The 2020 Grand Parade will be led by Grand Marshal Gail Lyons, the director of the Grand Parade’s board and chairman/director of the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Scholarship Program.
The Strawberry Grand Parade has been interwoven with Plant City’s festival traditions since the 1930s.
The parade weaves through downtown before heading over to the festival grounds and the streets are packed with eager onlookers who wish to catch a glimpse of the many floats, bands and local celebrities that make up the berry entourage. Each year, one person is selected to ride in the seat of honor as the grand marshal of the festivities.
In the past, the parade always featured some of the headline entertainers for that day at the Florida Strawberry Festival. When the performers’ schedules shifted, there was a switch toward highlighting local residents who have made an impact in the community. Some former grand marshals include Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, local legend Al Berry, who was a key member of the Florida Strawberry Festival as well as a radio icon throughout the area, and Helen Parke, the matriarch of the Parkesdale Farms family who played an instrumental role in making strawberries synonymous with Plant City.
This year, Gail Lyons, vice president of Regions Bank, was selected for the honor. Lyons is also the past president of the Plant City Lions Club, Past Exalted Ruler of the Plant City Elks Club, Past President of the Friends of the Library and currently serves as Director with the Friends of the Library and the Plant City Lions Club. She has also served with Ducks Unlimited of East Hillsborough County.
On top of serving as the chairman/director of the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Scholarship Program, Lyons has also been the director of Berry Fine Productions for the past 10 years. Berry Fine Productions is responsible for managing the Grand Parade. She has served on the parade’s board since 2010. As president of the Grand Parade board, she is also one of the three members of the parade’s nominating committee along with Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis and Plant City Commissioner Mike Sparkman, who is also a director emeritus of the Strawberry Festival.
Every year, the nominating committee comes together and decides who will have the honor of leading the upcoming parade. Sparkman said it was his idea to nominate Lyons and Davis agreed. Lyons joked she didn’t really have a vote or a choice in the matter as she was outnumbered this year.
“Gail has worked real hard for the Strawberry Festival. Her and her husband Gene that passed away have worked behind the stage and behind the scenes for years,” Sparkman said. “They’ve done hundreds and hundreds of hours of work for the Grand Parade and everything else in the community: the Lions Club and Queen’s Court with the pageant. She’s the one that doesn’t want any recognition and so I decided it was time we recognize her. I told her ‘It doesn’t matter what you think, we have a majority vote and we voted you in, so get ready.’”
Though Lyons said she couldn’t recall another instance where a board member had received the honor while still serving, Sparkman said he’s nominated several festival staff members over the years.
“She just has the passion for this community and the passion for the festival and the passion for the people here,” Davis said. “She absolutely devotes her life to this. She runs our Strawberry Queen Pageant for the Lions Club and she runs the parade. She’s out there in the cold and the rain and she doesn’t miss a meeting. She tries to make everyone feel special and happy and let me tell you what, Gail was totally surprised when we told her we were nominating her.”
When the Grand Parade begins its trek through town, it brings the entire city to a halt. Businesses and government offices close early, streets are shut down well in advance and the entire community gathers with their friends along the parade route.
The floats congregate on Prosser Street, Evers Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and then head north on Evers Street toward Reynolds Street. From Reynolds it turns west before hopping over toward the festival grounds where it disperses on Sammonds Street.
The parade will begin promptly at 1 p.m., though streets will begin closing at 10:30 a.m. in preparation of the event. Lyons said the trick to a successful parade day is simply to get there early. The weather is expected to be bright and sunny and she said anyone who wants to find a great spot should come early to Reynolds Street or by South Florida Baptist Hospital.
“This year, it will be kind of fun to ride on the back of a vehicle and get to see that perspective for the parade,” Lyons said. “You know, I did some research and back when the parade began, it went to the festival grounds and then had the Queen’s pageant. I think it’s kind of ironic that I direct both of them today and have been chosen for this honor.”
