Travel with Terri
Celebrate a 75 year tradition – Florida’s Strawberry Festival
By Terri Farris
As the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, strawberries are part of the everyday fabric of Plant City, Florida – and the biggest event in this community each year is none other than the Florida Strawberry Festival! This celebration of the strawberry harvest began 75 years ago when the Plant City Lions Club decided to organize the first festival. Since that date, the Florida Strawberry Festival has grown from a community event to an annual destination for thousands.
Growing up in Plant City in the 1970’s I have wonderful memories of the Strawberry Festival Parade held on the Monday of each festival. I marched in this parade many times with my junior high and high school bands. All the schools close for this event as well as most businesses. Some other memories I have of the festival are lining up for a serving of the strawberry shortcake made by the local Catholic Church and sampling the delicious strawberry pies made by the Plant City High School Band students and boosters. In fact, we used to volunteer to “stem” strawberries in the days prior to the festival just to get out of class – of course we had red fingertips for the next week – but it was worth it!
Although the Florida Strawberry Festival was originally organized to celebrate the strawberry harvest, it has much more to offer than food. There are numerous competitions including a Baby Parade where little ones are dressed up and showcased on decorated “mini” floats. For young women, there is a beauty contest where local beauties compete for the coveted title of Florida Strawberry Queen. The queen and her court represent the community at festival events and throughout the year.
There are some unique competitions as well for the livestock such as the “Best in Show” for prized steers. And what festival would be complete without a Lamb Jumping Contest and Racing Pigs? You do not want to miss these little porkers snorting their way to the finish line!
The Neighborhood Village at the Strawberry Festival is the place to find award-winning cakes, pies, cake decorating demonstrations, beautiful quilts and other crafts including scrapbooking. There are numerous exhibits throughout the festival grounds to provide something for everyone to enjoy.
No festival would be complete without carnival rides and booths and the Florida Strawberry Festival provides plenty of those on the Midway. You can win your sweetheart a teddy bear and then take her on the Ferris wheel for a kiss. You can also “lose your strawberries” on a topsy turvy thrill ride or take the little ones on the Merry-Go-Round.
The Florida Strawberry Festival always draws an amazing line-up of entertainers for the nightly shows – no, I am not referring to the racing pigs! Performers for prior years have included country music greats Vince Gill, Tobi Keith and Lee Ann Womack. The line-up for 2010 is no exception offering headliner entertainment by Sarah Evans, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Roy Clark, Patty Loveless, REO Speedwagon and comedian Bill Engwall to name a few. Debbie Reynolds will be on hand on Tuesday evening to entertain for the designated “Red Hat Ladies” day.
In addition to the designated Red Hat Ladies day, the Florida Strawberry Festival has designated a special day honoring our country’s servicemen, firemen and police officers – “American Heroes Day”. Other special days include Kids’ Day, Senior Days and a Moonlight Madness special for late night carnival rides.
This year’s festival will be held March 4th through March 14th. Advance tickets are available online beginning February 4th. For more information on special events or to purchase advanced tickets visit their website: www.flstrawberryfestival.com
Sometimes when you return to events from your past they seem smaller – less significant. That was not the case for me when I revisited the Florida Strawberry Festival. This 75-year-old festival is more than a celebration of the harvest – it is a celebration of community – a strawberry pie sized slice of Americana!
Terri is a freelance writer with regular columns on travel, chocolate and bar reviews. She is busy each month visiting new places to bring unique travel destinations and events to you. Yes, it is a sacrifice – but she is willing to do that for her readers! You can see more of Terri’s writing at www.examiner.com where she is the National Chocolate Examiner and at www.barzz.net. You can contact Terri at tfarris60@hotmail.com.