THE 2023 FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL: WE HAVE A WINNER

The Florida Strawberry Festival represents a piece of Americana, a time in American history when fairs and festivals brought communities together through celebrations of their harvests. It has continued to grow in popularity year after year through the preservation of this heritage.

Central to its focus, the festival continues to preserve and enhance the agricultural and historical legacy of the Florida strawberries. “Both Kyle and I have grown up in Plant City and we both have a rich love for the festival, this community and the people who attend the festival,” said current Strawberry Festival director Paul Davis. He will be retiring at the end of the upcoming festival season, and Kyle Robinson will be taking his place.

This year’s theme is ‘We Have a Winner.’ “We always try and make our themes short and sweet,” Davis said. “We got all of our staf together and this is the theme we came up with because we are the number one fair in the state of Florida. Another reason for this theme is that we won the state competition for the state dessert. It was between key lime pie and strawberry shortcake. How many key limes are grown in Florida? None, so we

Take Part In The Largest Networking Event In Tampa Bay At Armature Works

By Libby Hopkins

won.”

As the Florida Strawberry Festival continues to grow each year, it also wants to be accessible for all families. This year, it is debuting a new program called Special Smiles Day, which will be held on Friday, March 3 from 9 a.m.-12 Noon. “The Special Smiles Day has been generously sponsored by the Rotary Club of Plant City,” said Kyle Robinson. “This unique event is reserved for celebrating and serving our most treasured guests in a safe, fun and sensory considerate environment. All Special Smiles attendees and one companion will be admitted for free, and entry is at gate five. We want to keep this going forever!”

Both Robinson and Davis hope that this year’s festival will be wonderful for all who attend. “We pray before every meeting at the festival, and we pray for safety,” Davis said. “We pray for good weather, and we pray that everyone who comes to the festival has the best experience ever and they will join us year after year.”

If you would like to learn more about the 2023 Florida Strawberry Festival, visit its website at www.flstrawberryfestival.com. The Florida Strawberry Festival runs from Thursday, March 2 through Sunday, March 12.

The Tampa Bay business community is gearing up for the largest networking event of the year on Friday, February 17 at Armature Works, located at 1910 N. Ola Ave. in Tampa. The agenda will start at 9:15 a.m. with informal networking, followed by facilitated networking with breakout tables, a keynote speaker sharing how to achieve 30 times the levels of growth this year, and will end at 1 p.m. after a networking lunch.

The event, which is open to professionals from all industries, will feature networking opportunities with some of the area’s top business leaders and entrepreneurs. Attendees will have the chance to make valuable connections, exchange ideas and learn from an international business.

“We’re thrilled to be hosting this networking event at the Armature Works, one of Tampa’s most iconic venues,” said Juliet Kyes, managing partner of ActionCOACH Tampa Bay. “It’s the perfect setting for professionals to come together, connect and grow their networks.”

The event will feature keynote speaker Brad Sugars, a networking breakout session to generate referrals and a networking lunch. Attendees will be matched with each other based on common ground so they are able to create more connections in three hours then they would in three months.

“Networking is one of the most important things you can do to grow your business or advance your career,” said Scott Bedell, partner coach at ActionCOACH Tampa Bay, “and this event is the perfect opportunity to make those valuable connections.”

The event is expected to attract hundreds of professionals and business leaders from across the Tampa Bay area, and tickets are selling fast. The event value is well worth its regular ticket price of $547; however, thanks to the many sponsors supporting this event, you can still get a ticket for $47 while they last.

To purchase tickets and learn more about the event, visit www.actioncoachtampabay.com/networking.

If you’ve seen Brad Sugars in person before, then you know this is a rare opportunity to see him for a low investment in our backyard. He charges thousands per hour for coaching because his insights and ability to get your thinking bigger is extremely valuable. He will be holding a Brad Unplugged session from 1-4 p.m. at Armature Works for a small group of 2530 people. If you’d like more information and to secure one of the few seats available, go to https://actioncoachtampabay. com/event/brad-sugars-unplugged/.