Tennessee cities celebrate strawberry season

It’s strawberry time in Tennessee and municipalities across the state are celebrating the agricultural heritage of strawberries in their communities.  

May is peak season for Tennessee strawberries and the industry still has a $10 million impact on the state.  

While strawberry production has tapered off somewhat in recent decades, this crop does exceedingly well in all three grand divisions of Tennessee.  

As a result, it was the backbone of many agricultural communities across the state who still honor is contribution to their local economies.  

Humboldt kicks off the festivities with the 85th Annual West Tennessee Strawberry Festival running from May 7-13. Held since 1935, this festival serves both as a homecoming event for former residents as well as a celebration of how strawberry farming impacted the local economy. 

In East Tennessee, Dayton hosts the 76th Annual Tennessee Strawberry Festival from May 8-13. What started as a one-day agricultural festival sponsored by the Dayton City Lion’s Club has grown to celebrate the region’s premiere crop and brings together visitors from all over. 

Portland hosts the 82nd Annual Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival from May 12-13. Dating back to 1941, this festival honors how the peak of strawberry season would bring Portland residents together to harvest, pack, and ship out dozens of railroad cars full of the crop.  

Also on May 13, Wartrace hosts the Wartrace Strawberry Festival in its historic downtown. The festival celebrates all things strawberry and is hosted by the Wartrace Chamber of Commerce.  

Unicoi will hold its 20th Annual Wayne Scott Strawberry Festival on May 20. The festival is named for a local strawberry farmer whose family farm still grows the crop in the area. The farm still provides the majority of the strawberries used in the festival.