FCM CIRCLE
t’s Christmas and we are going into 2022? I don’t know about anyone else, but I have really lost track of time since the pandemic—it’s a constant struggle— the COVID FOG.
I thought I was just getting old, but then I started running into others, who were “getting old,” but experiencing the same things as I—the COVID FOG. I can see my editor right now, losing their mind over the overuse of, THE COMMA. Now, (one more won’t hurt) I thought the COVID FOG sounded bad, but THE COMMA and the look on my editor’s face—BAM! One more. All jokes aside—really wasn’t a joke. My team is great, and we put out a beautiful publication, something I could not do without any of them, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to all our advertisers. We have weathered red tide, hurricanes, pandemics, loss, division, inflation, shortages, delivery delays, wearing 10,000 hats because no one wants to work, but we stand and stand COUNTRY STRONG! We have all had some type of disruption to what we call “normal,” but 2022 is on its way, a new chapter and a lot of new stuff is coming from Florida Country Magazine. Our YouTube channel will be producing great content for your entertainment. We will be bringing our stories to life, visiting our advertisers and trying out their products and services. We will update you on the latest news, trends, and hot topics from Florida and beyond our state line too. So, back to THE COMMA. The comma represents a pause, but in Florida Country Magazine’s case, it represents the calm before the storm. Not only do we have big things coming, but our advertisers do too. If you didn’t get a chance to make it out to the Stetson Mansion’s “Christmas Spectacular!” 10th anniversary in Deland, no worries, you can visit that until January 22, 2022 (page 13). Florida Cracker Trading Company will be holding its 3rd Annual Florida Cracker Christmas on December 11. This holiday event benefits Operation HeartF.E.L.T. (page 50). Looking for a family-friendly time and serious mud? Visit the Graveyard Mud Bog in Jasper and “Get Buried” from January 6-9, 2022 (page 48).
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F L O R I DAC O U N T RY D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 1 | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2
Savage 4x4 will be having their Truck Invasion 2022 at the Southern Fried Swamp Jam at Seminole Casino Immokalee January 8, 2022, and this event has FREE admission (page 59). The 10th annual Smoke Under the Oaks Rib Fest is a great and tasty event, January 8, 2022, in LaBelle. Not only is there yummy food, but you don’t want to miss the Fire Truck Pull-ooza (page 77). Need some more family-friendly mud, mud, and more mud? Redneck Mud Park has you covered (literally) with their Mud Wheelers Gone Wild event January 14-16, 2022 (page 80). One more event you don’t want to miss in the month of January is the 2022 Hoof & Hike to benefit Naples Therapeutic Riding Center, January 16 (page 69). A big shout out to their Title Sponsor and one of our great advertisers, Equine Hemp Solutions (page 20). Things are happening in Florida and make sure you savethe-date and are ready to go and support more events like Special Equestrians’ 31st annual Ride-A-Thon on February 12, 2022, (page 62) and their Taste of Love Wine & Food Extravaganza event March 13, 2022. Bust those boots and spurs out for the 94th annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo, March 10-13, 2022. Tickets are on sale today (page 25)! And you can blame it on COVID—for real. But finally, we will be able to celebrate Florida’s 500 years of cattle and horses when the Great Florida Cattle Drive’s cow-hunters and cattle move out from Deseret Ranch in St. Cloud, December 4, 2022, and over seven days arrives at the Silver Spurs Practice Arena in Kenansville on December 11, 2022 (page 30). It’s not always about the articles, but the backbone behind our magazine, and that is our advertisers and our distribution spots throughout our state. Showing support, buying their product, using their services, and thanking them for letting us continue to do what we love, and that is bring you great stories. In my publisher’s letter in our October/November 2019 issue, we had 120,000 strong readers, today we have over 250,000 … and growing. So, for that, I thank you, our readers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours. SCARLETT REDENIUS, Publisher
PHOTO BY GIL WILLIAMS
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OUR BACKBONE IS MADE FROM OUR ADVERTISERS
