Each spring, the Florida Strawberry Festival® rolls out the red carpet to welcome visitors from throughout the Sunshine State and the world. Guests come from near and far to enjoy exhibits of agriculture, commerce, industry, livestock, fine arts, horticulture, and crafts. The fabric of American life is woven into the Festival through social events, contests, youth developmental programs, top-name entertainment, and parades with glorious floats and high-stepping marching bands.
The Florida Strawberry Festival represents a piece of Americana, a time in American history when fairs and festivals brought communities together through celebrations of their harvests. It has continued to grow in popularity year after year through the preservation of this heritage. Central to its focus, the Festival continues to preserve and enhance the agricultural and historical legacy of the Florida strawberry.
Further, steeped in tradition, the Florida Strawberry Festival is alive with volunteer spirit, uniting people from all parts of Plant City, Florida and the surrounding area. The event began back in 1930 when members of the newly organized Plant City Lions Club conceived the idea of an event to celebrate the bountiful harvest of strawberries. In 1948, the American Legion Post #26 helped get the Florida Strawberry Festival reactivated following a six-year hiatus during and immediately following World War II. The Lions Club and other civic organizations have participated in the Festival ever since.
