The Plant City Courier & Tribune
The Thrill Is Gone
STAFF photo by Robert Burke / Tampa Tribune
The big red "Berry Go-Round " ride was being loaded onto a trailer at Florida Strawberry Festival grounds after the festival ended
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: March 15, 2008
Updated: 03/13/2008 08:56 pm
PLANT CITY - What a difference a day makes. The morning after Sunday's closing of the Florida Strawberry Festival, the grounds resembled a demolition site.
Trucks were parked in exhibit halls once jammed with people waiting to sample strawberry shortcake or buy anything from fudge to cookware.
Behemoth thrill rides that evoked screams and whoops during the festival were reduced to the sum of their parts, being loaded on trailers for a trip down the road.
Operators of scores of concession trailers and booths offering everything from corn dogs and funnel cakes to deep-fried candy bars were busy securing merchandise and appliances for the move.
Attendance estimates for the 11-day run were not immediately available, but festival General Manager Patsy Brooks said that although occasional cold, wind and rain "hurt us" on several days, the event was successful.
The festival encountered rain and cold temperatures that prompted cancellation of one of the two Moonlight Magic discounted ride nights, she said.
"The weather didn't cooperate very well," she said. At least one night, the festival closed early due to weather.
On March 8, wind forced the shutdown of high-profile rides on the midway.
Weather also affected several performances on the outdoor stage during the 73rd annual festival, including light rain for the Charlie Daniels Band on March 6 and heavier rain the following night for Trace Adkins, Brooks said. The March 6 afternoon performance by the Smothers Brothers also met with rain.
Separate performances by Crystal Gayle, Tom Jones and Billy Ray Cyrus all drew well, Brooks said.
"All of the entertainers did a great job" and were pleased with the festival, she added.
The host city got a promotional boost at Alan Jackson's March 2 show, which featured a video his production crew shot of Plant City's historical highlights, Brooks said.
Illnesses forced last-minute cancellations of two performances. Glen Campbell and Travis Tritt were replaced, respectively, by Ronnie Milsap and the husband-and-wife team of Connie Smith and Marty Stuart. The couple "came down from Nashville on short notice and put on a great show," Brooks said.
The festival enjoyed some days of warm, sunny weather, and crowds jammed the festival grounds, she said. Attendance figures won't be available for about three weeks; in previous years estimates have been 500,000 or more.
For hundreds of people at the festival grounds Monday afternoon, there was much work to be done.
A tired Wes Pugh, taking a cigarette break, was among the small army of workers tearing down midway rides.
"If we have all the help we're supposed to have, about seven hours," he said of the time usually required to dismantle and load the pink-and-turquoise roller coaster's numbered metal pieces that fit onto a pair of flatbed trucks.
The 30-year-old Texas man and his co-workers started tearing down the coaster at 11 p.m. Sunday, stopping at 3 a.m. for a nap before resuming the task four hours later.
Pugh, who joined the traveling show a year ago, said the dismantling followed a busy Sunday of operating the ride. A short drive south will take Pugh and his crew to the Sarasota County Fair, a 10-day run.
In the nearby main exhibition hall, John and Carol Kueny were doing some painstaking packing of their own.
The fragile inventory of the couple's Village Glassblower booth had to be boxed.
"We used to be the last people on the grounds packing up; ain't going to be that way this year," Carol Kueny said.
That's because instead of individually wrapping each piece for the return trip to the couple's two shops in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., this year they arranged to store it in Plant City until the 2009 festival. That change allows them to cut a few time-consuming corners in their packing routine.
The chore still consumed most of Monday, "but it's better than five days," Carol Kueny said of the time usually required to pack.
The Kuenys have been festival vendors for 15 years, taking the first-place arts and crafts ribbon for the past five, John Kueny said.
"The festival was down this year for us," Carol Kueny said. "I think the economy is a good reason for that."
She estimated they sold 60 percent of the 5,000 hand-blown pieces they made in Tennessee.
The Plant City festival is the only show in which the couple participate.
"They treat us good here," she said.
"We know just about everybody here," including fellow vendors who assist with the tedious packing, her husband said.
Reporter George H. Newman contributed to this article. Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)
* Keep it clean
* Respect others
* Don't hate
* Don't use language you wouldn't use with your mom
* Use "Report Inappropriate Comments" link when necessary
* See Member Agreement for details