CONTESTANTS GAVE CROWDS UNSCRIPTED ENTERTAINMENT.
The 11-day Florida Strawberry Festival had entertaining competitions galore, from lamb jumping, to animal costuming, to stemming strawberries, to diaper decorating, to art, to eating fast and furiously.
The Festival had every kind of fair food you can think of. Any walk through the Festival would come across hundreds of common eaters. But there were uncommon eaters too—on display in strawberry-themed competitions in the Stingray Chevrolet Entertainment Pavilion.
For the Amish donut eating contest, four tasty Amish donuts were stacked on a plate. Teams of four lined up behind the donuts. Each team member took a turn eating a donut as fast as he or she could. The fun part was…no hands allowed—so contestants had to bury their faces in donuts. A couple with a baby in tow were on the winning team, and the father raised the baby high above his head in celebration of their victory.
Schenck’s strawberry ICEE throwdown was held on March 2. The first team to finish two 24-ounce strawberry ICEEs first would be declared the winner. Fighting through deadly brain freezes, Team “I Am Your Father,” from Florida won.
The strawberry pizza eating contest happened on march 3. To win, one person had to be the first to finish an 18-inch pizza with strawberries in place of pepperonis. Simon Silva out-chewed the competition for the win.
St. Clement Catholic Church held its annual Strawberry Shortcake eating contest on March 6. Contestants were given a four-pound strawberry shortcake, and 10 minutes to eat as much as possible. The first seven minutes competitors had to use a spoon. For the final three minutes, they had to use their hands. Though a pair of burly Florida men sat at the table of 10 contestants, a little lady from Ontario climbed to the top by eating 1.3 pounds. Ellamae Hanley from Ontario, Canada used her mind, not her mouth to take home the pig trophy. Instead of diving into the cake itself, she ate the heaviest part of the creation first—the layers of strawberries in their compote.
For those who prefer soft food, the strawberry mashed potato pie eating contest offered a chance to make it into the record books. The challenge was to eat a three-pound pan of mashed potatoes and a strawberry garnish with a tiny spoon. The winner finished in two minutes and 21 seconds.
To win the Super Dog mega corn dog eating contest, one of the 10 contestants had to consume two 18-inch dogs on sticks. Florida resident Jairus Brown finished first to take home the trophy.
Festival visitors could also take in agricultural contests like lamb jumping, a lamb costume competition, and the Mosaic youth steer show livestock judging.
The adult strawberry stemming contest pitted stemmers against each other for the glory of first place. The winner was the quickest to finish de-stemming 25 strawberries. J.P. Flores proved to have the fastest hands in Florida.
On the artistic side of things, for the shoebox float contest, children used shoeboxes to create miniature parade floats.
•In the first- and second-grade category, Jameson Hon won first place; Emersyn Dixon won second; and Korbin Goff placed third.
•In the third- and fourth-grade category, Aubrey Sweeney won first; Adelyn Dixon won second; and Sarah Hernandez placed third.
•In the fifth- and sixth-grade category, Cade Brock won first; Isaac Hernandez won second; and Timmy Pippin placed place.
•In the exceptional student education category, Aubrie Wood won first; Carrera Porter won second; and Jalen James placed third.
These are the winners of the fine art show presented by the East Hillsborough Art Guild:
• Adult best in show: Anna Schermerhorn
• Adult strawberry theme award: Reese Veerkamp.
• Adult amateur oils: 1st – Joyce Owens; 2nd – Lisa Herget; 3rd – John Paul Jones.
• Adult amateur acrylics: 1st – Alana Brown; 2nd – Melody Townsend; 3rd – Melinda Tew-Cantrel.
• Adult amateur watercolors division: 1st – Barbara Tudek; 2nd – Marie Schadt; 3rd – Debbie Reynolds.
• Adult amateur graphic: 1st – Martha Cannon; 2nd – Joan Supkay; 3rd – Jodi Hufford.
• Adult amateur mixed media: 1st – Tifane Worsley; 2nd – Irene Vereb; 3rd – Denise Brown.
• Adult miniature art division: 1st – Alma Brown; 2nd – Gunni Price; 3rd – Marie Schadt.
• Youth division best in show: Kaitlynn Shields.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, and graphics division, ages 16 to 17: 1st – Sinchana Killimath; 2nd – Alyssa Stanley; 3rd – Radhika Rangwala.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, and graphics division, ages 14 to 15: 1st – Kaitlynn Shields; 2nd – Suhhang Jha; 3rd – Clara Walter.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphics division, ages 12 to 13: 1st – Saahih Maleti-Saahith; 2nd – Harvey Fondriest; 3rd – Sheetala Saravanan.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphics division, ages 10 to 11: 1st – Srimathi Raghunath; 2nd – Mia Youngblood; 3rd – Aishani Jain.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphics division ages 8 to 9: 1st – Swarali Cherukuri; 2nd – Maanvi Samala; 3rd – Grymes Morgan.
• Youth oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphics division, ages 6 to 7: 1st – Aanya Nandur; 2nd – Prasvitha Vakati; 3rd – Lila Batanyal.
For those who missed this year, they will have another chance to enjoy these annual events in 2026. Prior to next year’s Strawberry Festival people can enter their names online for chances to eat competitively.
