Big Day, Big Crowds In LaBelle For Annual Festival

LABELLE, FL. -- The 2024 Swamp Cabbage Festival kicked off Saturday morning events with a 90 minute long parade down Bridge Street, opening with a fly over by six classic aircraft trailing colorful smoke over the parade goers. 

Some say the parade was not quite up to previous year's entertainment, with the usual elected officials in trucks and cars, community organizations with simple and in some cases more elaborate decorated floats in this year's "circus" theme. The usual local horse riders, and tricked out cars provides some change of pace.

Mostly, the parade seemed to be displaying local business people driving their trucks, throwing out candy and beads for the children along the two mile long parade route. Missing this year the popular Budweiser Clydesdale horse teams and the Shriner's midget cars and motorcycle riders. 

The highways outside the city limits were bare of traffic, but in town many thousands of vehicles clogged the streets and parked in every available spot along the shady streets of the "city of oaks."

Fancy jeeps showed off their vehicles along Lee Street, while the LaBelle Municipal Airport sponsored a "fly-in" with hundreds of pilots arriving to see a display of restored classic aircraft. "warbirds" and home-built smaller planes on the ramp, along with many classic yellow Piper Cub aircraft on display.

Events at Barron Park continue through Sunday. 

The event schedule for this year:

Saturday, Feb. 24th
08:00am - Jeep Show (Lee Street)
10:00am - Parade (Bridge Street)
10:00am - Vendors open (Barron Park)
11:30am - Opening Ceremony (Barron Park)
11:45am - Unforgiven Band (Barron Park)
12:45am - Queen & Princess, Grand Marshal, Heritage Family
12:45am - Parade winner announcements (Barron Park)

01:00pm - Sheriff's Possé (Barron Park)
02:00pm - Lester Beleau (Barron Park)
03:00pm - Matrasa Lynn (Barron Park)
04:00pm - Charlie Pace Band (Barron Park)
05:00pm - Park Closes
06:00pm - Hendry County Cattlemen's Ranch Rodeo (Rodeo Grounds)

Sunday Feb. 25th
Safelight - Bass Tournament (LaBelle Boat Docks)
09:00am - Church in the Park with James Holland (Barron Park)
10:30am - Colton Brannan (Barron Park)
11:30am - Red Griffin & The Pickin' Crew (Barron Park)
12:30pm - Little Miss & Junior Miss Introduction (Barron Park)
12:45 pm - Spyda & Fat Chris (Barron Park)
02:30pm - Matrasa Lynn (Barron Park)
04:00pm - Park Closes

Photo by Don Browne : The 2024 Parade