The Rural Heritage Center will be presenting an amazing movie about the cattle drive on Saturday October 14 at 7:00 pm at the Rural Heritage Center.  Doors open at 6:30.

Florida is known for its beaches, amusement parks, retiree communities and cowboys. Yep, cowboys. Most folks don’t associate cowboys with Florida. So, where you have cowboys you have cows, horses, ranches and trucks. Yep, lots of cattle. With agriculture in Florida being one of its top industries to feed 20 million people in this state. As well as distributing its products across the country and the world, why not tell a story of the legacy featuring the pioneering spirit showcasing the 500 years of cattle in Florida with the reenactment of 1800s cattle drive in 2016.

The mission of the Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles is to share Florida’s unique cow culture and heritage through living history. The goal for Live Oak Production Group was to capture a week of showcasing the lifestyle of the working Florida cowhunters moving cattle across private and public lands from St. Cloud (just south of Orlando) to Kenansville in January 2016. This story is much more than a week of educating people about historical accounts. One important element of the project is to educate the public about the 500 years of cattle and horses in Florida. The project presents a time line along with maps and information that follows the cattle from the 1500’s to the current operations in Florida.

One featured story in the film is following the group of wounded veterans with Operation Outdoor Freedom and four boys from the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch. The relations, healing, and bonding is an emotional story that brings hope and encouragement. The highlights the combat-wounded veterans and details their struggles of going on a cattle drive in Florida in mid-winter: the rain, the wet, and the cold.

Lifestyle, heritage, and culture: The Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles is an hour-long documentary about a modern-day cattle drive and the history of cattle in Florida. Cattle first arrived in Florida almost 500 years ago, and the film reveals how this long history connects to present-day cow culture. The Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles will leave viewers with a better understanding of how cattle shaped modern Florida. Florida is more that beaches, Disney World and theme parks. Florida has many large working cattle ranches that helps to feed the world.