From Florida to Texas to small-town Maryland, strawberry festivals are quietly turning into some of the most in-demand events on the spring calendar. With big-name concerts, tighter crowd controls, and a renewed focus on local farmers, 2025’s momentum is already shaping 2026 into a record-breaking year for berry-themed celebrations.
Florida’s Strawberry Spectacle Levels Up for 2026
If there’s a Super Bowl of strawberry festivals, it’s the
Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City.
Organizers have confirmed that the
2026 edition will run February 26 – March 8 with the theme
“Still Growing.” The 11-day event routinely draws
more than 650,000 visitors, combining agriculture, concerts, midway rides, and classic fair food centered around the region’s strawberry harvest.
According to a new news release from festival organizers,
tickets for the 2026 headline entertainment go on sale starting December 11, 2025. Advance
admission prices are set at:
-
$10 for adults-
$4 for children ages 6–12-
Free for kids 5 and under with a paying adultOnce inside, visitors can expect:
-
Top-name entertainment on the main stage, a longtime hallmark of the event
-
Youth livestock shows, agricultural and commercial exhibits, contests, and local vendors- The festival’s
“world-famous strawberry shortcake,” a centerpiece of the Plant City experience
The 2025 festival, which celebrated its
90th year, kicked off February 27 in Plant City and continued the event’s evolution from a small agricultural celebration into a major regional draw. Coverage from Tampa Bay outlets highlighted the blend of traditional fair elements with national touring acts, underscoring why big-name entertainment has become as much a draw as the berries themselves.
Why Strawberry Festivals Are Becoming Big Business
The Florida event is more than a quaint farm fair with desserts on paper plates. It’s a carefully scaled operation that now functions like a hybrid of
state fair, music festival, and ag expo.
On the ground, that means:
- A full midway of
rides and games-
Parades featuring floats and marching bands
-
Fine arts and horticulture exhibits, showcasing local talent and growers
Economically, the festival helps drive tourism across Eastern Hillsborough County, while keeping its branding rooted in the harvest. The new 2026 theme,
“Still Growing,” leans heavily into that dual identity: honoring farming roots while signaling continued expansion in scope and scale.
Texas’ “Sweetest Tradition” Keeps It Local in Poteet
A thousand miles away, the
Poteet Strawberry Festival in South Texas is carving out its own lane as a more intimate, community-first alternative.
Billed as
“Texas’ Sweetest Tradition,” the Poteet festival offers a weekend of
live music, family activities, carnival rides, festival food, and fresh strawberries from local growers. Organizers emphasize that the event is not just entertainment—it’s a funding engine for the town.
According to festival information,
proceeds help:
- Fund
youth scholarships- Support
local strawberry growers- Sustain
nonprofit organizations that participate in and benefit from the event
The festival also spotlights growers directly. A recent feature by a San Antonio TV outlet, highlighted by organizers, followed local farmers “from the fields to the festival grounds,” showing how the event connects agricultural work to the celebration that visitors see on-site.
Poteet’s approach is less about headliner arms races and more about
community storytelling—using the festival to keep a small-town agricultural identity visible and viable in a rapidly changing Texas.
Smaller Towns, Bigger Controls: Montgomery County Caps Crowds
It’s not just the mega-festivals that are evolving. Even
smaller regional strawberry festivals are rethinking logistics in the wake of rising demand.
In Montgomery County, Maryland, the
2025 Strawberry Festival announced a strict
attendance cap of 5,000 visitors to ease the parking gridlock and overcrowding seen in previous years. Local tourism officials framed the decision as a way to preserve the event’s family-friendly atmosphere while avoiding the crush that can come with viral popularity.
Key changes there include:
-
Pre-set attendance limits instead of open-ended admittance
- Efforts to manage
parking and congestion more intentionally
It’s a small but telling move: even modest festivals are now grappling with the same crowd-control questions that big music and food events face.
The Common Thread: Strawberries, Stories, and Sustainability
Different as they are in size and style, these festivals share some strikingly similar themes:
-
Agriculture at the center: From Plant City’s harvest celebration to Poteet’s grower-focused storytelling, strawberries are more than branding—they’re the economic engine and cultural heart.
-
Entertainment as a magnet: Whether it’s chart-topping headliners in Florida or regional acts in Texas, live music is increasingly the hook that brings in diverse crowds.
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Community reinvestment: Many festivals now openly market how ticket sales
fund youth, farmers, and local nonprofits, turning a day out into a form of hometown support.
-
Smarter crowd management: Attendance caps and infrastructure tweaks, like in Montgomery County, signal a shift toward quality of experience over sheer volume.
As 2026 approaches, expect
early ticket sales, bigger entertainment lineups, and more visible nods to local growers across the strawberry festival circuit. The berries are still the star—but the surrounding ecosystem is getting more sophisticated every year.
What Festival-Goers Should Watch Next
If you’re planning a strawberry festival trip in 2026, a few practical takeaways:
-
Buy early: For Plant City, headline entertainment tickets for the 2026 Florida Strawberry Festival go on sale starting December 11, 2025, and popular shows historically sell out fast.
-
Check capacity rules: Smaller events, like Montgomery County’s festival, are now capping attendance—meaning walk-up entry may not be guaranteed.
-
Look for local: In places like Poteet, your ticket, food, and merch purchases directly support growers, students, and nonprofits.
Behind the funnel cakes and photo ops, these festivals are becoming one of the most important—and unexpectedly modern—ways communities celebrate their agricultural roots while funding their future.
Sources
1. Strawberry Festival | FOX 13 Tampa Bay
2. [PDF] News Release - Florida Strawberry Festival
3. Poteet Strawberry Festival | Texas' Sweetest Tradition
4. Florida Strawberry Festival: Home
5. Florida Strawberry Festival lineup, tickets. Here's everything to know
6. 2025 Strawberry Festival - Visit Montgomery
