As a kid, Karen Owens Romero was shy.
“I didn’t say much until kindergarten,” Romero said.
Wanting her to become more outgoing, Romero’s mother enrolled her in dance classes.
“Dancing helped me come out of my shell,” she said. “It really did help me, and I ended up loving it. I did tap, ballet, jazz, you name it.”
Out of all the styles she learned, tap was her favorite. And she was good at it – 40 years ago, tap was Romero’s talent of choice when she was crowned the 1977 Florida Strawberry Festival Queen.
“I was really shocked,” Romero said. “I had been Little Miss Plant City, and I was a performer so being on stage came kind of natural for me. But I went out for it just because it was fun.”
Unlike some girls who compete in the pageant today, Romero didn’t have a coach before working the pageant circuit. Instead, she talked with women who inspired her.
“When I was younger, I talked with Ruth Brown and her sister, Della Kimbel,” Romero said. “They told me how to be a lady.”
As queen, Romero’s favorite part of the festival was meeting and talking to new people.
“It was fun just to walk around and meet people,” she said. “It was just fun, that interaction. I’m a people person, I’m a social person.”
Today, Romero admires the community involvement of the current queen and court, which she believes has grown since her time as a royal.
“They’re much more involved than we were,” she said. “They’re more community-focused. I think now the focus is better, to be more aware and educated about our community. It’s a very good thing.”
Romero, a Plant City native, still resides in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. She currently works as the director for the First Presbyterian Church of Plant City’s Learning Center.
“Once you graduate from high school, you really get grounded and realize the value of family and the value of walking into a business and them knowing you,” Romero said. “That is so valuable.”
As a former queen, Romero still looks forward to taking her family to the festival every year. In 2017, she’ll also be able to take her newest family members with her.
“I have three new grandchildren,” she said “I’m just so excited to be a new ‘mimi.’ I’m excited to experience the festival through their eyes, and I’m excited to see their reactions when they get here.”
For Romero, the festival still has that same hometown, community feel that it had 40 years ago.
“It’s like a homecoming,” she said. “My favorite part is seeing everybody that I know there that I may not see all year. I like being able to be social and see all my friends and colleagues. It’s wonderful. That just powers me. The festival and the directors have been very successful in keeping the hometown feel, and that’s what I like about it. I’m proud to be part of it. I think God has blessed Plant City and the festival by keeping it the way it is. ”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.