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Join us at the 38th annual CCC Festival! The park preserves wilderness, history and the legacy of the CCC and the festival celebrates history, culture, art, nature, music, sharing traditions and skills.The festival is free with park admission ($6 per vehicle up to 8 people, $4 per vehicle with one person and $2 per bicyclist and pedestrian) except for tram, pony and carriage rides, food and purchases.
Learn about more activities and times on the Friends of Highland Hammock Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fhhsp) or visit https://CCCfest2025.eventbrite.com. Information is updated as details are confirmed.
The theme of the 2025 speaker program is corridors. Talks are given in the CCC Museum.
· Noon: Wildlife Biologist Joe Guthrie, Archbold Biological Station & Florida Wildlife Corridor: The Florida Wildlife Corridor & Film The Wild Divide. This 45-minute program introduces the Florida Wildlife Corridor and includes an 18-minute documentary film of the 2019 Ranch to Ridge Expedition, a seven day trek from Highlands Hammock State Park to the Nature Conservancy’s Tiger Creek Preserve in Polk County.
· 1 p.m.: CCC Museum Curator David Schmidt, Highlands Hammock State Park: The Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. This 30-minute program examines the roles of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in these New Deal Era projects.
· 2:15 p.m.: Archaeologist John Goss, Bradenton, Florida: Prehistoric Native American Corridors and Waterways in Florida. This 45-minute program explores historical and archaeological accounts of Native American transportation corridors in primarily southern Florida. The effects of these features on trade and migration are, in some cases, unique to Florida.
· Music in the Park Stage
Golden Era Jazz Band (10 to 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ) playing Great Amerian Songbook numbers from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
· Folk music virtuoso John McClure (1 to 3 p.m.) performing traditional folk ballads and a selection of musical numbers featuring bouncy banjo, guitar and the mandolin.
A few things planned for children include:
• 1 p.m. Discovery Nature Walk for children 5 to 13 to explore and learn about plants, animals, habitats, niches, food chains, animal adaptations and more! During the hour-long walk, children will discover adventures in nature and sharpen skills to explore nature in their own backyards. Led by Interpretive Volunteer Marilyn Blair, the hike will depart from the Wild Orange Trail behind the Hammock Inn.
• Engage in Highlands Hammock State Park and Archbold Biological Research Station nature exhibits.
• Learn about park habitats by observing wildlife photos and finding the match of birds, butterflies, reptiles and mammals within the murals of four habitats found in the park including Hammock, Cypress Swamp, Pine Flatwoods and Scrub.
• Play traditional games, including cat’s cradle, hopscotch, jacks, tiddlywinks, pickup sticks, and marbles.
• Explore the nature and history of Highlands Hammock State Park by taking a CCC Festival Scavenger Hunt geared for families with children of all ages.
• VIP Custom Carriage will give children a thrill riding on a huge horse, an American Mammoth Jackstock Donkey, or a very tall mule ($5 per child) at the Owl Pavilion. Adults and families may enjoy wagon rides ($10 per person).
Arts and crafts vendor, demonstrations and displays by government agencies and organizations concerned with local history or nature and the environment are ongoing.
· Florida Artist Blacksmith Association (FABA) Blacksmiths/Frank Teele & Scott Teele with smaller metal works for sale. A silent auction of a wall sculpture (15 inches high x 18 inches long) of a fish made of steel and live oak wood. The silent auction will close at 3:30 pm. in the Panther Pavilion.
· Florida Highwaymen paintings by Vernon Tynes, Dominque Tynes and Richard Edwards
· Pine Needle Basketry by Connie Nunn
· Karen Smoke Quilting: Traditional Quilting with items for sale
· Native American Artifacts Display by Archaeologist John Goss
· Lake Kissimmee State Park Cow Camp Reenactment Exhibit
· Avon Park Historical Society
· Sebring Historical Society
· Desoto County Historical Society
· Saws and Hand Tools from the 1900s to 1940s, Collection of Greg Blakeley
· Antique car show will include cars, tractors and engines from the early 1900s through 1949.
· Archbold Biological Station: Skull & Bones Display
· The Nature Conservancy - Tiger Creek Preserve with trivia wheel activity
· Highlands County Audubon Society
· Florida Forest Service: Wildfire Prevention
· Heartland Cultural Alliance
· Peter Powell Roberts Arts Museum
· United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/ APHIS): Information about citrus, insects and animal and health plant inspection
· IFAS – Highlands County Master Gardeners: Florida Landscaping Information
• Guided, narrated 90-minute tram tours. Tours depart from the Hammock Inn, run along the Loop Road beneath the densely shaded hammock, pause on a wooden bridge within a cypress swamp, continue through open pinelands and return along South Canal through a wetland of bay and cypress trees where alligators, turtles, herons, ibis, egrets and the occasional otter may be observed. Ticket cost is $15 per adult and $10 for children six to 12 years old. Children aged five and younger are free. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the tour or one day in advance. Call the Hammock Inn (daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 863-402-0061 for tram departure information.
• Enjoy Highlands Hammock State Park where wilderness and history are preserved. The park has more rare and endemic species than any other Florida State Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Highlands Hammock is known for its magnificent hammock and the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum. To help lift the United States out of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the CCC in 1933 as part of the New Deal Program. Single men between the ages of 18 and 25 could enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests and parks.
Food and refreshments are provided by the Hammock Inn Camp Store and onsite food truck vendors.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
5931 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872-7408, United States
