Kurt Weiss Greenhouses has been a supporter and consistent donor to the Riverhead Rotary’s East End Garden Festival for 30 years (Ana Borruto photo).
Kurt Weiss Greenhouses got a big thank you Friday from the Riverhead Rotary Club for the company’s decades of support and thousands of plants for its annual East End Garden Festival.
The family-run major commercial grower, headquartered in Center Moriches, is one of the dozens of local growers who donate various floral selections for the Riverhead Rotary’s popular spring event, which kicked off at Tanger Outlets for its 30th year on May 3.
All proceeds from sales go to Riverhead Rotary charities, the Operation International medical mission and Peconic Bay Medical Center. The organization solicits donations of plants and flowers from nurseries all over Long Island. Even as far away as New Jersey.
In past years, the event has raised more than $250,000.
Veteran Rotarian Jack Van de Wetering, who helped convince the Rotary Club to take over and expand the festival after it was originally operated by Peconic Bay Medical Center, said Kurt Weiss Greenhouses has played a major role in the fundraiser’s success.
“The Weiss family has been instrumental,” Mr. Van de Wetering told the Riverhead News-Review, after the rotary presented the company with a proclamation honoring its decades of contributions to the festival and local charities. “When you have one of the top growers in the U.S. on Long Island, everybody follows.”
Mr. Van de Wetering estimated Kurt Weiss Greenhouses has contributed at least $2 million worth of plants and support over the years.
Riverhead Rotarian and Peconic Bay Medical Center pulmonologist Dr. Rajesh Patel said the company donated enough annual plants this year to fill at least half the festival tents.
“The most important thing is they have been there,” Mr. Patel said. “We can rely on them.”
Kurt Weiss Greenhouses is the fourth largest growers in the United States. It operates roughly 60 acres of greenhouse space at its Main Street location in Center Moriches and supplies major retailers, including Home Depot. The company is also known as a leading producer of azaleas and hydrangeas, with operations across the East Coast, Florida and Canada.
But for co-owner Kirk Weiss, the annual donations are less about business and more about continuing the family’s philanthropic legacy.
“This all started before me: my father started donating years ago,” said co-owner Mr. Weiss, who runs the operation with his brother, Wayne. “It’s a small community….all the growers are a part of it, and we wanted to be a part of it as well.”
The Riverhead Rotary’s East End Garden Festival concludes on Mother’s Day, May 10.
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