Question: What is the oldest annual festival in the Sunshine State?
Answer: The Chasco Fiesta
The Chasco Fiesta, founded in 1922 and held every year since 1947, is the oldest annual festival in Florida. The festival’s name comes from the fictional legend of Queen Chasco and King Pithla, a Spanish boy and girl, who were said to have been captured by the Calusa Indians. Their names are borrowed from the Pithlachascotee River that winds through New Port Richey. Known to locals simply as “Chasco,” the event spans two weekends in March.
