One Tank Trips: Fort King Festival

Something that we've had on our to visit list since early in 2023, was to visit the Fort King Festival. It is held every year the first weekend in December. This past year we were finally able to make it.

All of today's pictures were courtesy of myself.

As soon as we arrived Britt was drawn by the noise of the blacksmith shop. As usual he struck up a conversation and within short order was helping to pump the bellows and eventually found himself crafting a wall hook. After a little while we wandered around to the rest of the shops: there was a lady crocheting with hand spun wool, a cooper making barrels, a silver smith crafting mugs and other assorted odds and ends, plus a tent of trinkets mostly for kids, but made by different Seminole crafts. There were people working at each station and sharing information about their respective skills, as well as items to buy.

Finally it was time for the reenactment. Turns out Fort King never saw direct battle, but from time to time, regularly Seminoles would appear from the woods and open fire picking off men as they stood guard or were outside the fort. They would attack fast and furious, and by the time the men were called and marched forth out of the gate many of the Seminoles had melted back into the woods, parting with a final volley into the men lined up in their powder blue uniforms with a white "x" over their chest.

We would definitely recommend the area to anyone passing through. Though without a doubt it would be best to go during the festival as there is much more to see and do other than, just admire the fort made of wooden palisades, reconstructed on the spot of the original fort. The kids spent a great deal of time discussing what they had learned and their thoughts on the way home. There is truly no better way to learn history than by seeing and interacting with it, so we highly recommend these types of visits when possible.

If you'd like to make a trip to Fort King the address to the park is 3925 E. Fort King Street, Ocala, Florida. Their hours at the visitor center vary; so for more information, you can call 352-368-5533. Entrance to the Park is free during the Festival and they encourage but do not require donations from my understanding the rest of the year.