83rd annual Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival coming soon

Tuesday, May 7 brings the Strawberry Golf Tournament at Kenny Perry’s Country Creek Golf Course in Franklin, Ky. Teams of four can play for $600, and begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Sponsorships ranging from $125-$1,000 are available. More information can be found on the festival website.

The well anticipated carnival also begins on Tuesday, May 7 and continues at Richland Park throughout the festival.

For those excited about summer vegetables and other garden items, the Portland Farmer’s Market kicks off the summer season from 3:30-7 p.m. May 8 at Richland Park, in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Strawberry Festival Art Show from 4-7 p.m., also at the park.

Admission to the festival is free and parking is available in many areas around the downtown area, but will fill up fast, so shuttle service is being offered from the Portland High School parking lot and Generation Church. The shuttle is free, and runs on Friday, May 3 from the high school from 4:30-9:30 p.m. and Saturday. May 4 from 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. from the church, with the last shuttle at 6:30 p.m. There will be ADA accessible shuttles at both locations, but the designated area is at the church. While leashed animals are allowed at the festival, only service animals will be allowed on the shuttles, and shuttles do not drop off at the carnival at Richland Park.

Friday, May 10 starts at 5 p.m. with the food vendors, live music, and classic car cruise-in, followed by the Garth Brooks tribute concert starting at 6 p.m. Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m. There is a pancake breakfast at First Baptist Portland gym on Saturday morning from 7-11 a.m. costing $8 for adults and $5 for kids. Beginning at 8 a.m. is the Strawberry Stride 5K Run/Walk at Portland High School.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. there are over 250 vendors, KidTown, live music, souvenirs, strawberry farmers, robocar demonstrations, magic shows, and bingo downtown at the festival.

The culmination of the festival, is the Strawberry Festival Parade itself beginning on Saturday, May 11 at 4 p.m. The Grand Marshalls for the parade this year are former strawberry farmers, Ralph Cook, Bailey Wayne, and Teresa England as well as the Future Farmers of America (FFA) of Portland High School. Remember that there is no shuttle service during the parade.

T-shirts for the festival are available for $15 and they can be pre-ordered or purchased at the festival. The shirts have the “Boots and Berries” logo and date on the front, with the sponsors, Old Hickory Credit Union, Mr. Good Roof, L&W Properties, City of Portland, State Representative William Lamberth, S.R. Smith Fluidra, Create Energy (who are making a special float for the Grand Marshalls to ride on), Portland Chamber of Commerce, and Shoals Technologies, on the back. To order shirts, see a full list of activities, times, list of musical performers, view a map of the festival, frequently asked questions, the history of the festival and Portland’s history of strawberry growing, lists of strawberry growers, or other information for the festival, go to https://www.middletennesseestrawberryfestival.net/ and Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival and Portland Chamber of Commerce on Facebook. Be sure not to miss the premier festival of the year since 1941!