We are excited to have Beertopia on our 2021 calendar of events! Join us on Saturday, February 20^th, 2021 to sample a variety of craft and imported beers and a wine bar. Your drinks will be accompanied by popular dishes from your favorite local restaurants. There will also be live music by Kettle of Fish, a raffle, and a silent auction!

We are incredibly excited to be hosting Beertopia at the Manatee County Fairgrounds in the Mosaic Arena this year. This allows us to host the event safely and socially distanced with ample space.

(Click here to read more about Beertopia)

A year representing the Hernando De Soto Historical Society as the De Soto Queen and the De Soto Princess has come and gone for two extraordinary young ladies, Langston Sellars and Claire Strickland. The two of them, along with Hernando de Soto Mark Hildebrandt and Captain of the Crewe Steve Covey, have represented the Hernando De Soto Historical Society exceptionally. We affectionately refer to these four as the De Soto Royal Family. The Royal Family represents our society, city, and county in many local parades, festivals in North Florida, Minnesota, Canada, Spain, and more!

A monthly newsletter from the Hernando De Soto Historical Society!

Have you ever wondered, what Family Friendly events can I attend this month, or what is the Crewe of De Soto up to this month?

80 Years of Giving Back to Our Community! 

As we entered 2019 the members of the Hernando De Soto Historical Society knew that it was going to be a monumental year!

The Heintz & Becker De Soto Seafood Festival is quickly approaching once again! The 2019 Seafood Festival is returning to Sutton Park in Downtown Palmetto for another year, Sutton Park has been home to the Seafood Festival since 2014. The Hernando De Soto Historical Society has hosted produced the Seafood Festival in Manatee County for over 30 years!

It has been exactly 6 months since the crowns have been placed atop the heads of Queen Alysha O’Dell and Princess Halley Sue Lawrence, so lets catch up with them! They have been travelling a lot in the past 6 months and these next couple of months they can catch their breath because come January it’s back to non-stop travel to more festivals including Winter Carnival, Vulcan Weekend, Springtime Tallahassee and many more!

Happy New Year!

It’s amazing how the year 2017 has flown by and that 2018 is already here. If you would have told me at the beginning of 2017 that I would have been standing on a stage being crowned as the 2017 Hernando De Soto Historical Society’s Queen I would have been in awe. So far this year has been a year that will go down in the books, starting with making 9 new friends that I shared 3 months of experiences with during Queens Court.

BRADENTON — Conquistadors and a manatee brought holiday cheer and presents Friday to sick children at Manatee Memorial Hospital.

BRADENTON — Children at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton got an early Christmas present Friday. Conquistadors from the Hernando De Soto Historical Society and Maverick the Manatee from State College of Florida brought holiday cheer to the sick children there.

The group handed out presents at the pediatric unit.

It was 6:30 on a hot and steamy July morning when I arrived at the DeSoto float, the San Cristobal, to start my journey with a group of Manatee County’s finest business leaders, also known as the Crewe of DeSoto.

I can’t believe that I am already 6 months into my reign as DeSoto Queen 2015. I can’t wait to see what is to come in the holiday season.

October has been the busiest month yet with the DeSoto Crewe and appearances.

PALMETTO — With anxiety levels high among Palmetto elected officials on whether to support the 2016 Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta — already approved by Manatee County and the city of Bradenton — the DeSoto Historical Society wants to lend its festival expertise to the city.