PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Strawberry Festival announced Tuesday the theme for its 88th annual event.
President Paul Davis said this year’s theme — “We Have a Winner!” — “points to the recent win we achieved in naming strawberry shortcake as Florida’s official dessert.”
Earlier in the year, Florida lawmakers drafted a bill to designate strawberry shortcake as the state’s official dessert. Gov. Ron DeSantis later visited the Festival grounds to officially sign the bill into law, which took effect July 1, 2022.
“The strawberry industry has an economic impact of more than a billion dollars in the state of Florida,” Davis added. “Plant City is home to roughly 12,000 acres of strawberries and the Festival serves just about 200,000 shortcakes each year. We’re proud of our city and the Florida strawberry. It’s kind of a big deal around here!”
A fresh theme is created for each year’s festival “to offer attendants a glimpse of the experience they will have during the 11-day event,” organizers said. The theme also helps unify vendors, organizations, partners, and exhibitors who may create parade floats and displays.
Davis said, “We’re excited about this year’s event and look forward to sharing in the celebration of the shortcake dessert that has come to make us so successful!” Davis added.
