Florida’s sweetest festival

Wintertime in Florida means a few different things. Tourists flock to our state to enjoy the warm (or at least not so cold) weather; festivals abound in cities across the state, honoring everything from pirates to seafood; and winter crops are harvested and sent around the nation and, in some cases, around the world.

Plant City holds an annual event that combines all three of those wintertime features – the Florida Strawberry Festival. Attracting and entertaining tourists and locals alike since 1930, Plant City’s yearly event celebrates the sweet red berry with musical acts, carnival games and rides, agricultural exhibitions, and literal tons of strawberry shortcake.

While the strawberries are the namesake – and main – attraction, there have been an amazing number of famous musicians and groups who have played at the Strawberry Festival, from the Oak Ridge Boys to Boyz II Men, including Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., Reba McEntire, Kevin Costner (fronting his country/rock band Modern West), Cheap Trick, Demi Lovato, and Jessica Simpson. Simpson appeared in 2009, the same year that a young, up-and-coming Taylor Swift just a month before her first headlining concert tour started.

The 2024 festival is featuring The Beach Boys, ZZ Top, and the Black Eyed Peas, but it is the strawberries that keep people coming back every year.