Annual Florida Blueberry Festival Timing is Ripe for Local Farms

MOUNT DORA, Fla. - April 3, 2023 - PRLog -- The 9th annual Mount Dora Blueberry Festival is scheduled for April 29 & 30, 2023 in Donnelly Park and local farms will be exclusively featured to support and showcase the area's thriving blueberry industry. This year, the blueberries are sweet, ripe and perfect to pick.

Event Coordinator Janet Gamache says, "This festival will help bring publicity to and awareness of local farms to help them thrive. After years of hard freezes and canker that killed off thousands of acres of citrus groves, farms had to find alternative ways to make money and grow crops that could endure sudden freezes and resist disease. Blueberries are the new 'Orange' in Central Florida."

Blueberry farming in central Florida started gaining popularity after the successful cultivation of a southern highbush variety at the University of Florida. The new bush varieties can thrive in Florida climates. Today Lake County is home to more than a dozen blueberry farms that offer commercial shipping as well as U-Pick blueberries during April-May each year.

This year, the berries are ripe and many farms are already offering U-pick at their farms.

. "All of the blueberries that are packaged and sold at the event will come from farms in our area," says Gamache. "You won't find a single berry from Chile or other parts of the world."

Food crafters and vendors will offer special blueberry treats and local restaurants will feature menu items with blueberries incorporated into their menus. Blueberry beer and wine will also be available during the weekend..

Vendors selling a variety of crafts and goods will also be set up inside the park and local nurseries will have blueberry plants available and ready to be planted in your yard. The popular Blueberry Pie Eating contest happens at 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday will have a children's as well as an adult division. There is NO entry fee to participate. Register at the stage before 1pm to be entered to participate.

Blueberry pie made by the students in the culinary department at Umatilla High school will be offered for sale as well as fresh berries from Amberbrooke and Far Reach farms. Green's Nursery will have blueberry plants for sale.

Donnelly Park is located at 530 N. Donnelly St. Mount Dora, FL. The event runs 9am to 5pm both days and is FREE to attend. www.MountDoraBlueberryfestival.com