SEBRING —  Highlands Hammock State Park is celebrating Florida history, culture, nature and the legacy of the CCC at the 38^th Annual Civilian Conservation Corps Festival on Saturday, February 8. The park’s signature event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Golden Era Jazz Band will open the festival at 10 a.m. with Great American Songbook numbers composed during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.  Folk music virtuoso John McClure will play toe tapping traditional folk ballads and bouncy banjo, guitar and mandolin in the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.  

Heritage exhibitors will demonstrate quilting, pine needle basketry and blacksmithing. Two Florida Artist Blacksmiths will forge a wall sculpture of a fish made of steel and live oak wood as a silent auction item which one lucky bidder will take home. Other features include Lake Kissimmee State Park’s Cow Camp Reenactment, arts and crafts vendors, tram rides, wagon rides and pony rides. Florida Highwaymen artists from Vero Beach will be exhibiting and selling their paintings. At the Kids’ Corner, youngsters may engage in nature exhibits and scavenger hunts and take a guided nature walk at 1 p.m. on the Wild Orange Trail. An Antique Car Show will showcase cars, tractors and engines from the early 1900s through 1949.

Programs in the CCC Museum include the following: 

Noon - 12:45 p.m. — Joe Guthrie, Wildlife Biologist, Archbold Biological Station will present ‘The Florida Wildlife Corridor’ and screen ‘The Wild Divide,’ a documentary film of the 2019 Ranch to Ridge Expedition.

1:00 pm - 1:30 p.m.  — David Schmidt, CCC Museum Curator will present ‘The Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway,’ which examines the roles of the CCC and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in these New Deal Era projects. 

2:15 pm - 3:00 pm  John Goss, Archaeologist will present ‘Prehistoric Native American Corridors and Waterways in Florida,’ which explores historical and archaeological accounts of Native American transportation corridors in southern Florida.

Refreshments may be purchased at the Hammock Inn and food vendors will be providing BBQ, hot dogs, lemonade and snow cones. All CCC Festival activities are free and open to the public with the exceptions of tram rides, pony rides and wagon rides. Tram tickets are sold through the Hammock Inn concession, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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 at 863-402-0061. Pony rides are $5 per ride and wagon rides are $10 per person. Park entry fees of $ 6 per vehicle (up to 8 people) and $ 4 per single occupant vehicle apply. Highlands Hammock State Park is located at 5931 Hammock Road in Sebring.