PLANT CITY, Fla. — Strawberries have been grown in the Plant City area since the 1800s, and the industry and annual strawberry festival have big economic impacts on our state.
Strawberry Festival president Kyle Robinson said almost 550,000 people are in attendance every year, and that the event is very profitable for the Tampa Bay area.
“The statistics from 2015 show that $26 million of direct tourism dollars go into our local community,” Robinson said.
Local folks are the very workers who make sure the Florida Strawberry Festival is a success.
“We employ hundreds of people, create jobs. People come here to really make their family's ends meet," Robinson said. "A lot of people in our community rely on this festival to provide them the income they need."
The festival includes a vast midway with rides, arts, crafts and concerts that all bring in money.
“We have livestock shows, steers, swine, and plants. Those young people sell those and really generate money for their college education," Robinson said. "Over the past two years, those young people that show their exhibits have got $3 million to further their education."
And since strawberries are the star of the show, the sweet red fruit decorates the top of over 250,000 strawberry short-cake desserts sold each year.
“Florida growers grow over 12,000 acres of strawberries, which results in a harvest that's almost 300 million pounds of strawberries each year," Robinson said. "That's a huge economic impact for the entire country, but a $1.1 billion impact just in Hillsborough County alone."
The 88th annual Florida Strawberry Festival lasts 11 days and runs from March 2 to March 12.
You can learn more about the festival along with the concert lineup here.
