Your Guide To The 2020 Florida Strawberry Festival

PLANT CITY, FL — Just as residents are recovering from stomach-churning thrill rides and stomach-expanding fried foods at the Florida State Fair, the Florida Strawberry Festival has arrived, offering more midway rides and fair fare with the spotlight on Plant City's major crop -- strawberries.

More than 500,000 visitors are expects to flock to Plant City's festival fairgrounds for the 11-day event Feb. 27 to March 8 to indulge in everything strawberry -- shortcake, shakes, jam, strawberry spaghetti, strawberry mashed potato pie, you name it.

The festival, an 85-year-old tradition, also features headline entertainers, including Rascal Flatts who will perform Thursday night, youth livestock shows and exhibits, a battle of the bands and contests.

“Our vendors and exhibitors have truly outdone themselves this year,” said Florida Strawberry
Festival President Paul Davis. “We like for our guests to have a fresh festival experience year
after year, and the new food items, on-grounds entertainment and attractions for this year’s event are pretty spectacular.”

New Foods To Try

• Strawberry Cheesecake Elephant Ear -- A sweet strawberry-flavored dough flattened, deep fried and slathered with a thin layer of liquid butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with fresh-cut strawberries and a heaping mound of homemade cream cheese icing.
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Delight Calzone -- A traditional calzone gets a twist with a strawberry
• filling and topped with powdered sugar, drizzled chocolate sauce, whipped cream and served with a side of cream cheese for dipping.
• Ramen Noodle Hamburger -- A hamburger patty served between two deep-fried Ramen noodle buns.
• Strawberry Waffle Bun Burger -- A burger served on a waffle bun piled high with fresh strawberries and maple syrup.
• Piggy Palace’s Strawberry Piggy Shortcake -- Pulled pork on cornbread with strawberry barbecue sauce.
• Chocolate-Covered Bacon Kabob -- Plant City strawberries on a kabob covered with milk chocolate and chunks of bacon.
• Other foods to try are Cookie Barn’s strawberry cookie with white chocolate chips, French onion grilled cheese, apple fries, deep-fried tacos, chocolate strawberry elephant ears and deep-fried ravioli kabob.

Headline Entertainment

Separately ticketed headline entertainment features Tommy James & the Shondells, Reba McEntire, Neal McCoy, Patti LaBelle, Chubby Checkers, MercyMe and Lynrd Skynyrd.

See related story: Strawberry Festival Announces Headline Entertainment

Free Entertainment

The lineup of free entertainers includes K9s in Flight, The Belmont Magic Show, Flippenout trampoline artists, Vocal Trash with a recycling message, Sahlen’s Hot Dogs Fun Zone live cooking demonstrations and the

New Services

• AT&T will be keeping data-hungry crowds connected with its COW, or Cell on Wheels. The COW will boost Internet coverage for customers attending the festival.
• The Badcock Home Furniture & More Mother & Baby Suite will allow moms of little ones to nurse in an air-conditioned room in the Milton E. Hull Building.
• Florida Strawberry Festival Official Selfie Spots will allow fair-goers to capture the perfect selfie.

Tickets

Discounted admission tickets are available at nearly 300 participating Publix Supermarkets for $8 for adults and $4 for children 6-12 years old. Children 5 years old and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Gate admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 6-12.

Publix Supermarkets will also host Publix Food and Fun Day on Friday, February 28. Festival visitors are invited to bring two Publix-branded or GreenWise nonperishable food items and receive a voucher for $5 off the $30 wristband and $25 "ride-most" mechanical rides. All items collected will be donated to the United Food Bank of Plant City.

Hours

Gates open at 10 a.m. daily and close at 10 p.m.

Midway hours are noon to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday through Sunday. On Friday, March 6, the midway will close just before 10 p.m. and reopen from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. for Moonlight Magic.

Hours for the New York Yankees Kiddie Korral are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.