CLEWISTON, Fla — Preparations are underway for one of Clewiston’s biggest events - the Sugar Festival! And massive harvester at the entrance, loaded with sugarcane, was more than a display - it’s a symbol of the industry that helped shape "The Sweetest Town in America."
As Fox 4’s Hendry County Community Correspondent, Austin Schargorodski works in the area every day, so he met with U.S. Sugar to explore how Clewiston’s sugar industry built the town - and how the festival honors that legacy.
Banners were up, antique tractors on display, and the stage was set to celebrate Clewiston’s roots. At the center of it - U.S. Sugar, the company that’s been harvesting there for nearly a century.
“We’re in the middle of our 94th harvest,” said Ryan Duffy, U.S. Sugar’s Director of Corporate Communications. “And it’s the center of this community - farming - and sugarcane farming in particular.”
Duffy tells me U.S. Sugar supplies 23% of the country’s sugar, and it all starts right here, in Clewiston’s rich, muck soil. Inside their tent, an exhibit shows why this land is ideal for growing sugarcane.
“The hundreds and thousands of years of decomposition to the soil from the water in Lake Okeechobee has given us the nutrient-rich and natural muck soils that we have,” Duffy explained. “It’s highly organic, and that’s what the sugarcane and other crops are grown in.”
As the sugar industry grew, so did Clewiston. Duffy says the Sugar Festival started as a celebration of the harvest’s end - but Clewiston Commissioner Hillary Hyslope says it’s also about honoring the people behind it.
“We enjoy very much coming out to celebrate the industry and all of its people too,” Hislope said. “The people who farm, the people who work day in and day out to keep all of this going.”
Tim Burke tells me he spent 31 years as a mechanic for U.S. Sugar. He says this festival brings the community together - just like the industry has for decades.
“This community sticks together when it’s rough times,” Burke said. “And now they can enjoy themselves with everyone coming to this Sugar Fest.”
Saturday’s sweet celebration brings Clewiston together with historical exhibits, live music, food vendors, and a kid's carnival.
