7 Foods Worth Hunting For at the 2024 Florida Strawberry Festival

The Florida Strawberry Festival is that annual last lethal blow to your New Year’s resolutions. Before you head to Plant City, you have some work to do. Plan ahead on what you’re going to pig out on at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Only amateurs stroll in and buy the first thing that they see. If you’re only making one trip to Plant City this year, you need to coordinate a full day of hunting for these best food picks. Space them out and don’t stray from your game plan or you’ll run out of room fast.

#7: Strawberry Cookies
Get these LAST! Buy a bag on your way out. I'm going to warn you. These are addictive. Do NOT buy them while you're wandering around the festival or you'll eat the whole bag. You won't have any room for the next 9 gotta have foods. But the soft chewy texture and sweet flavor of strawberry... you can't beat these cookies. They're iconic. But again... save them for the next day. If you tear the bag open, you will have to go buy another bag.

#6: Island Noodles
This is one of those "If ya know, ya know" picks. You wouldn't think noodles would be on your shopping list when you go to the fair. But the Island Noodles are a very underrated offering. I've only spotted these once and tried them after a listener recommendation. You're going to have enough sugar today... this is a good way to start. Get something a little salty and savory before you overdose on sweets. I'm hoping someone can verify these haven't disappeared from the Florida Strawberry Festival. I haven't seen them in a while.

#5: Fiske Fries
We eat french fries all the time with our daily drive thru lives, so why fries? Fiske french fries are legendary for a reason. They are never frozen. Homemade makes a big difference. They have a great deep flavor and are a fun finger food to munch on and share. At least that's what I hear. I'm not big on sharing my food.

#4: Amish Doughnuts
Amish doughnuts were the first food I fell in love with at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Simple but oh so good. Just watching the glaze drip off the doughnuts is hypnotizing. If you don't make it to Plant City this year, you'll usually find the family selling the doughnuts at the Florida State Fair in Tampa as well. Peachey's is based out of Sarasota. By the way, their pretzels are a fantastic choice too if you don't have a sweet tooth.

#3: Fried Cheese Curds
Seek these out. I'm telling you right now you won't regret it. I LOVE cheese curds. If you've ever been to Canada, they're so fresh they sell them at room temperature where they have the nickname "squeaky cheese" because they squeak when you bite in to them. So so good. But those ones in Montreal that I love are just plain raw cheese. They deep fry these suckers. Be sure to get the dipping sauce too. We're not going for healthy here.

#2: Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake at #2? Yes. I know. It's sacrilegious. A trip to Plant City without having strawberry shortcake is just plain wrong. And it's a must. But #1 is #1 for a reason. We'll get to that in a second. You're going to have a lot of options for strawberry shortcake. After all, it's the star of the show at the Florida Strawberry Festival. My personal pick is the Saint Clement's tent. Ask for it by name. There, you make your OWN shortcake. You pick - biscuit or cake... how much topping do you want. Customizing your strawberry shortcake ensures you'll get it the way you like it. If you want 1 strawberry and a half gallon of whipped cream, knock yourself out!

#1: Funnel Bacon on a Stick

I've got terrible news for you. You came all this way and got to #1. Now I have to break the news to you. This Hall of Fame Fair Food has been sadly retired. "Mama Jane" Harris created this several years ago for the Florida Strawberry Festival. She normally creates something new every year, but this was so good, my listeners and I forced her to bring it back for 5 straight years.

Look at all that glorious bacon! Mama Jane would take a piece of bacon and slides it on to a skewer stick. She then dipped it in her secret funnel cake recipe batter and fried it to a beautiful golden brown. She then topped it with powdered sugar and your choice of either chocolate, caramel or maple butter glaze. She didn't give the choice the first time I tried it... she put the maple butter glaze on. And that's when I learned to trust the expert. It's probably my favorite food anywhere. It's breakfast on a stick. A mix of salty and sweet that can't be beat.

I am far from Mama Jane's biggest funnel bacon on a stick celebrity fan. Country music stars have raved about it. It's even been featured on Carnival Eats. But enough already, I can't leave you at #1 with something you can't even order.

This year, Mama Jane has something for those who love Almond Joy candy bars. Mama has nailed the flavor with her new Almond Joy Funnel Cake. It’s got the chocolate, almonds and coconut flavor you love in the candy bar. Mama said she’s a big fan of the candy bar – it’s one of her favorites, so this one was all her idea. It’s a traditional flavor with the coconut and almond topping and drizzled chocolate.

