Florida Strawberry Festival Begins Thursday In Plant City

PLANT CITY, FL - Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire and Jerry Lee Lewis will be among the artists performing at the 2018 Florida Strawberry Festival. The festival begins Thursday, March 1.

Each year, more than 500,000 visitors attend the festival for its headline entertainment, midway rides, youth livestock shows and, of course, the strawberry shortcake. The 11-day community event celebrates the strawberry harvest of Eastern Hillsborough County.

Other artists performing at the festival this year include: Engelbert Humperdinck, Earth, Wind & Fire, Trace Adkins, Justin Moore and “I Love the 90s Tour” featuring Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc and Salt-N-Pepa. There have been a few changes since the initial performing artists were announced. Country artist Gary Allan replaced DNCE in the event’s opening night. Big & Rich featuring Cowboy Troy replaced The Band Perry for the Saturday, March 3 show.

Advance tickets for admission and for headline entertainment shows can be purchased online at www.flstrawberryfestival.com, at the Amscot Main Ticket Office, 2209 W. Oak Avenue in Plant City and by phone at 813-754-1996.

Here is the headline entertainment lineup:

Thursday, March 1
10:30 a.m. Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra
3:30 p.m. Oak Ridge Boys
7:30 p.m. Gary Allan

Friday, March 2
3:30 p.m. Jerry Lee Lewis
7:30 p.m. Justin Moore and Dylan Scott

Saturday, March 3
3:30 p.m. Cam
7:30 p.m. Big & Rich featuring Cowboy Troy

Sunday, March 4
3:30 p.m. Lee Greenwood
7:30 p.m. Reba McEntire

Monday, March 5
3:30 p.m. Jimmy Fortune
7:30 p.m. Josh Turner

Tuesday, March 6
3:30 p.m. Gaither Vocal Band
7:30 p.m. Casting Crowns

Wednesday, March 7
3:30 p.m. Engelbert Humperdinck
7:30 p.m. Trace Adkins

Thursday, March 8
10:30 a.m. The Lettermen
3:30 p.m. Drifters, Platters and Cornell Gunter's Coasters
7:30 p.m. I Love the 90s Tour featuring Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc and Salt-N-Pepa

Friday, March 9
3:30 p.m. Charley Pride
7:30 p.m. Earth, Wind & Fire

Saturday, March 10
3:30 p.m. Sawyer Brown
7:30 p.m. Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Anthony Hamilton

Sunday, March 11
3:30 p.m. Chase Bryant
7:30 p.m. Brad Paisley

Along with the headline acts, there also is free entertainment daily, such as Redhead Express, Dennis Lee and Kazual. Other entertainment includes Robinson’s Racing Pigs, Lucy Pet’s Surfing & All-Star Stunt Dog Show and the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show. The festival also features eating contests, including competitors who compete to see who can eat 4 pounds of strawberry shortcake in 10 minutes.

"The theme of this year's festival is ‘Building New Memories!’ with a strong emphasis on the construction of our new GT Grandstands seating area," said Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis.

The event's board of directors broke ground on the project in March, and construction is expected to be complete by the end of the month. The new bleacher-style seating will accommodate 9,200 total guests, is closer to the stage and will be more comfortable for guests, Davis said.

Another change with the construction project is that the event will no longer offer free seating to headline shows.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for us," said Davis. "But we absolutely had to construct new seating. And when you start crunching the numbers, there was just no way economically for us to offer free seats any
longer."

Adult admission to the festival is $10; admission for children (ages 6-12) is $5. On March 1, patrons 60 years of age or older get $2 off the gate admission of $10 all day. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free with a paid adult admission. Discount gate admission tickets are available at Central Florida Publix stores. Click here for information on special discount days.

Image of country artist Gary Allan via Florida Strawberry Festival