Top Eats, Concerts and More at the Florida Strawberry Festival

For a true celebration of strawberries, there’s no better event than the 89th Annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Taking place in Plant City, just 30 minutes from Tampa, this annual fair combines every strawberry treat imaginable with everything you love about state and county fairs. This year’s festival kicks off February 29 through March 10. The theme for this year is “Out of This World!”

Stroll the festival grounds as you savor the flavors of the season – strawberry shortcake, milkshakes, tacos, donuts, strawberry pizza, jam, and more. In between indulgences, hang out at the Midway or watch entertaining shows.

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Cap it all off with an evening concert from big names like The Oak Ridge Boys, The Beach Boys, Jordan Davis, Black Eyed Peas, ZZ Top, Riley Green Foreigner, Jo Dee Messina, and Flo Rida .

Tickets for headliners are on sale NOW – keep reading for more info.

Read on for all of the juicy details!

Florida Strawberry Festival 2024 Basics

Whether this will be your first visit or your 50th, a trip to the Florida Strawberry Festival is always enhanced with a little pre-planning.

First things first, you’ll need tickets in order to enter the festival grounds. While you can purchase admission at the gate, it’s cheaper to visit your local Publix store in advance for discounted tickets. Participating stores sell admission tickets for $8 (for reference, tickets are $10 at the gate) so grab some on your next grocery run.

Admission is $10 for adults ages 13 and older, $5 for kids ages 6-12, and kids 5 and younger are FREE. There are also Florida Strawberry Festival discount days. 

The festival is open daily 10am to 10pm. The midway is open noon to 11pm Tuesday – Friday, and 10am to 11pm Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Kiddie Korral is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

When to Visit

This festival draws quite a crowd each year. As such, parking can be chaotic, especially on weekends. There are designated parking lots near the entrance, but they tend to fill up quickly. When in doubt, you can always find ample parking outside of the festival if you don’t mind a bit of a walk.

If you have the flexibility, visit on a weekday. The crowds are much lower, parking is easier to find, and it’s generally a more low-key festival experience.

Inform yourself before your visit about special discounts and themed days at the festival. For example, March 2 is Super Saturday Wristband Day with wristbands for rides being $30 with any Circle K purchase. Looking for a day with potentially less kids around? Then you might want to avoid kid-centric days. In the past there have been designated family days and free admission for kids.

Best Food at the Florida Strawberry Festival

Finding incredible strawberry-themed food at the Florida Strawberry Festival can require a bit of sleuthing. While some items, like strawberry shortcake, are easy to locate, other items are hiding in plain sight at various food stands throughout the festival grounds.

Make sure to also peruse Strawberry Central — this is the festival’s online hub for all things strawberries at the festival, from food to products and contests.

Where to Find Strawberry Shortcake

Whatever you do, do not leave the festival without getting strawberry shortcake. In fact, it’s worth attending the festival just for the shortcake.

There are three unique booths offering strawberry shortcake at the festival. Typically, you’ll have your choice between shortcake or a biscuit–try both to decide on a favorite!

There’s no bad shortcake. But my favorite booth is the St. Clements because it is a DIY-style booth. Meaning, you get to pile your bowl as high as you’d like with strawberries and whipped cream.

Strawberry shortcake booth locations for 2024 are as follows:

• St. Clements Shortcake Booth on the south end of the Parke exhibit building
• Transformative Life Church Shortcake at the Entenmenn’s Strawberry Tent
• East Hillsborough Historical Society Shortcake Booth on the Southside of the TECO Expo Hall

More Strawberry Treats and Top Eats

Besides shortcake, there are tons of specialty food items to discover throughout the festival grounds. Here are a few we can’t wait to dig into:

• Strawberry Dole Whip 
• Strawberry Brisket Tacos
• Strawberry Pizza
• Strawberry Kettle Corn
• Strawvberry Fried Pies
• Strawberry Cream Puffs 
• Strawberry Fudge
• Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Milkshake
• Strawberry Cobbler
• Strawberry Pie and Strawberry Cheesecake

Where to Find and Buy Flats of Fresh Strawberries

Before leaving the Florida Strawberry Festival, you can crab a flat of fresh strawberries to take home.

Within the festival, you can purchase fresh strawberries from Parkesdale Farms (South side of Parke Exhibit Building) and Wish Farms (Northeast corner of Parke Exhibit Building and just outside Gate 1/ Amscot Main Ticket Gate).

It’s worth noting that there are usually farmers selling fresh strawberries outside of the festival as well, typically just outside the entrance. Purchasing fresh picked strawberries after the festival is a great option if you weren’t able to make time to pick your own strawberries this season.

Florida Strawberry Festival Concert 2024 Lineup

One of the major perks of attending the Florida Strawberry Festival is the headline entertainment each year. Big names (especially in country) make their way to the stage each year to cap off each day’s festivities with live music.

Concerts range in price from $25 – $75. Two free concerts will be held, the first on Thursday, February 29 at 10:30am, and the second on Thursday, March 7 at 10:30am.

Here’s the concert lineup for 2024:

• Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra – February 29, 10:30am, FREE with paid gate admission
• The Oak Ridge Boys American Made Farewell Tour – February 29, 3:30pm, $35
• Oliver Anthony – February 29, 7:30pm, $35
• The Beach Boys – March 1, 3:30pm, $45
• Jordan Davis – March 1, 7:30pm $55
• Black Eyed Peas – March 2, 7:30pm, $65
• Parker McCollum – March 3, 7:30pm, $65
• The Bellamy Brothers – March 4, 3:30pm, $25
• ZZ Top – March 4, 7:30pm, $55
• Mark Lowry – March 5, 3:30pm, $30
• Zach Williams – March 5, 7:30pm, $40
• Craig Morgan – March 6, 3:30pm. $35
• Riley Green – March 6, 7:30pm, $50
• Bill Haley Jr. & The Comets – March 7, 10:30am, FREE with paid gate admission
• Gene Watson – March 7, 3:30pm, $25
• Kirk Franklin – March 7, 7:30pm, $45
• The Commodores – March 8, 3:30pm, $35
• Foreigner – March 8, 7:30pm, $55
• Jo Dee Messina – March 9, 3:30pm, $30
• Flo Rida – March 9, 7:30pm, $50
• Cody Johnson – March 10, 7:30pm, $75

You can learn more and purchase tickets here.

More Things to do at the Festival

The fun doesn’t stop with the concerts! In addition to the ticketed concerts, you can enjoy FREE entertainment throughout the festival. A variety of live shows are offered each year, including entertaining pig races, dog shows, cooking demos, and much more. There are also tons of livestock demos.

If you love rides, make sure to also purchase a wristband to enjoy the Midway rides and games.

Check the festival website for the daily event schedule.

Lastly, take full advantage of the information booths. The volunteers are helpful, their knowledge base spanning everything from who has the best corndog (a real question I have asked before–the suggestion was spot on!) to locating a specific booth.

Details + Know Before You Go

The Florida Strawberry Festival takes place in Plant City from February 29 through March 10.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 13, or in advance at participating Publix stores for $8 for adults and $4 for kids.

Separate tickets are required for concerts. You’ll need to purchase a wristband if you want to ride Midway rides.

Visit flstrawberryfestival.com for more details.

Feature image credit: Florida Strawberry Festival; all other photos by Stephanie Patterson