One event I look forward to covering each year is the Florida Strawberry Festival. Hosted in Plant City, this yearly event is a combination of fruit market, carnival, county fair and concert venue. There’s truly something to do for everyone.
The real start of the event is the strawberry, and all of it’s forms. The fruit market has vendors lining both outside tents and the inside market selling every variety of strawberry and it’s many uses. The traditional favorites like strawberry jam and strawberry bread can be found throughout the market. The oddities and specialties, such as strawberry wine, are also available. The market stays packed the entire time the festival is open, so you’ll want be sure you make enough time to visit each booth.
The carnival aspect of the festival has a variety of children’s rides and adult’s rides too. Standards like the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round are spread throughout the festival. Many of these have long lines, so be prepared to stand in the blazing sun for a bit to wait your turn.
The country fair is my favorite part of the festival. I grew up in a small town in Michigan and went to all the local fairs as a kid, so this brought back a lot of good childhood memories. Among the fun events are pig races, lumberjack shows and all of your favorite country fair food. Like everything else in the festival, the country fair events get packed quickly and it’s often shoulder-to-shoulder standing room only, assuming you can get a view at all. I made three attempts to watch the pig race and was never able to get close enough.
Lastly, there are concerts, some free and some premium, to entertain. Headliners included country/western entertainment including George Jones, Taylor Swift, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Ray Stevens as well as other entertainers including Jeff Foxworthy, Kool & The Gang and Jessica Simpson. While I didn’t get to see any of the concerts, everyone in the crowd seemed very positive about the shows.
While the Festival has left town for 2009, be sure to watch for the 2010 Strawberry Festival next spring in Plant City!
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