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Brighton Field Day Festival is Feb. 17-19

Posted 2/14/23

Celebrating 84 years, the Brighton Field Day Festival returns to the Fred Smith Rodeo Arena on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation

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Online exclusive

Brighton Field Day Festival is Feb. 17-19

Gary Allan will perform at the Brighton Field Day Festival
Gary Allan will perform at the Brighton Field Day Festival
Courtesy photo
Posted

GLADES COUNTY -- Celebrating 84 years, the Brighton Field Day Festival returns to the Fred Smith Rodeo Arena on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation in Glades County, Florida, Feb. 17-19.

Presented by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, many Seminole favorites will return including PRCA Rodeo (Friday and Saturday), Xtreme Bull Riding (Sunday), clothing contests, American Indian arts & crafts and native foods. Attendees may also visit the Seminole Culture Camp where a living Seminole Indian Village will be on display.

Entertainment will include a Saturday evening concert by multi-platinum country artist Gary Allan.  With the allure of a modern day outlaw, Allan has won over fans, peers and critics with his signature blend of smoldering vocals, rebellious lyrics and raucous live performances.

While becoming a force on the country music scene, Allan has remained true to his artistic voice each step of the way. RUTHLESS, Allan’s first new album in eight years was released in June of 2021. The 13-song album feature songs produced by Mark Wright, Tony Brown, Greg Droman, Jay Joyce, and Allan himself.  His last album, SET YOU FREE, topped the Billboard 200 (Pop Chart), a career first for Allan. The album also made its debut at the top of the Billboard Country Album chart (for the fourth time in a row) and produced his fifth #1 country radio chart topper with “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain).” 

The California native released his first album, USED HEART FOR SALE, in 1996 and since then has released eight additional studio albums selling over eight million albums, been certified platinum on three back-to-back albums, and been certified gold five times.  Allan has five #1 hits at country radio, 14 Top 10 hits to his credit and amassed over 2.8 billion total streams.  He’s described as “dark and dreamy” in Entertainment Weekly, “soulful and rough around the edges” in Playboy and deemed a “maverick” by Rolling Stone. He sells out venues as a headliner from NY to LA, appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Live with Kelly and Michael and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has also landed on the covers of Country Weekly, Pollstar and People magazine.  

The event weekend will also feature native dance troupes from neighboring tribes, storytelling, alligator wrestling, and a snake show.

Brighton Field Day started in November of 1938. William and Edith Boehmer, two teachers who were residing on the Brighton reservation, got the idea to start a “day of fun.” It initially was meant to be a day for Tribal community members to visit, but now thousands of visitors join Seminole Tribal members in this annual celebration.

The PRCA Rodeo will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. The Gary Allan concert is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Brighton Field Day Festival will be held at the Fred Smith Rodeo Arena, which is located at 17400 Sports Complex Road NE, Okeechobee, Florida, 34974. From Okeechobee, take Hwy 70 west or from US 27 take Hwy 70 east to Hwy 721, right on Harney Pond Road one mile to Fred Smith Arena. From Fort Lauderdale, take US-27 N, turn right on Hwy 78, turn left on Hwy 721, left on Harney Pond Road, one mile to Fred Smith Arena. And, from Fort Myers, take SR 80 east, turn left on FL-29/Bridge Street, turn right onto FL-78 E, turn right on US-27 S to Hwy 78 E, turn left on Hwy 721, left on Harney Pond Road, one mile to Fred Smith Arena.

Event information can be found at www.brightonfieldday.com or by calling (863) 467-6039.

Brighton, festival, Allan

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