PLANT CITY, Fla. — Plant City is known for its strawberries, but what they will unveil for the first time on New Year's Eve is something you can’t grow on any farm.
“We are actually going to be dropping a six-foot-strawberry, 80 feet in the air, down during the whole countdown, but throwing a huge block party while we do it," said Dawn Hyatt, executive director of Plant City Main Street. "We will have vendors and all kinds of shows going on.”
Hyatt is always coming up with new ways to revitalize downtown.
“Our job is to bring the people down, get the money in, and make our downtown flourish,” Hyatt said.
Hyatt was tired of watching locals and tourists travel to other cities to ring in the New Year, and that’s when the idea for the city’s first Strawberry Drop was born.
“We wanted to just give our community a sense of pride, ownership, and have something that they can own," Hyatt said. "The people who can now celebrate the big day, bring families down, and build the memories. I don’t think you can put a price on that."
Downtown business owners, like Brandon Snyder, say Plant City has a lot to offer, but people just need to know about it.
“It’s going to put a lot of eyes on downtown Plant City and that’s what we need right now," Snyder said. "A lot of people think about Plant City and kind of write it off, but it’s really up and coming now. It’s going to really help all the downtown businesses."
Snyder said one of the reasons he opened Propagation Whiskey Bar and Kitchen in October was the growing list of free, family-friendly events like this.
“Plant City Main Street has done a fantastic job with helping out with these downtown businesses, to get people down here, to know that it's OK to visit your downtown," Snyder said. "There are thriving businesses here. This area didn’t do great for a long time, and I’d say in the last five years, it's really skyrocketed.”
Hyatt said the event wouldn’t be possible without sponsors like the Strawberry Festival and the Strawberry Festival Association.
She also wanted to give thanks to Metals & Nature for making the strawberry and Bob McDowell for lighting it up.
The Strawberry Drop runs from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve. It is free to the public and family-friendly, with a kid’s zone.
Over the weekend, firefighters worked for over 40 minutes to bring a two-alarm mall under control at the Brandon Mall
