BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE. Fla. — The second annual Florida Alligator Festival was held near the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida on Sunday.

Attendees professed their love for Florida wildlife by wearing alligator-themed backpacks, t-shirts reading “swamp addiction” and other memorabilia.

The festival featured a reptile exhibit for kids and vendors from the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes, including Native American bead work and cooking like fry bread.

The organizers say they are seeking to bring back a love for the outdoors “Old Florida” culture – a cultural mix influenced by the region’s Native American tribes and the original “Gladesmen”— families of settlers who have lived in the swamps of South Florida for generations.

“Today we're out here paying homage to tradit

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