I have found for much of my life that when I travel and tell people I’m from Plant City, their immediate response is one word: strawberries!
It seems that the two are synonymous. And quite frankly, I think residents are pretty happy about that. As a community of people surrounded by production, agricultural markets and hard-working FFA and 4-H members, we are proud to call agriculture our claim to fame.
The agriculture industry embodies some of the finest qualities: leadership, innovation, generosity, humility, stewardship, dedication, environmental responsibility and much more. As far as I can tell, it seems that we, as a community, have adopted these same qualities to represent our town as a whole.
The citizens of Plant City are well known for their generosity with time and resources, their nationally recognized leaders and their dedication to heritage and innovation. In my opinion, there is no better place to see the heart of our people and our town than at the Florida Strawberry Festival.
Each year, our agriculture industry and our people are placed on display as we invite over 500,000 individuals to join in the celebration of our agricultural harvest. They come from other towns and states and some from across the pond, looking forward to the southern hospitality they will receive from the people of Plant City.
While our event has evolved in our 81 years, we still pride ourselves on being a slice of Americana, where tradition and values are of the utmost importance and our environment is friendly for the whole family.
For our 81st year, we have an exciting festival planned just for you. We’re inviting 24 of the country’s top entertainers, bringing in over 85 of the most exciting rides, hosting hundreds of youth exhibitors in seven different livestock shows, displaying the artwork, photographs and homemade items thousands of our local residents enter into competition, cooking up some of the tastiest treats from hundreds of food vendors and, most of all, picking more strawberries than you could ever imagine for shortcakes, milkshakes, cheesecakes, cobblers, ice cream and more.
For information on admission or concert tickets, events and more, visit FlStrawberryFestival.com.