An Event Steeped in Tradition
Each spring, the Florida Strawberry Festival® rolls out the red carpet to welcome visitors from throughout the Sunshine State and the world. Guests come from near and far to enjoy exhibits of agriculture, commerce, industry, livestock, fine arts, horticulture, and crafts. The fabric of American life is woven into the Festival through social events, contests, youth developmental programs, top-name entertainment, and parades with glorious floats and high-stepping marching bands.
The Florida Strawberry Festival represents a piece of Americana, a time in American history when fairs and festivals brought communities together through celebrations of their harvests. It has continued to grow in popularity year after year through the preservation of this heritage. Central to its focus, the Festival continues to preserve and enhance the agricultural and historical legacy of the Florida strawberry.
Further, steeped in tradition, the Florida Strawberry Festival is alive with volunteer spirit, uniting people from all parts of Plant City, Florida and the surrounding area. The event began back in 1930 when members of the newly organized Plant City Lions Club conceived the idea of an event to celebrate the bountiful harvest of strawberries. In 1948, the American Legion Post #26 helped get the Florida Strawberry Festival reactivated following a six-year hiatus during and immediately following World War II. The Lions Club and other civic organizations have participated in the Festival ever since.
An Independent Event for the Community
Today, the annual event has become one of the best strawberry festivals in the nation, and now ranks among the Top 50 Fairs in North America. Having maintained the same internal structure since its inception, the Florida Strawberry Festival is a community-oriented organization, governed by a board of directors from the community that annually devotes many hours to establishing policies and direction for the annual event. And while it is an outstanding showcase of the local area, the Florida Strawberry Festival has never been subsidized by taxpayers.
The Florida Strawberry Festival is a great time to discover the charm and allure of Plant City, and it's the perfect time to enjoy eating ripe, luscious strawberries alongside the local berry farmers that have worked hard to bring to them to market. More than 5,000 acres of strawberries are planted annually in the local area. In fact, there are some 2,600 farms in Hillsborough County that produce fruit and vegetable crops with an annual value of over $400 million. This county is now one of the largest agricultural counties in the nation. The diverse farm production includes strawberries, citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, okra, peppers, beans, dairy products, eggs, ornamental horticulture, tropical fish, beef cattle, swine and other related products.
Items of Interest
The Florida Strawberry Festival has its own Post Office. The old mail boxes, a desk and other furniture were actually used in early Post Offices in the local area. The Festival Post Office is operated each day of the Florida Strawberry Festival by the U.S. Postal Service. The hand stamp on letters and cards mailed from there show "Florida Strawberry Festival Station, Plant City, Florida 33563."
For all the headline concerts on the GTE Federal Credit Union Soundstage -- which take place at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. each day -- there are about 3,000 free seats available for all shows. Those seats are filled on a first-come, first-seated basis as part of your paid gate admission. Reserve seat tickets are available for $10 and up (varies by show), while supplies last.
There are several special entertainment values on the midway with Ride-A-Thon Days and Midnight Magic Nights. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are Ride-A-Thon Days from 3:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m., where guests can purchase a wristband to ride most mechanical rides for one low price. Both Fridays are Moonlight Magic Nights from 11 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., where guests purchase a wristband to ride most mechanical rides for one low price.
Thank You
On behalf of the Florida Strawberry Festival Board of Directors, Mike Sparkman, President, and the Florida Strawberry Festival General Manager Paul Davis, we thank you berry much for your interest in our event. We look forward to seeing you March 4th, through March 14th, 2010. If there is anything we can do to make your visit more enjoyable, please let us know.