Celebrate the Holiday Season with Florida State Parks

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection?s (DEP) Florida State Parks invite Floridians and visitors to create a new holiday tradition this year by attending a state park special event. With festive decorations and activities, state parks are a great setting for friends and family to enjoy natural Florida while celebrating the season.

?There are few greater treasures than sharing the holiday season with family and friends and there is no better place to do so than in Florida?s state parks,? said DEP?s Florida Park Service Director Mike Bullock. ?From visits with Santa to displays of millions of lights, we hope all visitors will enjoy the festivities that park staff and volunteers work diligently to offer during this time of year.?

Following the holiday season, in 2010, DEP?s Florida State Parks will celebrate 75 years of recreation and preservation. Florida?s 160 state parks offer white sandy beaches, vast open prairies, steep ravines, lush semi-tropical forests, cultural sites and crystal clear lakes, rivers and springs. State parks also offer countless locations to learn about Florida?s cultural history and serve as outdoor classrooms for students of all ages. Affordable, family-friendly activities, such as swimming, hiking, bicycling, paddling, diving, fishing, camping, horseback riding, birding, photography, events and ranger-led tours are just a few ways people enjoy our natural resources.

Special events for the holiday season in southwest Florida include:

Nights of Lights
Fort Cooper State Park, Inverness
Friday, December 11 - Thursday, December 17, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
On December 11 and 12, enjoy live entertainment, refreshments, make a smore? or visit Santa and Mrs. Claus. Lights and decorations will be available for viewing through December 17. Entrance fees are the donation of a non-perishable food or new toy for the Citrus United Basket. For more information, call (352) 726-0315.

Christmas Celebration of Lights
Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Homosassa
Friday, December 18 - Thursday, December 24 and Saturday, December 26, 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
The community is invited to enjoy the park decorated for the holidays with thousands of twinkling lights during the multi-evening event sponsored by the Friends of Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. A variety of entertainment will be scheduled and refreshments will be available. Suggested donation is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. For more information, call (352) 628-5343.

Christmas Cruises
Anclote Key Preserve State Park, three miles off Tarpon Springs
Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, 3:30 p.m.
The Island Star will sail out to Anclote Key for a once in a lifetime chance to climb to the top of the lighthouse, decorated for the holidays. Complimentary snacks will be provided and beverages will be available for purchase on board. All proceeds benefit the Friends of Anclote State Park and Lighthouse and will go towards restoring the historic Oil House. Reservations are required. Tickets are $22.00 for adults and $12.00 for children. For more information, call (727) 944-4468.

Santafest
Ybor City Museum State Park, Tampa
Saturday, December 5, 10:00 a.m. ? 4:00 p.m.
The park?s museum garden will host Santa, live music and games. Sponsored by the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, this community event includes 20 tons of snow, magicians, jugglers, a holiday parade and much more. Activities in the garden will be free and entrance to the museum is $4.00 per person. Children five and under are free. For more information, call (813) 247-6323.

Candlelight Tours of Fort Foster
Hillsborough River State Park, Thonotosassa
Saturday, December 12, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Guests will follow a lantern-lit experience through the Fort, encountering soldiers far from home singing carols in the barracks, officers entertaining ladies from Fort Brooke/Tampa at a fine dinner in the Officers? Mess, fiddle music and songs, and friendly natives gathering outside the Fort?s walls, exchanging gifts of furs, feathers, hides and crafts for goods from traders and the military. After the tour, guests will enjoy hot spiced cider and holiday cookies, while living history interpreters mingle and interact. Admission is $5.00 per person. Children 12 and under are free. For more information, call (813) 987-6771.

Plantation Christmas Open House
Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, Ellenton
Sunday, December 13, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The Florida Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Gamble Plantation Preservation Alliance and the Florida Park Service will host visitors as they travel back to the Old South through the many lifestyle demonstrations of the period. Gamble Mansion and the Patten House will be lavishly decorated in the Christmas spirit, allowing a special look at a 19th century Christmas. The Ladies of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will be dressed of the era of the mid 1800s and the Fourth Florida Volunteer Infantry will reenact a Confederate encampment. There will also be music and crafts. For more information, call (941) 723-4536.

Santa Paws 5K Race and One Mile Pet Walk/Parade
Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring
Saturday, December 12, Race starts at 8:00 a.m. and Pet Walk/Parade begins at 8:30 a.m.
This event will benefit the Humane Society of Highlands County. Registration for the 5K is $20 and the pet walk/parade is $15 per individual and $25 for families of up to six people. Regular park entrance fees will be waived for all participants. For more information, call (863) 655-1522.

To learn more about Florida State Parks and the 75th Anniversary, visit www.FloridaStateParks.org  and follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/FLStateParks.