If you're not an Almond Joy fan, Mama Jane will also have her usual elephant ears and other funnel cakes too, like strawberry cheesecake, red velvet or the turtle with the chocolate and caramel. You can find Mama’s truck near the main stage.

What's the best place to park? When's the best time to visit to avoid the crowds? How can you still watch concerts for free? How can you get in without paying admission? What's the best thing to eat? As a guy who's done that drive through horrible I-4 traffic countless times to Plant City, let me help. I've learned a lot over the years doing that long drive to the Florida Strawberry Festival from our studios in Pinellas.

Here are my 10 best pro tips from my many visits over the years to the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City. Feel free to leave yours on my Facebook page and I'll add them below.

If there's a sold out concert, that means thousands of extra cars in those parking lots and bodies creating long lines for rides and food. Pick a night when the headliner won't draw the enormous crowds. Usually the last day of the festival is particularly busy. Weeknights are usually your best bet. The toughest day to visit is usually the last day of the Florida Strawberry Festival. You have the weekend crowds combined with usually the biggest concert headliner on Sunday. The backups on I-4 can get crazy getting in and out of the festival.

Afternoon rush hour traffic combined with Florida Strawberry Festival congestion is a nightmare this time of year on I-4. The earlier you get to Plant City, the better. And definitely launch the Waze app on your cell phone before you head out. It will direct you around the traffic if I-4 is backed up. Often taking the side roads through Brandon can save you some time when the Interstate is jammed up.

Lines always form at the ticket booth. Instead, grab tickets in advance if you're at Publix. You'll save a few bucks too. Regular adult admission is $15 at the gate, but $10 at Publix. Keep an eye on Publix's social media. They usually announce it there when they've got the Florida Strawberry Festival tickets in stock.

There are days when kids get in free. There are days when military and first reponders get in free. Other daily promotions will score you a discount. Check the Strawberry Festival website to see when you might be able to avoid paying admission. Here's this year's calendar.

Opening weekend and closing weekends are when you'll see the biggest crowds. If you can plan your visit midweek in the early afternoon, you'll have plenty of space and short lines to wait in. Everyone wants to be the first to snap that selfie for Instagram with some strawberry shortcake. Instead go on day 2 or a weekday after opening weekend.

I'm not joking. You're going to be overwhelmed. Many go to the festival every year just for the fair foods. Instead of buying the first thing you see, check out what's new this year... or my top 10 picks. You'll run out of room fast if you fill up on boring stuff like cotton candy and hot dogs. You can get those anywhere... the Florida Strawberry Festival is known for creative wild stuff.  Definitely seek out the Amish doughnuts, Smitty's corndog and Carnival Eats legend Mama Jane's creations you've seen on The Cooking Channel.  Who has the best strawberry shortcake? I say ask for directions to the St. Clement's make your own tent!

Use apps on your phone like Waze or Google Maps to see how the back roads are doing for traffic. When I-4 is backed up, you can often avoid the congestion by taking the back roads into Plant City. Rush hour traffic during the week on I-4 and Strawberry Festival traffic on the weekend is no joke. Make sure your cell is charged up too. With all the people using the same cell towers in a small town, your phone has to work hard to stay connected. Coverage can be spotty and with no WiFi, you'll see your battery power go fast - especially if you are the type that likes to take a lot of photos or post video to social media.

The food will be fresher, everyone will be a little perkier since they just woke up and the lines will be short. The festival opens daily at 10am, but few get there until late in the afternoon. Once people get out of work and load the kids in the car, the crowds at the festival grow. Longer lines and congestion isn't fun. If you can get there around lunchtime, you'll have the festival all to yourself!

You used to be able to get in free to the big headliner shows, but that's in the past. There's that big brand new concert stadium and it wasn't cheap to build. Not only that... this is how bands pay the bills now. Music acts used to tour to promote their new music. But since the internet came along, that money has gone away. Now bands make their money on ticket sales and merch. So the days of free concerts are a thing of the past. All seats in the new concert venue require a separate ticket. But there ARE free local acts performing around the festival. And they'd love your support so one day they can play the big stage too.

There are 3 major lots on Ritter Street, off highway 92 and 574. Don't worry if you're not close to the action. There is a tram that'll take you to the gates. You can also find spots at Bryan Elementary School and Tomlin Middle School. If you like to bargain, many area homeowners offer spots on their lawn for extra cash.