Strawberry Festival To Feature New Food Creations

PLANT CITY, FL — Visitors to this year's Florida Strawberry Festival March 4 to 14 in Plant City can expect new foods, new entertainers, new rides and a whole lot of strawberries.

Approximately 200,000 strawberry shortcakes are served annually at the Plant City event, making it the most popular food at the festival, which only stands to reason since the festival was started to celebrate the spring strawberry harvest.

By all accounts, it's been a "berry" good year for strawberry growers, and fair goers will have plenty of opportunity to sample the fruits of their labor with strawberry milk shakes, strawberry funnel cake, strawberry pizza and even strawberry pickles.

“This year is like no other,” said Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis. “The amount
of new food items, free entertainment and attractions for the 2021 event are overwhelming. We
are so blessed to be able to host such an event for our vendors and exhibitors. Year after year,
they work to create something truly magical to give our guests, and this year will not
disappoint.”

For many festival enthusiasts, the opportunity to try new food creations is worth the ticket price.

This year, foodies can sample:

Apple Pie Sweet Potator by Taylor's Doughboy, swirled with butter and a homemade apple pie filing topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

• Bahama Breeze Italian Ice, a mixture of strawberry, pineapple and mango Italian ice layered with fresh-cut pineapples and by Domi Italian Ice.
• Chocolate Pineberry Drizzle, served on a stick and drizzled with white or milk chocolate, this sweet strawberry snack is available at the Chocolate Strawberry Express.
• Deep Fried Éclair, a mini éclair, deep fried until golden brown, dusted with powdered sugar and laced with Ghirardelli milk chocolate, courtesy of Carousel Concessions.
• Deep Fried Triple Chocolate Oreo, batter dipped and deep fried then topped with powdered sugar, rich chocolate sauce and whipped cream by Taylor’s Doughboy.
• Jolly Rancher Slush in a limited-edition Florida Strawberry Festival commemorative cup by Apple Fries Concession.
• Mexican Street Burger, a quarter-pound hamburger topped with pepper jack cheese, bacon, cilantro, onion, Mexican street corn, fried avocados and drizzled with a spicy Sriracha mayonnaise from Carousel Concessions.
• Piggy Palace is offering a meal in a bowl featuring a piece of sweet cornbread piled high with pulled pork, barbecue beans and coleslaw.
• Strawberry Brownie Shortcake, featuring a traditional shortcake with a moist brownie and sweet Wish Farms strawberries piled high with cream topping, available at the Berry Amaz’n shortcake booth.
• Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Funnel Cake, a traditional funnel cake mix made with lemon juice and ricotta cheese then fried until golden brown and layered with a homemade zesty lemon glaze, topped with fresh sliced strawberries and dusted with a sweet powdered sugar by Best Around Concessions.
• Strawberry Pickle, the traditional dill pickle infused with strawberry flavoring by the Chocolate Strawberry Express.
• Strawberry Pina Colada Smoothie featuring Just the right mix of strawberries, pineapples and coconut at the Cinnamon Bun Saloon.
• Strawberry Red Bottom Passion Italian Ice with strawberry and mango Italian ice layered with strawberries and topped with strawberry drizzle by Domi Italian Ice.
• Faye’s Doozie, two freshly baked cookies sandwiched between a cloud of cream filling available in chocolate chip or strawberry at the Cookie Barn.
• World-Famous Parkesdale Farms Strawberry Shortcake with farm-fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream.

Although the headline entertainment was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be plenty to do and see during this year's event including midway rides and games, art shows, exhibits, free entertainment and the grand parade on Monday, March 8 at 1 p.m., passing the festival grounds at about 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for ages 13 and up; $5 for ages 6 to 12; and free for children ages 5 and under.

Click here for more information.