Florida Pioneer Festival - Featuring Joel Salatin

🌾 Florida Pioneer Festival – Homesteading in the Heartland 🌾

Join us for an unforgettable weekend celebrating homesteading, sustainability, and community! The Florida Pioneer Festival brings two full days of learning, shopping, eating, music, and family fun to Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs, FL, November 7–8, 2025.

Open 9 AM – 6 PM Friday and Saturday (gate entry required). Explore a bustling marketplace filled with incredible vendors offering handmade goods, farm-to-home products, teas, tinctures, plants, artwork, tools, homestead supplies, and unique gifts. Hungry? Our Food Court will be packed with food trucks, homestyle meals, coffee, desserts, and treats the whole family will love.

Located right in the heart of the Market, the Kidsteader Area is designed for young pioneers! Kids can enjoy hands-on activities, crafts, and learning stations that bring the homestead lifestyle to life in fun, interactive ways.

Educational sessions run 9 AM – 5 PM both days, covering a wide range of homesteading and regenerative living topics—from beekeeping and breadmaking to gardening, livestock, herbal medicine, and permaculture. Keynote speaker Joel Salatin will take the stage three times daily on both Friday and Saturday, offering inspiring, thought-provoking talks you won’t want to miss. Education Passes are required (all education passes include gate entry).

🎻 Friday at 6 PM – Kick back with a high-energy Southern Express Bluegrass concert, included with gate entry.
🎶 Saturday at 6:30 PM – Country music artist Alex Key headlines the main stage! Tickets include gate entry, and the show is included with all weekend and Saturday education passes.

• Shop unique homestead-inspired goods, plants, and gifts at the Market
• Savor farm-fresh flavors and treats from the Food Court
• Let the kids explore, play, and learn at the Kidsteader Tent
• Learn from experts on everything from permaculture to food preservation
• Hear Joel Salatin live multiple times each day
• Enjoy two unforgettable nights of music under the Florida sky
• Connect with like-minded people who value community, stewardship, and living closer to the land

✨ Whether you’re a seasoned homesteader or just curious to explore, the Florida Pioneer Festival is the ultimate destination for inspiration, knowledge, fun, and family memories.

We’ve designed ticket options so you can enjoy the festival your way:

• Gate Entry – $8 adults • $5 students • Kids 4 & under FREE
  Includes access to the Mercantile Market, Food Court, Kidsteader Area, and Friday Bluegrass Concert.
• Alex Key Concert (Saturday 6:30 PM) – $48
  Includes gate entry + admission to the Saturday night headliner concert.
• Education Pass – $95 (Friday or Saturday)
  Includes gate entry + full day of educational sessions and keynote talks with Joel Salatin (3 sessions daily).
• Weekend Education Pass – $160
  Best value! Includes 2 full days of education, both evening concerts, and gate entry all weekend.

💡 All tickets are subject to standard fees and processing charges.

The Florida Pioneer Festival is a gathering for anyone interested in homesteading, traditional skills, sustainable living, and community connection. Over two days, attendees explore hands-on workshops, homestead demonstrations, a lively market, live music, and family-friendly experiences. It’s more than just a festival—it’s a chance to learn and be inspired by people who are living close to the land while celebrating heritage, craftsmanship, and ways to build a more grounded, resilient future. The Festival is a registered as a 501c3.

Pioneer Park is a 115-acre county park set in Zolfo Springs that offers more than enough space and natural beauty for the festival experience. The park has 60-plus campsites, both with and without utilities, picnic shelters, pavilions, playgrounds, boat ramps, and trails along the Peace River and Pioneer Park Lake. It also includes the Cracker Trail Museum, a wildlife refuge, and historic structures in “Pioneer Village.” The setting blends river views, shady oaks, open fields, and wilderness edges—making it ideal for camping, music, makers, and the flow of festival life.

Zolfo Springs is a small town in Hardee County, in Florida’s Heartland, with a warm, rural character and rich history. Its name reflects early settlers’ discovery of sulfur springs in the area. With a population under two thousand, Zolfo Springs offers quiet streets, open skies, agricultural heritage, and proximity to natural features like rivers, lakes, and forested floodplains. Visitors find it peaceful, welcoming, and a place where the slower pace reinforces connection to land and community.

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Host or Publisher Florida Pioneer Festival