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Fritz and Penny Simonecht were festival exhibitors for over 30 years. This year, they arrived early to bring flowers to one of their friends working the festival.
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Jerry Trent was the first person in line for the 2016 Florida Strawberry Festival. He has been coming to the festival for about eight years, and enjoys the singing and concerts the most.
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Capt. David and Sandy Allan were second in line for the festival. The couple, who drove to Plant City from Jacksonville, said they were most looking forward to watching the pig races, eating strawberry shortcake and watching Charley Pride.
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Jerry and Mary McCarthy, along with Mary Lou and Richard Putskey, were some of the first in line for festival admission.
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Harry and Barbara Margritz were first-timers from Pennsylvania. They were looking forward to the strawberry milkshakes and the overall festival experience.
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Carol Giles and Kammna Farag wanted to beat the rush and enjoy strawberry shortcake.
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Larry and Eva Cleveland came all the way to the festival from Hudson, Pennsylvania. Bonnie Coffelt, of New Port Richey, was excited to see the concerts.
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Jack and Audrey Bules and Ed and Joan Heidt came from Erie, Pennsylvania. Ed Heidt was most excited to see the polka band.
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Duane England, Linda Eberts, Ernie and Karen Vaillancourt and Ron and Diane Ellison.
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Karl and Marion Ormsby arrived at the festival early to get a good parking spot. They were most excited to see Jimmy Sturr.
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Lavone and Daphne Brock, of Baconton, Georgia, were festival first-timers.
The rides, the livestock shows, the music and, of course, the strawberries. Plant City residents and visitors will be surrounded by everything berry-related for the next 11 days at the 2016 Florida Strawberry Festival.
The most popular event in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World kicked off at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 3. The festival will run daily through Sunday, March 13.
Festival guests from all around the United States arrived at the festival’s main gate as early as 9 a.m. for admission to this year’s festival. When polled, guests said they were most looking forward to eating strawberry shortcake and watching a plethora of country singers perform.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
