The annual Plant City Strawberry Festival may be a paradise for the sweet tooth, but it’s also music to the ears. Some of the biggest stars in country music have performed on its stage – the same stage – for decades.
And, Joe Newsome, the president emeritus of the Strawberry Festival, helped bring them here.
From Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Garth Brooks, and others — if they appeared at the Opry, they likely also played at the Strawberry Festival. Newsome said the biggest stars in Nashville and Vegas love coming to Plant City for good food and good fun.
“We’re always giving them good country cooking. We treat them the way they want to be treated,” said Newsome.
But as much as the stars like big helpings of shortcake, their managers wanted more from the decades-old stage. So, recently, it came tumbling down. Much larger stadium sound and light grids will replace it.
“If you’re going to get the good acts, you got to have a good facility”, said Newsome.
That old stage holds lots of memories for Newsome.
“I remember Garth Brooks,” he said. “Somebody who says how great the Strawberry Festival is everywhere she goes is Reba,” he muses. “She says ‘I feel at home.’”
Newsome’s been luring stars to Plant City for generations, and he never stops searching for the next act. Ask him who he would like to see on the new stage, the answer is easy: “We’ve been trying for 30 years to get Dolly Parton.”
But even if he doesn’t get Dolly, Newsome, who is 84 years old, said he feels blessed to be part of the festival. He said the thousands of volunteers are what makes the festival a success.
“It’s been fun. It’s been a big part of my life,” he said. “The good Lord has smiled on us greatly.”