Plant City might be small, but there’s one thing outsiders mention when they meet someone from the town of just over 36,000: the Florida Strawberry Festival.
With over half a million attendees at the 2016 festival, the 81-year-old event has made a name for itself in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
Because of the festival’s deep roots in Plant City history, the Florida Strawberry Festival Association is the recipient of this year’s Heritage Award. The award is the top honor given out annually by the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center and will be presented to festival president Dan Walden at the organization’s annual soiree on Thursday, March 31.
“If you were writing a book on the history of Plant City, you would always include the festival,” President Ed Verner said.
This is the first year that the Photo Archives will give the award to an organization, rather than an individual. The first Heritage Award was given to D.E. Bailey, in 2004. The most recent recipient was Al Berry in 2015.
Each year, the award is given to someone with a longstanding impact in Plant City, who is involved with heritage or restoration and is generally beloved.
“I don’t think we’d make an exception for an institution again,” Verner said.
“Their history is intertwined with the city. … By preserving their own records, they’ve preserved many others.” –Gil Gott
Throughout the years, the festival has made an effort to preserve its own history. Festival programs dating back to 1932 list the names of volunteers, prominent residents in Plant City as well as aspects of the city’s history — everything from the fashions of that year to then-popular agricultural practices. By documenting its own history, the festival has indirectly saved other parts of Plant City’s past.
“Their history is intertwined with the city,” Executive Director Gil Gott said. “Where else can you go and find information on all these things? By preserving their own records, they’ve preserved many others. That’s basically the history of the area. If you’ve saved the programs, you’ve saved a lot of history.”
Both the festival and the Photo Archives are in the process of going through the festival’s photos and digitizing them. Gott has been hired to assist with a history project for the festival, spanning all 80-plus years.
“When (festival General Manager) Paul Davis came on, he wanted to look back,” Verner said. “He wanted to do something with all their old photos. It’s a wonderful mirage. And, hopefully, it will bear more fruit.”
Verner also noted that while the festival has not necessarily contributed to restoration efforts, its impact is not lost on the community. Outside the month of March, dozens of civic organizations hold meetings, events and fundraisers on the festival grounds.
Furthermore, many Plant City residents who volunteer with the festival or serve on its board of directors are contributors to the city’s history and have their own merit titles: Citizen of the Year recipients, Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce chairmans, civic club presidents and more.
“Half the people on that list (of heritage winners) have been part of the festival,” Gott said.
The festival board members were surprised to find out that the festival was this year’s recipient.
“They were honored,” Gott said. “They didn’t really expect it at all.”
The March 31 soiree is open to the public, but tickets are first come, first serve. Tickets can be purchased at the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center on Evers Street.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.