Did you know that pigs can run a seven-minute mile or that there are approximately 750,000 horses in the state of Florida? How about the fact that the average strawberry contains two hundred seeds? Facts like these educated and entertained visitors to this year’s Cowboy Festival hosted by Stable Faith Cowboy Church in Brooksville on Saturday, November 16.
According to Valerie Ansel, Outreach Director at Stable Faith, the goal of this family-friendly event is to “bring awareness of the church and to educate the public about agriculture.” Lifetime local Elaine Crum Sullivan says the event “uplifts values and ethics of agriculture,” including community, family, faith, and good values. She believes events like these can encourage parents to consider raising their children by these standards.
Food and merchandise vendors filled the church parking lot, with each reinforcing the goal of the festival. Juanita Sikes, representing the Florida Cracker Cattle and Florida Cracker Horse Associations, shared information about Florida’s agrarian past and sold homemade jams and jellies in mason jars. Arlene Amy and her crew at the Hernando County Cattlewomen’s Association educated visitors on where from a steer each cut of meat comes from and gave little ones a try at roping a hay bale sheep.
Swamp Stompers, a 4H club, encouraged visitors to stop in at their booth for boiled peanuts and a chance to wrangle an inflatable gator. Michelle Payne says their local club is designed for “promoting environmental science for kids” and runs the yearly youth squirrel hunt.
Over by the Cowboys for Christ booth, Steve Thistle gave young Jeremiah Prury a lesson in roping. Meanwhile, a photo booth with dressed-up dogs and pony rides delighted children and their parents alike.
Among the many educational booths were the Florida Forest Service Agriculture and Consumer Services and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, which educate the public on agriculture, sustainable land management, and many other helpful topics.
The main attraction of the festival was the 2nd Annual Feed Bag Fashion Show, where contestants in the duo, youth, and adult categories walked the Barn runway in an outfit made from leftover feed bags for horses, chickens, cows, dogs or deer. Contestants’ costume construction was a testament to their creativity and humor. Bags were used to create chaps, cowboy hats, vests, dresses, and even suits of armor for a knight and his squire.
![Emrie and Weston in the duo category walk the Barn runway in the Feed Bag Fashion Show at the Cowboy Festival November 16, 2024. Emrie and Weston took home first place for duos. [Photo by Jenifer Truitt]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ccf-emrie.jpg)
Organizer Valerie Ansel says the inspiration for the show was an online social media post about teenagers making feed bag prom dresses. She encourages anyone in Hernando County to participate, stressing that it is open to the community. And for those who wish to try their hand at costume creation but do not have feed bags, church members are collecting them to aid in next year’s show. Cash prizes are awarded to the winner of each category.
