DADE CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — One of Pasco County’s most popular events is kicking off this weekend with family-friendly fun.
The 27th Annual Kumquat Festival will be held in Downtown Dade City on Saturday with plenty of goodies to purchase, like kumquat pie.
Kumquat Growers to host 2-day open house event ahead of festival
“It’s a fruit of its own, there’s nothing quite like it,” Retired Chamber of Commerce Member Phyllis Smith said.
The event is free and open to the public with hundreds of vendors, live entertainment, and a car and truck show.
The festival has celebrated the tangy little orange fruit since 1997 and sees tens of thousands of visitors each year.
“It is what we’re all about, it’s the family, it’s the old-time,” Smith said.
Ahead of this weekend’s festival, the public was able to tour the Kumquat Growers packing house and grove on Thursday to learn more about the fruit.
“It’s good for you. Like if you feel like you got a cold coming, you just pop one in and it’ll soothe your throat, and it’s good for you,” Margie Neuhofer, the President of Kumquat Growers said. “There’s nothing bad about it.”