Florida Strawberry Festival

Dubbed a "Hometown Salute to America", Hillsborough County's Florida Strawberry Festival has been a much-anticipated spring event since its inception in 1930. Held each year in Plant City – the Strawberry Capital of the World, located between Brandon and Lakeland, this festival has been continuously touted as one of the "Top 50 Fairs in the U.S."

The festival began with the local Lions Club, which wanted to devise a way to celebrate the huge harvest of strawberries in Plant City and the neighboring towns of Hillsborough County. The area now boasts about 2,600 farms that grow berries, for a total of about 5,000 acres of strawberries in all. The Plant City Lions are still heavily involved in the organization of the annual festival, along with several other civic organizations in the area. And thanks to continuing contributions of time and money from those organizations, the Florida Strawberry Festival has never been subsidized by local taxpayers.

This year's (2009) 10-day festival takes place from Feb. 26 to March 8 and includes days and nights full of fun and exciting activities for the whole family. And not unlike a traditional county fair, visitors can compete in a number of categories or merely enjoy roaming the fairgrounds admiring others handiwork. Competition opportunities exist in livestock showing, gardening, a clogging contest, baby parade, a fine arts show, and several other categories. A competition is also held to choose the Strawberry Queen and there's a chance for younger girls to vie for the opportunity to be Junior Royalty.

In addition to livestock shows, exhibits, and displays, there is plenty of entertainment to be enjoyed at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Much of the entertainment is free and included with the general admission to the fair. This year's list of free concerts and other events includes appearances by The Guy Lombardo Orchestra; Southern Star Bluegrass; Vocal Trash – a vocal ensemble that combines their voices with unique "street instruments";  racing pigs; a bicycle, skateboard, and roller blade show; a lumberjack show and demonstration; and an appearance by several members of the Florida Opry.

Some entertainment calls for extra ticket purchases. This year's headline entertainers include some of the most well-known names in music, especially country music. Visitors to this year's fair can purchase tickets to hear George Jones, Kellie Pickler, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Bros., The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jake Owen, Third Day, Rodney Atkins, Taylor Swift, Randy Travis, Brenda Lee, Travis Tritt, Jeff Foxworthy, Kool and the Gang, Julianne Hough, Jessica Simpson, and a handful of other headliners. Tickets are reasonably priced, most costing in the $10 to $30 range. (Tickets for Taylor Swift are the most expensive at $45.)

An old-fashioned Midway area offers an extensive selection of carnival rides, games, and food. For several days during the festival, and on Friday nights, patrons can purchase Ride-a-thon bracelets that allow them to ride all the mechanical amusements for one low price.

A Kiddie Coral area caters to young festival visitors. This section includes not only kid-sized amusements but also activities suited to children, including a baby contest and baby parade, a shoebox float contest, and the Grandpa Cratchet show, which entertains and educates about fire safety.

The Neighborhood Village, located in the Expo Building, is an area where local artisans and crafters can display their work. This display is for adult-only entries and includes categories such as baking, cake decorating, home decoration ideas, jewelry and beading, needlework, knitting and crocheting, quilting, scrapbooking, doll making, and clothing design.

In addition, the Florida Strawberry Festival has its own post office and visitors can head there to have letters postmarked with a special hand-stamped Strawberry Festival mark. Operated each day of the festival, it resembles an old-fashioned post office with antique furnishings and old mail boxes.

Two special senior citizen events include concerts that appeal to the older set. On those days – Thursdays, Feb. 26 and March 5 – seniors can enjoy the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra free of charge with general admission. Prizes are awarded after the shows.

The Florida Strawberry Festival fairgrounds are conveniently located off Exit 19 of Interstate 4, easily accessible from the Tampa or Orlando areas. Gates open at 10 am and close at 10 pm. Adult general admission tickets are $10, kids are $5, and seniors cost $8.  Ample parking is available onsite.