Strawberries, strawberries, everywhere!
That’s what awaited attendees of the 90th Annual Strawberry Festival in Plant City.
Founded in 1929 by Albert Schneider – the first president and organizer of the Plan City Lions Club – the festival has come a long way from its beginnings as a small-town event.
Fast forward to the present day, the festival continues to be a major event, attracting thousands of visitors every year. The festival is known for its delicious varieties of food, such as the strawberry shortcake, the foot-long corn dogs, and the phenomenal strawberry lemonade that almost every vendor sells on the festival grounds.
The vendors are the backbone of the Strawberry Festival, bringing loads of experience, knowledge, and care to the items they sell to the festival visitors.
Brenna Dorn has been selling varieties of lemonade at the festival for two years,
“The festival is amazing, and the people are kind,” Dorn said.
This leads to the understanding that the festival is more than just money and rides, it provides the community with a way to get together every single year.
Colby Williams, the owner of Island Vibes Foods, has been selling a mix of American and island foods such as jerk foods, turkey legs, and conch salad for six years at the festival but has been around other festivals and even been on a show called “Carnival eats”.
“Every year the festival gets better every year, just come out and have some fun,” he said.
Other foods available at the festival included stir-fried noodles with teriyaki chicken and vegetables from Island Noodles and glazed donuts from Peachy’s Donuts.
The star of the festival, of course, was strawberry shortcake. The popular dessert was available everywhere throughout the festival.
Although food and merchandise vendors make up a big chunk of the festival, other vendors include the United States Marine Corps.
Stephanie Sheff, associate director of the Strawberry Festival explained how important those opportunities can be for future students.
“The festival makes thousands of dollars, and we provide scholarships to kids”, Sheff said.
Financing those scholarships emphasizes how important vendors, stall owners, farmers, and ticket sales are to the board of directors, she said.
Sheff explained how every year they (the board of directors) look for something new each year for the guests to enjoy.
“We try to please different styles like arts and crafts and other things people would enjoy,” she said.
