About Our Berries!
Our festival berries are LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL!
They are grown just miles down the road from the festival grounds at local farm & retailer, Ferris Groves. From there, they are picked and delivered either to the festival where they are sold in flat and half flat sizes by our festival volunteers – Local businesses and non-profits – or to Camp E-Nini Hassee where they are sliced up to be used in our delicious strawberry shortcakes, made fresh on site.
Looking at the history of Ferris Groves, in 1925 L.G. Doc Ferris brought plans of a golf course community on Duval Island in Floral City. According to Ferris Groves, that plan fell through with a crash of Florida’s real estate market, and not one to give up easily, Doc shifted into citrus farming and history was made. Through many trials and tribulations, Ferris Groves has continued to grow and evolve over the decades continuing to produce, depending on the season, Navel and Valencia oranges, Ruby Red grapefruit, Fall Glow tangerines, blueberries, and of course our very own strawberries! Most recently, Ferris Groves has partnered with the University of Florida to begin growing white strawberries!
Fun Fact:
Until the freeze of 1985, Citrus had been Ferris Grove’s only and #1 business. In 1987, they found a crop that was a perfect complement to our citrus – the “Ferris Berry” strawberry.
