Florida Strawberry Festival President Jim Jeffries and General Manager Paul Davis delivered tickets to two Plant City Publix Supermarkets. Patrick O’Neal, the general manager at the Publix at 2202 Jim Redman Parkway, received 2,500 tickets for his store. For years, the festival partnered with Sweetbay to sell discounted tickets throughout the Tampa Bay area. Now, […]
Continue ReadingFlorida Strawberry Festival 2013
Hallmark movie draws delicious similarities to Florida Strawberry Fest
Here’s the pitch: Beth Landon, a beautiful music teacher from a small, rural town, is helping her mother plan the annual Strawberry Festival. The town practically revolves around the succulent red berry, as it is known to have the best strawberries in the world. As the Strawberry Queen, Beth decides to hire a big-name — […]
Continue ReadingStrawberry Festival Queen, Court Enjoy Celebrity Feast
The 2013 Florida Strawberry Festival Queen and Court enjoyed a royal feast May 17, prepared by MasterChef winner Whitney Miller. First Maid Ericka Lott’s parents, Rick and Dianna Lott, won the dinner in February at the silent auction at the United Food Bank of Plant City’s For the Love of Food benefit. Queen Kelsey Fry […]
Continue ReadingStrawberry festival adds more video surveillance
Even before the Boston Marathon bombing, officials at the Florida Strawberry Festival were taking steps to make Plant City’s signature event as safe as possible. Now, those steps seem more important than ever. General Manager Paul Davis said the festival’s newest security measures will come in the form of additional security cameras. Although he wouldn’t […]
Continue ReadingFestival considers traffic-flow solutions
Strawberries weren’t the only draw for thousands of people filling the streets of Plant City on the last weekend of the Florida Strawberry Festival. Back-to-back headliner concerts brought in both a collective of fans — and a collective of collisions. In all, 10 minor accidents occurred during the festival. On March 10, a crash involving […]
Continue ReadingCrest senior wins steer show honors
Jake Maxwell’s last competition was a memorable one. The Strawberry Crest senior took grand champion honors in the steer show at this year’s Florida Strawberry Festival, along with winning the heavyweight division. Maxwell got involved with showing cows from his older brother, Brett, and has been showing steers since his freshman year. His last competition […]
Continue ReadingStingray names Silverado winner
Ruskin resident Paul Harloff will have a swanky new ride soon. Harloff was the winner of Stingray Chevrolet’s raffle fundraiser for Unity in the Community at the 2013 Florida Strawberry Festival. He will pick up his 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab Z-71 4×4 April 4.
Continue ReadingFestival breaks attendance record
Chalk it up to great weather, great entertainment or a combination of both: The Florida Strawberry Festival ended its 2013 run with two record-setting days in a row. On March 9, about 90,000 came through the gates. The next day, nearly 100,000 flocked to the festival for its final day — and the Blake Shelton concert. […]
Continue ReadingPHOTO GALLERY: Pioneer Village
Take a step back in time when you visit the Pioneer Village at the 2103 Florida Strawberry Festival.
Continue ReadingDCF unveils new recruitment campaign
Tanya Wilkins, statewide child advocate and wife of Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins, joined Eckerd Community Alternatives to unveil “Each One — Reach One,” a new parent recruitment campaign March 8, at the Florida Strawberry Festival. The campaign will focus on reaching out to the ultimate “soccer moms and dads” — those […]
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