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Hernando Today

Pioneer Day celebration at Chinsegut tomorrow

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Special to Hernando Today

Published: November 6, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - In celebration of the spirited 19th-century adventurers who settled Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Chinsegut Nature Center in Brooksville will host its 14th annual Pioneer Day Celebration from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 7.

The family-oriented celebration will be a festive exploration of Florida's cultural and historical past. Participants will see and learn how they can continue the conservation legacy of our ancestors by naturally recycling, composting and making the best use of native materials.

There'll be fun and games too. Participants can enter a skillet-throwing contest, kids' sack race, pie-eating contest and pioneer costume contest. People can make and eat hand-cranked ice cream. Authentic re-creations of a Seminole camp and the Bishop Family living history demonstration will bring to life the spirit that was Florida in the 1800s. The festival will feature demonstrations of arts and crafts and other life skills developed by Florida's early settlers.

Festivities will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A suggested donation of $1 per person helps support Chinsegut programs, including Pioneer Day.

Visitors will experience the age-old sights, sounds and smells of early peninsular existence while listening to live music of the period. They'll get to ride a horse-drawn wagon; see archery in action; participate in using two-man saws; and enjoy demonstrations of cow milking, quilting, spinning, Spanish moss weaving, medicinal remedies and other pioneer survival skills that highlight the event. They'll learn about cider making, soap making, basket weaving and butter churning, and listen to an expert turkey caller work a homemade box call.

The festival also will feature kettle corn and other period foods.

The Chinsegut Nature Center is on land once homesteaded by the Bishops, an honest-to-goodness pioneer family. The remnants of their 19th-century dwelling still exist on the property.

Activities will occur throughout the day. Lunch and merchandise are available for purchase from exhibitors.

In-service credit is available for teachers.

Free parking for the event will be available with shuttles at the Withlacoochee Training Center, approximately one mile north of the intersection of U.S. 41 and County Road 476.

On-site parking will be available for disabled visitors.

For more information about Pioneer Day, visit MyFWC.com/Chinsegut, or contact the Chinsegut Nature Center at 352-754-6722.

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