60th Annual Chalo Nitka Festival

    The jury’s in, the after action committee meeting held, and the consensus of Glades County public officials, civic leaders and business owners is that the 60th annual Chalo Nitka Festival was a success.

   According to Glades County Economic Development Council executive director Tracy Whirls, most residents reported that the annual event was one of the best held in recent years. “Everyone we’ve spoken to was so pleased to have the Seminole Tribe participate in a big way this year,” Ms. Whirls said.

  “The alligator wrestling was a real crowd pleaser and folks were delighted to have the Seminole arts and crafts and food booths back. Glades County natives said this year’s festival was much more like the festivals they remembered from their childhoods. “We had 86 entries in the parade, 25 vendor booths and an estimated crowd of 4,000,” Ms. Whirls said. “Not bad for a festival organized by a group of volunteers with two and a half months to put the thing together.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

    " Ms. Whirls said the success of the festival was the work of a dedicated committee comprised of  Property Appraiser Larry Luckey, who worked     with Clerk of Courts Joe Flint and former Chamber board member Carl Perry and Moore Haven Public Works Director Mike Jones to organize the parade, Moore Haven City Councilman, Youth Livestock and EDC director John Ahern, Glades County Schools Superintendent and Moore Haven High School Scholarship Foundation member Wayne Aldrich, Danielle Toms of  Glades Electric, Elthea Stafford and Jenny Allen, of the Community Development Department, Moore Haven High School Career Counselor Crystal Drake and her students, Glades County Commissioner and EDC director Russell Echols, and the Glades County Bass Masters, former Glades County Chamber directors Rhoda Planty of Joyner Development and Jim Bryant of Lykes,  County Manager Wendell Taylor and tribal representative Norman Bowers of Brighton. “Commissioner Paul Beck, Mr. Flint and Danielle Toms made several trips to Brighton to encourage the Seminole Tribe to participate in the event,” Ms. Whirls said. “The Tribe sent Norman Bowers and Salina Dorgan to our committee meetings and they were instrumental in arranging for the Brighton Princess Jaryaca Baker and Miss Rumor Juarez, 9, to perform at the Chalo Nitka Queen contest  and they wowed the crowd.  

    “Then Mr. Bowers made the rounds of Tribal festivals and rodeos in Hollywood, Immokalee and all over, recruiting Native American vendors, arranging for veteran alligator wrestler Billy Wright to perform, then serving as master of ceremonies during the festival Saturday introducing Tribal officials. Mr. Luckey worked tirelessly behind the scenes, assigning vendor booths and mapping the grounds, helping to organize the parade according to protocol and finalizing the entertainment line up before acting as emcee Saturday.

     The Scholarship Foundation sponsored the pageants, Jenny Allen and Elthea Stafford did a wonderful job putting those together for the big girls, while Jill Bryant and Project Graduation organized the Little Mr. Miss pageants. Moore Haven High School students Macy Randolph, Kids Day Games Chairwomen, Aaron  Spero and Ethan Harris, Assistant Chairmen and 21 other student volunteers supervised by Career Counselor Crystal Drake organized the annual Kids Day games, while the Bass masters, including president Mike Woodham and his wife Della put together the Kids Fishing Tournament “We had a lot of help, from teachers helping us sell t-shirts and gate passes, to Ahern’s BP which helped sell midway tickets, to EDC President Tommy Perry donning a nail apron to take gate passes at the grounds Saturday morning, ” Ms. Whirls said. “It was truly a community event, and that’s what made it so special, that Glades County folks could take ownership and pride in their part of putting it together,” the EDC director said. “We’ve already decided that we’re going to go with a similar format next year students are already volunteering to organize Kids Day 2009 and the Bass Masters have agreed to handle the Small Fry Fishing Contest from start to finish.”

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 For more information or to volunteer to help, phone (863) 946-0440.