Despite the heat, Keel & Curley Winery proved summer is the sweetest time of year with the launch of its inaugural Watermelon Festival.
Clay Keel, president of Keel Farms, said the festival was one of many new events hosted by the farm, which he hopes will ensure Plant City is known as an iconic destination full of unique offerings.
The gamble more than paid off as both Saturday and Sunday saw swarms of attendees at the winery. Watermelons were the name of the game and guests took photos with a watermelon-themed sculpture made of bales of hay, drank watermelon-flavored beverages and even took home their own Keel Farms-grown melons. Massive slices of the juicy fruit were available for purchase along with a variety of other summer grub staples.
Tours of the winery continued throughout both days and a 50-foot water slide was erected near the blueberry bushes for local youth to enjoy while their parents lounged in chairs under the shade of a tree.
Guests were also invited to feed some of Keel Farms cows and visit the chickens to take in the full agriculture experience.
Unique vendors ranging from homemade jewelry to Henna tattoos and hand-carved soaps were all available on site and the winery itself was at near capacity all weekend long thanks to the special event.
Keel advised people follow the winery’s social media pages to stay up to date on all upcoming offerings.