Harvest Activity Center opens in Immokalee

And with a quick snip of a blue ribbon, the couple officially opened the 6,600-square-foot Harvest Activity Center in Immokalee on Saturday.

The pale terra cotta-colored building will serve as a resource and gathering place for the residents of Jubilation, a residential development off Lake Trafford Road for almost 90 low- or middle-income families.

The center includes a computer lab, children's library, special events room and small caf. Outside, there's a covered area with picnic tables, a playground and a pool.

Jubilation resident Marisa Anzualda, 14, said she already has plans.

"I'll be able to come here and work without my sisters interrupting," the Immokalee High School freshman said.

Marisa, her three sisters and parents moved to Jubilation about a month ago, said Martha Anzualda, Marisa's mother. Before that, they lived in a mobile home, Anzualda said.

Jubilation is "the best thing that has happened in Immokalee," said Anzualda, 37.

With the activity center open, Marisa said she plans to help teach computer classes there. She helped set up the lab's computers.

After the ribbon-cutting, guests of the grand opening - which included Jubilation families and friends of the project - moved inside for entertainment by two area dance groups, live music and a buffet prepared and served by Immokalee High School culinary students.

Supporters of Harvest for Humanity were also on hand.

The Nogajs founded Harvest for Humanity in 1999 with the dual aim of creating a farm where workers could earn solid wages and also to develop a reasonably priced home community.

The former aim was met with Harvest Farm, a 110-acre Immokalee farm raising fruits and vegetables - especially blueberries. The latter aim was met with Jubilation.

The activity center is also home to the Harvest for Humanity's executive offices and the Blueberry Store, a gift shop and mini-grocery.

Stephen Perez, 29, a Jubilation resident and Harvest Farm assistant manager, knows what the neighborhood children will hurry to use at the center. They likely will stop at the store to buy a soda, he said, make their way to the computer lab and check out the library.

The closeness of the center will mean safety for those children, Perez believes.

"It's real good for the kids around here," said Perez, father of 7-year-old Stephen Perez Jr.

With its event room and overstuffed lobby couches, the center may look like a community clubhouse. But it's more, Florence Nogaj said.

It's a place where residents can come together as a neighborhood, use what is available and feel comfortable, she said.

"We want everything here to be more casual, less structured," she said. "It's a way of life. It's a way of living."

Even with all the new offerings at the center, there is another area Marisa Anzualda particularly loves: a gazebo that overlooks Blueberry Pond.

"I like just staying there, have a friend over, talk," Marisa said. "It's like my favorite spot at Jubilation, other than my house."