The 52nd annual Rattlesnake Festival will be held Oct. 20 and 21 at the Pasco County Fairgrounds, at 36722 State Road 52 in Dade City. The festival will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission to the festival will be $5 per person, children two years old and younger are free. Activities free with admision include the traditional snake shows and wooden gopher turtle races, as well as a crocodile show, and owl exhibition and live gopher turtles for viewing. Free also is access to the arts and crafts village, Cowboy Tom’s Wild West Show, a Subaru exhibition on the fairground tracks, and a variety of bounce houses sponsored by Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.
A $15 wristband will give kids unlimited access to amusement rides by Big O Amusements, a petting zoo and pony rides are also available for a small fee.
About 20 food trucks will provide a selection of foods and refreshments, beer will also be available.
The Rattlesnake Festival is presented as a fundraiser for the Thomas Promise Foundation, a 501 (C)(3) organization that provide bag lunches to nutritionally-challenged Pasco County students over the weekend when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available.
For more information on the Rattlesnake Festival visit rattlesnakefestival.com. For more information on the Thomas Promise Foundation visit thethomaspromise.org.