Florida Citrus Festival returns to Winter Haven after nearly 2 decades

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - After nearly two decades, the historic Florida Citrus Festival is being revived in Polk County. 

The backstory:

The festival dates back to the 1920s when there were parades, banquets and carnival shows, but it shut down in 2008.

The Florida Citrus Festival in Winter Haven was a big, nationwide event that started in 1924 as the Polk County Orange Festival.

"People from all over the country would come to sample the oranges and see what type of agriculture we had going on in Florida," Lyndsey Venrick with Destroyer Media and Marketing said.

The festival ran for 84 years before being shut down due to poor attendance, financial losses and losing its home in the Orange Dome.

Now, Destroyer Media and Marketing is bringing the event back this weekend.

There will be more than 50 vendors downtown along with live entertainment, fruit juicing competitions, showcases and lessons about agriculture.

"You may look outside your window and see strip malls and housing developments going up, and you don't realize how much citrus and agriculture is a part of this community. And how it's just a major economic growth factor for this community," Venrick said. 

Big picture view:

There is no other citrus festival in Florida, so bringing this event back will not only be a huge deal for the country, but for the state as well. 

What they're saying:

The Dundee Citrus Growers Association is a citrus cooperative, representing more than 100 growers across the state.

"Our ultimate goal is to spread the word and make sure people know Florida citrus is still here," Steven Callaham, CEO of Dundee Citrus Growers Association, said. "Tell your story about what we're doing to survive and thrive. And to make sure people look for our products and support locally grown citrus." 

What's next:

Venrick says she'd love to bring back the Citrus festival for another 80 years.

"We're just starting off with a single-day event," Venrick said. "We hope within the next five years it'll become a full weekend of events. We hope to bring back the famous citrus parade. We hope to include additional elements as it grows over the years."

The event is on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. downtown at Central Park and in neighboring parks.

Destroyer Media and Marketing, in collaboration with Visit Central Florida, is funding the event along with several local sponsors.