Many remember with fondness the Brooksville Blueberry Festival, an event last held in 2023. That festival, once a staple, is no more. But a new blueberry celebration by different organizers is coming May 8-10 — 8 miles away from the original downtown Brooksville location.
The inaugural Hernando County Blueberry Festival is at Florida Classic Park, 5360 Lockhart Road. It could become an annual tradition if it goes well according to Cheryl Taylor, who heads Community Markets & Events.
“We have 20,000 interested and we expect to have 35,000 to 40,000 attend over the weekend,” said Taylor, who is organizing the event with the help of sponsors including Florida’s Adventure Coast tourism and Armada Public Adjusting. “We saw a need to continue to support the local (blueberry) farmers and promote tourism and bring the community together.”
Admission and parking are free. Fresh blueberries and blueberry treats are the headliners, but there are other food choices, along with community vendors, artisans, games, live music and more, Taylor said. All local farmers displaying and selling pay no vendor fees.
“The park (Florida Classic Park) has 50 acres, so it’s plenty of space that I don’t see us ever outgrowing,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the freeze earlier this year was hard on local blueberry growers, but there will be fresh blueberries at the festival.
“There were some losses, and the cold meant we’re just now at the peak (of the harvest) but we’ll have lots of blueberries,” she said. “Or course that’s while they last.”
Blueberry-themed food and drinks, along with bake-offs and blueberry cook-offs will be part of the draw. Entertainment, including live folk music, a livestock showcase and exhibits, along with artisan and craft displays and markets will add to the experience, as will games and contests geared toward family fun, Taylor said.
“It’s going to be great fun all around and great family weekend event,” she added.
Community Markets & Events hosts plenty of other events in the region, and is known for its recurring downtown markets, fleas and holiday-themed events.
The marketing company’s announcement of the Blueberry Festival has caused some confusion in the community, according to John Lee, whose family ran the Brooksville Blueberry Festival downtown starting in 2017, but the two organizers are not connected, he said.
That festival was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic and again two years ago due to another event nearby held the same day. Plans were to bring the popular downtown festival back last year, but an illness in the Lee family got in the way.
Lee said the event raised tens of thousands of dollars for groups like the Boy Scouts, Kiwanis and the local high school marching band and he’s proud of the community support the festival provided. Asked if his downtown event might return, he said that it’s not likely, especially with another blueberry festival in the area and the financial challenges of staging one.
“The family has invested thousands of dollars into it but it’s hard with competing events to keep that up,” he said. “It takes about $100,000 just to put it on.”
The rising cost of staging local annual events (particularly those that donate proceeds) was given as a contributing factor to the end of the Brooksville Raid battle reenactment in 2021. The Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America also decided not to permit the use of its Sand Hill Scout Reservation following the 2020 Raid, the last Brooksville Raid held after 40 years of the tradition.