By Katrina Salokar | EastLeeNews.com
More than 500 people attended the Florida 250 Cracker Cowboy Festival at the Alva Museum during a weekend celebration honoring Florida’s original cow hunters and ranching families. The event marked the opening of the Florida 250 Cracker Cowboy Exhibit, now on display through July 4, 2026.
Visitors traveled from across Southwest Florida and beyond to experience living history demonstrations, Florida Cracker cattle, whip cracking, horsemanship, cowboy storytelling, pioneer food traditions, historic exhibits and ranch heritage displays centered around Florida’s five-century cattle culture.
Saturday’s Living History Day featured presentations and demonstrations from Florida ranching historians and storytellers Brad Phares, Heith Crum, Robert Walker and Bobby Staples, along with artists Eldon Lux, Hobby Campbell, Sean Sexton, Brendan Fisk and Martin Grembecki, whose work helped capture the spirit and history of Florida cattle country. Festival organizers also thanked the many volunteers, demonstrators, musicians, ranching families, living history participants and community supporters who helped bring the event to life throughout the weekend.
Families participated in hands-on ranch activities while musicians, historians and demonstrators brought Florida’s rural frontier traditions to life throughout the day. The strong turnout highlighted growing public interest in preserving and sharing Florida’s often-overlooked ranching history and reminded visitors that Florida’s cowboy culture predates the American West.
The Florida 250 Cracker Cowboy Exhibit will remain open at the Alva Museum through July 4, 2026, with extended public hours on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The exhibit will conclude as part of the Alva Museum’s upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration on July 4, with additional details to be announced.
For more information, please visit
www.alvamuseum.com, or you can call us at 239-691-0099.
The address to the museum is 21420 Pearl St, Alva, FL 33920.
