Traditionally the leading Florida destination by train is Orlando with
its plethora of theme parks that appeal to multiple generations.
Two daily Amtrak trains directly serve Orlando along with the Auto
Train which delivers passengers and their automobiles to nearby
Sanford. Both the Silver Meteor and Silver Star continue to Miami
with several stops in southeast Florida which has been popular since
the first half of the 1900s. Along the way the Silver Star also
directly serves Tampa and other interesting points during its trek
through the Sunshine State. The Silver Meteor, meanwhile, offers
connecting Thruway bus service to Tampa and southwest Florida via
Orlando.
During our August 2019 trip aboard the Silver Star, my wife and I
concluded that we should visit the area near Tampa again as it had been
years since we had frequented that region. Driving from north
Florida to Tampa seemed so familiar as I had made frequent business
trips there for my long-time employer. Retirement put an end to
those visits until I discovered information about the Florida
Strawberry Festival in Plant City approximately 15 miles east of
Tampa. Having driven past the festival on a couple of those
business trips taught me that it is a popular event and one look at the
list of shows and concerts clinched it; we had to attend in March 2020.
The Florida Strawberry Festival is like a county fair on steroids as
the fairgrounds stretch several blocks long between a county road and
US Highway 92. There we found the usual array of rides including
an impressive group of kiddie rides, various food booths, displays of
blue ribbon-winning handicrafts and foods, and performances by trained
dogs, church singing groups, trampoline jumpers, and other acts.
In addition, a wide variety of big-name entertainers performed in the
festival’s Wish Farms Soundstage located in the heart of the Florida
Strawberry Festival. Tickets for many of these shows were in the
$25-$30 range with a couple slightly exceeding that price.
Colorful food vendor booths at the Florida Strawberry Festival
Attendees at the Florida Strawberry Festival can find all types of food
Deciding which
of the festival’s 11 days to attend was steered by our desire to see
acts that fell within our interests. On the first of our two days
we attended an excellent concert titled “Ricky Nelson Remembered” which
featured the late singer’s twin sons Matthew and Gunnar Nelson who sang
many of the late 1950s-early 60’s teen idol’s hits such as “Hello Mary
Lou” and “Travelin’ Man”. At various times, big screens in the
arena showed clips of Ricky Nelson singing his songs and acting in his
family’s black and white television show “The Adventures of Ozzie and
Harriet”. Later that day we enjoyed three other legends of the
late 50s-early 60s, Bobby Rydell (“Wild One” and “Forget Him”
among others), Fabian (“Turn Me Loose” and “Tiger”), and Frankie Avalon
(“Venus”, “Why”, and several beach movies from the 1960s plus a cameo
appearance in “Grease”).
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform hits by their father Ricky Nelson
Bobby Rydell, a major recording star of the late 1950s-early 60s
Fabian performs his hit songs at the Florida Strawberry Festival
Frankie Avalon performs his hits and songs from movies in which he appeared
Our second day
at the Florida Strawberry Festival was highlighted by attendance at the
Darci Lynne & Friends Straight Out of the Box show featuring 2017
America’s Got Talent winner Darci Lynne Farmer, a skilled ventriloquist
who was only 12 years old when she won. Darci Lynne flawlessly
carries on conversations with her puppet co-stars and sings beautifully
without moving her lips so perfectly that you would swear the puppet is
singing.
Other headline
acts this year included Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, Tommy James
& The Shondells, Chubby Checker, Mercy Me, and Josh Turner to name
a few. The Florida Strawberry Festival runs from late February
through early March and promises to be a highlight of a trip to central
Florida.
Before
returning to the festival grounds for Darci Lynne’s show, we spent a
couple of hours in downtown Plant City at the Robert W. Willaford
Railroad Museum. This museum is located in the old Plant City
railway depot and contains a modest but well displayed collection of
artifacts and a model train layout. The well-manicured grounds
host an interesting display of railroad equipment. The museum
stands beside the diamond where the former Atlantic Coast Line mainline
from Tampa to Orlando, Jacksonville, and points north crosses the
former Seaboard line from Tampa to Wildwood, Jacksonville, and points
beyond. Before Amtrak, passenger trains traversed both lines and
stopped at Plant City. Today only the Silver Star passes by
without stopping, however it passes during both its northbound and
southbound trips since it follows the same route between Auburndale and
Tampa in both directions. The City of Plant City built and
maintains an excellent viewing platform across the former ACL track
that allows train watchers to view trains on both the old ACL and SAL
tracks as well as on a connector track in the junction’s northeast
quadrant. In addition to Amtrak’s Silver Star, a variety of CSX
freight trains roll past 24 hours a day.
Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum located in the old Plant City train station
A model railway and other displays in one room of the railroad museum
Railroad motorcars in another room within the museum
A CSX freight backs down the interchange track from the former SAL to the ex-ACL
Moments later the same freight passes between the museum and railfan pavilion
Another southbound CSX freight rolls past
The southbound Silver Star charges past the railfan pavilion headed to Tampa and Miami
There are
numerous other activities within a close distance including spring
training baseball with the Detroit Tigers stadium in nearby Lakeland
the closest. Busch Gardens in Tampa is another leading tourist
attraction a short drive from Plant City along with the Florida
Aquarium and the TECO streetcar line.
The northbound Silver Star bound for Tampa and New York seen from the highway
Plant City can
be reached by taking Amtrak’s Silver Star or Thruway bus to either
Tampa or Lakeland. A visit to historic Tampa Union Station is
definitely worth the effort regardless of which location one travels to
by train. Several stands along area highways sell delicious
locally grown strawberries during the spring. Chain hotels are
available in Plant City, Tampa, and Lakeland. Full service train
stations in Tampa and Lakeland offer ticketing and checked
baggage. A live web cam provides an excellent view of trains that
pass the former Plant City station.
