87th Florida Strawberry Festival set to open in March 

The 11-day Florida Strawberry Festival will get underway on March 3, and commemorates the harvest of strawberries in Eastern Hillsborough County. Every year, the event draws over 500,000 visitors to the festival’s entertainment, livestock shows, exhibits and cuisine.

More than 10,000 acres of strawberries are planted in the Plant City area. Hillsborough County hosts about 2,800 farms producing fruit and vegetables and is one of the largest agricultural counties in the US.

The recent cold spell in Florida did not render long-lasting damage to strawberry plants, therefore, production should be steady during the months of February and March, with peak production occurring in the beginning of March, just in time for the strawberry festival.