dennis’ motto.

“If we can continue to do this, the business will grow,” he said. “We have spent the last couple of years increasing affordable indoor and outdoor fall activities for families of all ages. Newly added events to our fall line include: weekend hay wagon rides to the pumpkin patch for a pick-your-own pumpkin, pumpkin painting, Halloween costume competition, hay pyramid and slides, indoor haunted hay maze and more. The staff has been busy building and painting this summer so we are excited for the fall season. We hope you’ll come on out and see what we have been up to.”

Harvest View looks forward to being a community partner for many years to come, and thanks The Fredonia Farm Festival for the opportunity to be Grand Marshalls in 2017.

Further info can be found on our website and Facebook page as we near the fall season. www.harvestviewgreenhouses.com.