Pioneer Day Celebration is all fun and games
News Release
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Media contact: Gary Morse, 863-648-3200
In celebration of the spirited 19th-century adventurers who
settled Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission's (FWC) Chinsegut Conservation Center in Brooksville
will host its 16th annual Pioneer Day Celebration on Saturday, Nov.
5. Festivities will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The family-oriented celebration is a festive exploration of
Florida's cultural and historical past. Participants will see and
learn about the conservation legacy of our ancestors and how to
continue that heritage by naturally recycling, catching water in a
wooden rain barrel and making the best use of native materials.
And, better yet, it's all fun and games.
Visitors will experience the age-old sights, sounds and smells
of early peninsular Florida existence while listening to live music
of the period; seeing archery demonstrations; participating in
using a two-man saw; and enjoying demonstrations of cow milking,
quilting, spinning, rope making, tanning and other pioneer survival
skills. Learn about making candles and soap and weaving baskets,
and listen to an expert turkey caller work a homemade box call. The
festival also features freshly squeezed lemonade, roasted corn and
other period foods.
The Chinsegut Conservation Center is on land once homesteaded by
the Bishops, an honest-to-goodness pioneer family, the remnants of
whose 19th-century dwelling still exist on the property. Authentic
re-creations of a Seminole Indian camp and the Bishop family living
history demonstration will bring to life the spirit that was
Florida in the 1800s.
Activities will occur throughout the day. Lunch and merchandise
will be available for purchase from exhibitors. In-service credit
is available for teachers with county approval.
Free parking for the event will be available, with shuttles
running from the parking area at the Withlacoochee Training Center,
approximately one mile north of the intersection of U.S. 41 and
County Road 476. On-site parking at the Conservation Center is
available for people with disabilities.
A suggested donation of $1 per person helps support Chinsegut
programs, including Pioneer Day. There is also a $5 raffle to win
one of the following prizes: a rain barrel, a bat house or a $100
gift certificate from A Hitch 'N Time for a horse-drawn wagon
ride.
For more information about Pioneer Day, visit MyFWC.com/Chinsegut or
contact the Chinsegut Conservation Center at 352-754-6722.
Persons with Disabilities