The Florida Strawberry Festival is known as one of the safest, most family-friendly events in the state. But making sure that it stays this way takes an intensive, collaborative effort among the Plant City and Temple Terrace police departments, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and much of their work is behind the scenes.
As festival-goers drive up to the grounds, they are directed by PCPD officers.
“The responsibility of traffic flow outside of the gates falls on the PCPD,” Police Chief Ed Duncan said. “Our guys are out there all day long. They start at 9 in the morning and they leave at 11 at night.”
Or, on the nights of Moonlight Magic, PCPD stays until 2 a.m. or later.
PCPD has 17 to 22 officers directing festival traffic at any given time while the festival gates are open, but these numbers alone wouldn’t be quite enough personnel. If more Plant City officers were sent to do off-duty work at the festival, there might be a deficit in staffing for general service calls around the city.
So some officers from the Temple Terrace Police Department come to Plant City help with festival traffic. There are mutual aid agreements in place so that these two municipal departments, along with the Tampa Police Department, can offer help to one another when big events are scheduled.
“It’s a benefit. The guys get to be more familiar with each other, and it builds those partnerships,” Duncan said.
The PCPD and TTPD personnel who help with traffic control are off-duty officers, and they are paid by the Strawberry Festival.
But safety and security within the gates is up to a different office.
“We could not put on the Strawberry Festival without the Sheriff’s office,” Duncan said.
The work of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office actually starts before the first festival-goer even steps foot onto the grounds. Each year, they inspect the carnival games to make sure they are operating in accordance with Florida statutes.
“There’s rules that regulate those, so they’re somewhat fair. You’re obviously not guaranteed to win, but there has to be a chance of winning,” Captain Kyle Robinson of HCSO said.
For example, in Florida, a game cannot be called “basketball” unless the hoop is the size of a regulation basketball rim. The game has to go by a different name, such as “hoop shot.”
In addition to wording and signage, Florida has specific rules about the dimensions and designs of certain games, to increase the likelihood of winning.
“Belle City is very compliant with most of that, and just like in past years, there were no major issues in all of that,” Robinson said about this year’s games inspection.
The biggest concern for HCSO during the festival is crowd management, Robinson said.
Some of the deputies’ common responsibilities are reuniting families with their lost children, and helping the elderly with minor medical issues.
Even with between 85 and 105 deputies on the festival grounds at any given time, they cannot be everywhere at once. They employ technology to help them identify problems as quickly as they sometimes occur.
“There are visible and covert cameras on the grounds to protect the fairgoers,” Robinson said. “They’re basically designed to be in high-traffic areas … so the deputies can react in a timely manner.”
Not all of the HCSO deputies who work at the festival grounds are there to help with security. A few officers are stationed at a community outreach booth in the Parke Exhibit Hall.
A lot of visitors from out of state — or even out of the country — stop by the booth to ask about Florida laws. HCSO also uses the booth to pass out sheriff badge stickers to children, recruit for open positions and promote a raffle fundraiser for Special Olympics Florida.
“(The festival) is a great event that has very few problems, and the deputies enjoy working it,” Robinson said.
Light Pole Falls Into Ride
A small light pole fell into two children on a ride at the Florida Strawberry Festival Sunday, March 1.
The spotlight was anchored to the perimeter rail at its top and base with clamps at the clown ride. The rides are inspected by a bureau of Florida’s Department of Agriculture at the beginning of the festival. The rides are then inspected every day by trained Belle City Amusement employees.
Belle City said the brace might have come loose after someone leaning over the perimeter fencing kicked it.
“We’ve had so many people leaning over the fence,” John Manno, safety manager for Belle City, said. “Any injury to a child we take very, very seriously. As careful as we are, things happen. Our main concern is the safety and well being of the children.”
The light is no taller than 8 feet and is about as thick as a broomstick. Its two glass bulbs did not break.
EMS responded from a station on the grounds only 300 yards away, before fair officials even got to the ride.
“It’s a reminder that when you have crowds of people, you have to be very vigilant of safety,” Paul Davis, festival manager said.
Belle City’s insurance policy will cover the expenses of the children’s hospital visit. Manno said EMS did not transport the children to the hospital. Their mother took them herself.
In the festival’s 80-year history and Belle City’s 67 years in operation, both cite bruises and bumps, but no serious injuries.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.