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Burney Elementary School unveiled its first-ever Little Free Library on Oct. 24. The library offers free books for anyone passing by school property and people are also encouraged to leave books for all ages for others to enjoy at no cost.
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Downtown Plant City went all-in for Halloween with a new trick-or-treating event that saw many businesses stay open late, offer deals and hand out tasty treats to kids in costume.
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Faith Christian Academy hosted its Hispanic Heritage Festival in October. Each participating student had a display of either a Hispanic country or a prominent artist and spent weeks researching their assigned topic to share their knowledge with the rest of the school. Many cooked and brought authentic cuisine from their countries to share with the other students, offering tastes of the world in the festive event.
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The Plant City Family YMCA’s annual Trunk or Treat event had to be moved indoors due to rain, but that didn’t stop hordes of happy Plant City kids from getting in the Halloween spirit for an afternoon of fun and games on the basketball court.
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Keel and Curley Winery started hosting Harvest Days in October. These weekend events were packed with family-friendly fun and set a trend that continued through the end of the year with more weekly events, such as Holidays on the Farm.
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Operation Paying it Forward hosted its “Operation Appreciation” event to let military veterans and first responders know their service and hard work won’t go unrecognized. The event was held at Wells Memorial. Attendees were treated to a free meal and giveaways and were invited to stroll through the assembled vendors, which highlighted a variety of resources veterans can access from groups like Homes for Heroes, Veteran’s Council, The Life Center of Suncoast and more.
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Medal of Honor recipients Lt. James Taylor and SSG Ronald Shurer II went to Wilson Elementary in October to talk about their military experiences and instill in the students the importance of giving back through service to their country, volunteer work or anything else they’re passionate about that can help others.
Plant City embraced spooky season in 2019, but October wasn’t just a time for Halloween fun and games.
Major moves were made within the city, as Richard Lilyquist joined Bill McDaniel’s staff as an Assistant City Manager, Fire Station Three and 2XS developers “put the champagne on ice” for Midtown by entering an agreement with the city to develop it. The Florida Strawberry Festival welcomed four new “red coats” to its board of directors. The city gave veterans a warm welcome a month ahead of Veterans Day with events like Operation Paying it Forward’s “Operation Appreciation” event and Medal of Honor recipients Lt. James Taylor and SSG Ronald Shurer II visiting Wilson Elementary to speak to students. Two of Plant City’s own, Barrett Maravilla and Morgan Brake, were selected to participate in a program during the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass Week.
Halloween was celebrated all over town as always, but downtown merchants partnered with Plant City Main Street for a new, massive trick-or-treat event during the Food Truck Rally.
