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Festival Picks Berry Theme (Natch!) For Wedding Contest

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

PLANT CITY - The Florida Strawberry Festival wants to treat a couple to a wedding with a berry theme - right down to the wedding cake.

One "berry" lucky couple in the eastern Hillsborough County area will win a free wedding to be held during the 2009 festival. Couples have until Sept. 30 to submit a photo and a 300- to 500-word essay on why they would love to have a "strawberry wedding," festival officials said.

Both the bride and groom must live in the eastern Hillsborough County area. It must be the first marriage for both.

Rules are posted at www.flstrawberryfestival.com under Contest Rules, or contact the festival at (813) 752-9194 for details.

Angel Carter, festival show tent chairwoman, came up with the idea after talking with her sister Amy Sumner.

"My sister and I started talking about a strawberry wedding some time in June," Carter said. "The more we talked about it, the better it seemed. Then, sometime in July, I brought the idea to Sunny Smith a festival employee, and we hammered out some of the details. We felt like we were really on to something. From there, we passed the idea on to the festival administrative assistant, Ellany Johnson."

Johnson said she brought the idea to festival officials in August.

"Some of the officials were very enthusiastic," she said. "They saw the potential for a Florida Strawberry Festival wedding to catch on in a big way. It looks like a great idea."

Festival President Gary Boothe said it may bring nationwide publicity.

"This strawberry wedding might work, even on a national level," Boothe said. "Angel Carter and Sunny Smith have worked hard to make this a big event."

The wedding will take place at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 28. The bride and groom will choose the minister, Johnson said.

The winners will receive free entry into the festival for up to eight members of the wedding party and 50 guests, a strawberry shortcake wedding cake, photo package and one-night stay at the Red Rose Inn & Suites in Plant City, including brunch for the bride and groom the following day. The wedding will take place in the festival show tent, said Carter, a part-time festival employee.

"We are counting on local sponsors to help offset most of the cost," Johnson said.

The winner will be announced Oct. 10. All entries must be mailed to: Florida Strawberry Festival, Wedding Contest, P.O. Drawer 1869, Plant City FL 33564.

The Florida Strawberry Festival is a nonprofit organization formed in 1930 to celebrate the harvest of the strawberry. Plant City has long been considered the winter strawberry capital of the world.

The 2009 festival will be held Feb. 26 through March 8.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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