Summerfield Farms, located at 3203 Pleasant Ridge Rd., is inviting everyone to get a taste of JK Made elderberry syrup shots along with some hot cider toddies at “Elderberry Fireside Friday,” a kid and dog-friendly, free event with music by Caleb Zeigler outside The Market on Feb. 21 from 5-8 p.m.

Complimentary JK Made Elderberry Syrup (alcohol-free) shots will be served at the outdoor bar, plus elderberry cocktails will be available for purchase. Beer, wine, food and snacks will also be available for sale inside the store, said Kristen Berlin and Jessica Draper, co-owners of JK Made. A year ago, Draper and Berlin began making their local homemade elderberry syrup with a single mason jar. They celebrated their first anniversary on Feb. 4, and are now making 3,000 ounces (and counting) per week.

Berlin said that this Friday event kicks off two giveaway drawings from Feb. 21-28. Each time a customer makes any purchase inside The Market, they are automatically entered in one of two drawings to win a 32-ounce bottle of JK Made Elderberry Syrup or a one-night stay at one of the farm’s bungalows. Purchasing any size bottle of their syrup automatically enters you in both drawings.

When Berlin welcomed Draper into the neighborhood in 2018, she said they became fast friends, as did each of their two kids. Draper said that about four years before, she had been looking into more natural remedies, and she had stumbled upon elderberry syrup. She said when she learned how it boosted the immune system, she began taking some and giving it to her family. Draper said that when Berlin’s family got sick, she took some elderberry syrup over and said, “Please try this, it really works.”

Berlin said at the time, her son was already on three different allergy medications, and she said she wanted to try something else. Berlin said that after one week on the syrup, “he could breathe, and he got better, and once he began taking elderberry syrup regularly, he no longer needed any of the other medications.”

Berlin said she became a believer, and that this is the first year her whole family hasn’t gotten a flu shot.

Draper said that it was very important to them not to add sugars, so they sweetened their elderberry syrup with local raw honey sourced from L&B Apiaries of Greensboro. (Draper and Berlin said to never give raw honey to children ages 1 year and younger.)

She said they endeavored to keep the ingredients simple, and after extensive elderberry research, they learned that some of the better tasting ones come from a European tree that they source organically from “a very reputable United States herb company.”

Berlin said their product are literally “kid-tested and mother-approved,” and when they began trying different recipes, they would line their four kids up to try each one. Once they got four thumbs-up, they knew they had their formula, and they have their children to thank for what has been said to “taste like Christmas in your mouth.” JK Made’s elderberry syrup contains flavorful and organic ginger, cinnamon and cloves, minus the apple cider vinegar found in other elderberry syrups.

Draper said she takes three servings a day, and she never travels without it. She packs a supply of 3-ounce bottles in a carry-on soft cooler when she flies because “it always needs to be refrigerated due to not having preservatives and is best to be used within 90 days once opened.”

Berlin said their kids take it two times a day and ask for it when classmates are sick. She said they have found that it “helps you get better faster from colds and flu and gives you your daily antioxidants.”

Draper said last year during peak flu season, they began to sell it to their friends and neighbors who really liked it. With no money to buy supplies, they had to sell some to make more until they grew from making it in their kitchen to “The City Kitch, LLC” in Charlotte. Draper and Berlin said they would move their operation to the community kitchen that is opening in Greensboro this spring. They said they are also planning to expand their line of skin-care products they started this past spring: brightening toner pads, face wash, moisturizing body crème and goat milk soap— each infused with natural jasmine, grapefruit or sandalwood. They also have a beard balm and other elderberry creations that haven’t been announced yet.

Berlin said that JK Made has products in 16 stores, and Triad retailers include The Market at Summerfield Farms (and online store), The Bodega on 313 S. Greene St. in Greensboro, Gate City Growlers on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro and Common Grounds at Walker and Elam Avenue in Greensboro.

“We work very well together, and it’s a good thing as we sometimes work from sun-up to sun-down,” Draper said.

“We still make time for our families, though, that’s the most important thing to us,” Berlin said.

TERRY RADER is a freelance writer/editorial/content/copy, creative consultant/branding strategist, communications outreach messenger, poet, and emerging singer/songwriter.

Wanna go?

Feb. 21 from 5-8 p.m., “Elderberry Fireside Friday” at Summerfield Farms, 3203 Pleasant Ridge Rd., (336) 643-206, JK Made, (336) 403-1447, www.jkmade.com, www.facebook.com/jkmadesf/?tn-str=k*F, www.summerfield-farms.myshopify.com/collections/elderberry-syrup, www.calebzeigler.com