Plant City

I lived in this small town for about 4 years (that rainbow picture was taken from my backyard on the corner of Franklin and McLendon Streets!).

I love that it’s close to all the hot spots tourists love but without all the traffic and crime. The community is quaint and conservative, and quite welcoming and hospitable. There is a lot of old money in the Historic District, where the streets are still “paved” in brick and the sewer system keeps flooding to a minimum during summer rains (unlike nearby communities). There is a car show and a bike show every month and the local branch of Hillsborough Community College is active in the community. Every year in late February or early March is the Strawberry Festival. The day of the Grand Parade, the city’s schools are closed, as are many local buisnesses for this fun and free event.

Every year, they have this Strawberry festival. We were loading strawberries off of some plantation or something, and when they opened the gates to let us out the next morning, we virtually drove right into the parade! Someone said we were the first load of strawberries going out for the season or something like that, and it was really strange to be part of a parade, as people cheered, and we drove slowly down the street until some guy with an orange flag showed us where to turn off so we could head toward Oklahoma City with our load…

Dear All,

I live here in Plant City. It is a small farming town known for the strawberry crop, but it’s growing bigger by the day. If you like a slower pace, than this place would be it. It is still central to great locales like Busch Gardens, Disney World and Sea World, but you don’t have to put up with all of the traffic of the larger cities. It takes about an hour and a half to get to any of the beaches from here.

The ‘downtown’ has a variety of indoor flea markets and antique shops, as well as the Orange Blossom Tea House—-lovely place. Plant City is ALWAYS hosting car shows and motorcycle shows.

Peace All,

the DragonLady