Plant City Bike Fest was held for the last time in February, after more than 12 years as a monthly event. But the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce will host an improved version of Bike Fest this May, and continue on a less frequent basis.
“Now that we’re not doing it monthly, we have time to plan new stuff for the shows,” Smith said.
Though the chamber had first expected to wait until October to host Bike Fest again, some downtown business owners had said that they wanted to see Bike Fest in the spring. The chamber agreed.
“We’re stepping it up. … It’s bigger and better,” Marion Smith, president of the chamber, said. “It should be a great evening. I hope that everybody will come on out.”
Two of the new attractions will be bands of which some of Florida’s biker communities are already avid fans: Sobriety X and the Greg Billings Band.
Sobriety X bills itself as Tampa Bay’s premier hard rock band. Later in the evening, the Greg Billings Band will change the soundscape a bit by incorporating saxophone and keyboards. Like Sobriety X, the Greg Billings Band also is well-known around Tampa Bay.
Another new feature will be a poker walk. At some festivals, motorcyclists would ride from location to location for this kind of activity, but the chamber has decided that walking will be safer in downtown Plant City. The poker walk will span seven downtown businesses, and three players will win.
Many of Bike Fest’s popular vendors have already signed up to return. One of those is Finz Finds, which sells map books and guides for some of the southeastern United States’ most scenic ride routes.
Steve Finzelber has been coming to Plant City Bike Fest with Finz Finds since last year.
“What I like the most (about Plant City Bike Fest) is that it pulls people from all over, because of its proximity,” Finzelber said. “I constantly see people at other events that have seen us before at Plant City.”
Bike Fest has extended its hours from previous years in order to accommodate its new features.
The 13th anniversary Bike Fest will be held Oct. 2, and the final show for 2015 will be held Dec. 5. December is a popular month for the event because out-of-town visitors enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations downtown, Smith said.
If You Go
Plant City Bike Fest
When: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 2
Where: Historic Downtown District
Details: Sobriety X will perform at 4 p.m., and the Greg Billings Band will perform at 7 p.m. There will be eight classes in the bike show and entries are $10 each.
Car Show
The Strawberry Classic Car Show, Plant City’s longest-running automotive event, celebrated its 18th year of existence Saturday, April 18.
“It’s the 18th year. It’s the longest-running monthly car show in this area,” chairman Benny Lubrano said.
Lubrano became chairman in 2010. What’s kept him so active in the program is his love for being around the people, and his love of their cars.
“It’s just neat to see what somebody had envisioned,” Lubrano said. “They may have found something that was pretty much ready for scrap, but they had a vision. Other guys may have found cars that have been in better condition, and have taken the time and the money to restore them.
“If we didn’t have those guys that are out there restoring the cars … you can only find them in pictures in books,” Lubrano said.
Though the car show turning 18 was at the front of Lubrano’s mind, he’s anxiously awaiting to see it turn 20 in 2017. Twenty-five-year-old cars today were manufactured in 1990, but Lubrano prefers cars from an additional 25 years prior.
“Everybody has their passion,” Lubrano said. “It’s neat, about automobiles, to remember what you saw 25, 30 years ago. It’s neat to see the old 50s, 60s and 70s automobiles that people have restored.”