December 2017
Riverview/Apollo Beach Edition
Headline Entertainment Lineup Announced For 2018 Florida Strawberry Festival
By Kate Quesada
The Florida Strawberry Festival released its lineup of headline entertainment artists performing on the Wish Farms Soundstage at the 2018 Florida Strawberry Festival. The 11-day community event will take place from March 111. Over 24 headline entertainment artists perform every year on the Wish Farms Soundstage and comprise one of the most popular attractions at the event, Davis said. Advance tickets for admission and for headline entertainment shows will go on sale Thursday, Dec. 7 at 8 a.m. and can be purchased online at www.flstrawberryfestival.com, at the Amscot Main Ticket Office located at 2209 W. Oak Ave. in Plant City or by calling 754-1996. “The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Building New Memories!’ with a strong emphasis on the construction of our new GT Grandstands seating area,” said Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis.
The event’s board of directors broke ground on the project in March, and construction is expected to be complete by the end of the month. The new bleacher-style seating will accommodate 9,200 total guests, is closer to the stage and will be more comfortable for guests, Davis said. Another change with the construction project is that the event will no longer offer free seating to headline shows. “This was an extremely difficult decision for us,” said Davis. “But we absolutely had to construct new seating. And when you start crunching the numbers, there was just no way economically for us to offer free seats any longer.” The 83rd Annual Florida Strawberry Festival will take place March 1-11. Beginning in January, specials, discounts and free entertainment will be announced at www.flstrawberryfestival.com.
2018 LINE UP:
Thursday, March 1 Friday, March 2 Saturday, March 3 Sunday, March 4 Monday, March 5 Tuesday, March 6 Wednesday, March 7 Thursday, March 8
10:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 10:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 9 Saturday, March 10 Sunday, March 11
3:30 7:30 3:30 7:30
p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m.
3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra Oak Ridge Boys DNCE Jerry Lee Lewis Justin Moore and Dylan Scott Cam The Band Perry Lee Greenwood REBA McENTIRE Jimmy Fortune Josh Turner Gaither Vocal Band Casting Crowns Engelbert Humperdinck Trace Adkins The Lettermen Drifters, Platters and Cornell Gunter’s Coasters I Love the 90s Tour featuring Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc and Salt-N-Pepa Charley Pride Earth, Wind & Fire Sawyer Brown Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Anthony Hamilton Chase Bryant Brad Paisley
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Page 23
Local Teachers Speak Out On District’s Backdown From Step Pay Increase Hillsborough County Public School (HCPS) teachers took their concerns over the District’s plan to forgo a once negotiated raise to the streets last month. Unhappy with the way they fit into HCPS’s
By Tamas Mondovics
ees more than $200 million in pay and benefits increases over the past four years, despite a district financial picture that was not promising,” said HCPS spokesperson Tanya Arja, adding that due to such increases, the Randall Middle School teachers, parents and students district’s fund balance, or its savings account, has line the roadway across from the school voicing their concern about the District’s plan to back down from a dropped dramatically as pay plan that would raise teachers’ salaries for most by increased pay has been $4,000 every three years. given out. At the same time funding from the Legislature has not kept current financial future, a small group of Randall Middle School teachers, support- up with the amount needed to pay for additional costs. ed by students and some parents, lined Arja emphasized that the district has the roadway across the schoolyard to balance priorities and budgets annually encouraging motorists and passersby to to focus on all aspects of what it takes to raise awareness of the issue. help students succeed. “It’s a demonstration against the School officials zeroed in on revenue school board’s plan to backtrack from a drying up, that is funding coming into the pay plan that would raise teachers’ district to pay for salaries and the other salaries for most by $4,000 every three things, which are not keeping pace with years,” said Randall business and techgrowth and costs. nology teacher Jonathan Bock. The two main challenges reportedly Bock, who himself has already facing the district are: state Legislature is received the first round of raises added shifting money to charter schools that had that the main concern is that the money supported education in traditional public to be paid out was already negotiated. schools for decades; a growing number “All this was promised,” he said, of students from all backgrounds are adding, “Contract negotiations should be choosing to attend tuition-free charter conducted before the school year starts.” schools, redirecting state education Teacher salaries in the district reportedly money out of traditional public schools. start at $38,000 and max out at around For now—before it moves ahead $66,000, and with more than 14,000 with anything that would involve spending teachers, it is by no means chump more money—the district is promising to change. gather information about its financial picAccording to a recent estimate, ture along with student enrollment. ‘Band jumpers’ (teachers advancing to The School Board has recently the next three-year pay level) would reportedly cost the district nearly $18 mil- scheduled to hold a pair of hearings on its close to $3 billion 2017-18 budget. lion. Bock summed up the effort of the Adding to the mix is annual cost-ofliving increase, pay differentials for teach- group of teachers standing on the roadway with signs in hand hoping for their ers and raises for classroom aides. promised raises when he said, “Our mesIn a recent release to the media sage is, honor what you said.” HCOS officials expressed the school For more information about board’s concern about all county teachHillsborough County Public Schools, ers and students. please visit www.sdhc.k12.fl.us. “Our district has given our employ-
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