That's where you're wrong. People go there — just maybe not you. But you should. Because Plant City is a lot of fun. No, not in a "craft beer and maker's market while wearing yoga pants" type of way, but, honestly, that's why you should go there more, starting this weekend. Here are 10 ways to have fun in Plant City — and only one of them has to do with strawberries. Pinky swear.
1. Have breakfast at Buddy Freddy's.
After 62 years, it's safe to say Buddy Freddy's isn't going anywhere. They bill themselves as a southern restaurant, but honestly, this is the first thing I think of when I think of Plant City. (I know, it should be strawberries, right? It isn't.) It's where I used to go after the Strawberry Festival, on the way back from Orlando or, really, just for their breakfast. Sure, they have a buffet, but go for their breakfast. If you must eat a buffet, they have one at breakfast, too. And, of course, anything with strawberries, #becausePlantCity.
4. Shake it up at The Strawberry Hut.
Sometimes it really is about strawberries, though. As in strawberry shakes here. But don't worry — this place has a solid rep for its Cubans (check out Yelp for more) and we hear they have excellent shortcake, too. But those shakes… man, those shakes.
OK, so this looks interesting, and maybe not as psychedelic as it sounds. The Abundant Living Retreat Center is having a… class? talk?… on the lingzhi mushroom and their medicinal uses. Granted, there's going to be a sales pitch at the end and this may or may not be a MLM thing, but the whole mushroom thing sounds intriguing. So, try it out Saturday but go with a skeptical mind, OK?
6. Buy a car.
Seriously, we're always hearing about car auctions but we don't "know" anyone, and we don't buy that whole "buy seized property this weekend at our hotel!" thing. This, however, looks pretty cool: The County Line Road Auction, with previews starting at noon Saturday and the auction at 4 p.m.
7. Grow — grow? — an aquaponic garden.
Hey, there, suburban hipster and farm-to-table-philes, to truly get back to the land you need to go to where the land is how people live, and hey, we've heard Plant Cityians (that is what y'all call yourselves, right?) has some experience with that. A Land of Natural Delight will offer a free demo class in using fish poop to grow veggies. Oh, OK, you think that's disgusting, but what about all the cow patties that make your container tomatoes so juicy?
8. And also, learn about local honey (and maybe even keep bees).
OK, so this is the same venue as #7, but there's also a class on raw local honey. Local honey: cures allergies. supports small farmers, lets you shop local and doesn't take a gazillion-dollar bailout from the government (read: taxpayers, read: you and I) like Big Sugar does.
9. Head to a real farmer's market.
Goddammit, this place again — everything cool looks like it centers around A Land of Natural Delight. But, seriously, I have my fill of "farmer's markets" with veggies from Mexico. Here's a local farmer's market with local stuff. How do we know it's local? Because you can pick lots of it yourself: kale, swiss chard, moringa… and others. Also, they promise it's all GMO-free, which is awesome, because #fuckMonsanto.
10. (Black) light up the night.
This one's just for fun, which is what weekend's are all about, right? Wear your neon colors, toss back a Pop Rock cocktail (this sounds more awesome than Jolly Rancher Pop-Tarts) and get ready to get messy with some glow-in-the-dark paint.
Want more weekend fun? Check out Meaghan Habuda's Weekend Platter.
Think we're missing a great town or neighborhood for our Adventures in Weekending? Tell us about it here.
This article appears in Jun 1-8, 2017.