Praise in the Park is a diverse Christian worship experience in downtown Plant City. It will feature a variety of genres of live music ranging from Christian rap to contemporary worship.
Nearly two weeks after thousands in Plant City will gather to celebrate Easter at their individual churches, Frank Trunzo hopes to unite them downtown in an evening of worship.
Praise in the Park was dreamed up years ago by Trunzo, owner of Krazy Kup, when he and his wife first opened the doors of their now award-winning coffee shop. The shop regularly holds Christian Music Nights and Trunzo said while at first it was a slow build, now the music loft is packed every week.
It was time to see his dream come to fruition.
“It was serendipitous,” Trunzo said. “Railfest is that morning in downtown and I am emceeing and doing auctioning there. Then when it wraps up it will transition into Praise in the Park. People can come and have a full day in Plant City. Plus, it’s my birthday and I truly cannot think of a better way to celebrate it.”
The event will feature 10 hand-selected bands, many of whom Trunzo developed relationships with over the years due to his weekly music nights. Regardless of musical preference, Praise in the Park will feature something for everyone.
There will be Christian rap and rock, traditional gospel, contemporary worship and more. Trunzo said it was his goal to have a mix of genres and ethnicities performing on stage so that it would accurately represent the community.
Praise in the Park is centered around being a perfect family outing. There will be fresh strawberries, a stilt walker, balloon artists, a face painter, a bounce house, a puppet show, food trucks and more.
Churches are invited to set up tables at the event on a first-come, first-serve basis so the community can get to know its Christian spiritual leaders.
Trunzo said the community rallied together to help him pull off the feat. He said it was almost “effortless” to get
sponsors on board. Everyone from Mayor Rick Lott to Wish Farms agreed to get behind the event, which will benefit the Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City.
“I’m not sure that anyone was waiting for this event. It’s more like it arrived and everyone said ‘I’m getting on that train,’” Trunzo said. “It’s a good cause and the response has been incredible. Next year we may make it a two day event and get another 10 bands to join.”
The majority of the bands will be playing at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in downtown Plant City, however, the final act, the Descendants, will bring the party full circle back to Krazy Kup’s loft. Trunzo said that will help ensure the festivities don’t stop regardless of Florida’s temperamental weather.
Though Krazy Kup has held many events over the years, this is the first of its caliber to be hosted by the Trunzos. Praise in the Park is shepherding in a new era of community involvement for Plant City’s hometown coffee shop. Trunzo said for years they have “been throwing softballs,” but now they’re ready to help draw more attention to downtown.
Soon, Krazy Kup will feature a lip-sync battle, themed trivia nights, bluegrass nights, black-and-white movie nights, a steampunk night and more. By partnering with other groups and organizations, Trunzo said Krazy Kup will hopefully become a center of synergy and a destination for events in downtown.
Other businesses are also getting on board with the movement to revitalize downtown and Trunzo said there is a “sweetness” about the different business owners that is spearheading the successful cooperations.
“I’ve come to a place in my life that we, my wife Wenda and I, want to do something that is meaningful, something that is meaningful to others,” Trunzo said. “We share the idea of doing not just what benefits us but what is beneficial to others. We want to do things that last, things that have an impact on our community.”
