Celebrating one of the Sunshine State’s fastest-growing specialty crops, this year’s Florida Blueberry Festival attracted record attendance.

Though final numbers weren’t available in mid-April, the number of visitors packing the April 11-12 event in Brooksville, Fla., significantly exceeded last year’s record 50,000, said Michael Heard, the festival’s president, coordinator and event chairwoman.

The festival’s slogan was “Florida has a bright blueberry future.”

It was designed to promote the fruit and to show shoppers that Florida grows blueberries in the spring.

“So many have told me they didn’t know Florida grows blueberries,” Heard said. “At the gate, people were asking where the blueberries and pies are. This festival is a recognition of the state’s crop and is helping generate shopper interest in blueberries and helping interest people in growing them.”

Visitors from all over central and western Florida dined on blueberry treats, visited festival booths and purchased 1,000 pies and 2.5 pallets of flats of blueberries, she said.

This was the fourth year of the event and sponsors included the Florida Blueberry Growers Association in Bartow, The Giumarra Cos., Los Angeles, Naturipe Farms LLC, Salinas, Calif., Wm. G. Roe & Sons Inc., Winter Haven, and Wish Farms, Plant City.

04/14/2015

The Packer