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A 16th Century Spanish soldier holds his country's flag as he awaits the landing of Don Pedro Menendez de Avilés. The reenactment of the landing is the beginning of a full day of activities celebrating the 441st anniversary of St. Augustine's founding.
St. Augustine's 442nd Birthday Celebration
Tuesday, August 28
through
Saturday, September 1
St. Augustine's birthday party has simply gotten too big for one day. So this year, the event will span five days and include traditional annual events as well as first-time activities.
Starting on Tuesday, August 28 and continuing through Saturday, September 1, the events commemorate St. Augustine's standing as the longest continually inhabited city founded by Europeans in what is now the United States making it the Nation's Oldest City.
St. Augustine has set a remarkable record for endurance that is unmatched in American history. Despite hurricanes, wars, plagues and countless pirate raids, the city has survived and flourished continuously since September 8, 1565 when its birth was proclaimed by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. This year's birthday celebration will focus attention on the religious leaders, Native Americans, and women who were there on the first day of the city's existence.
All activities surrounding the St. Augustine 442nd Birthday Celebration are free and within convenient walking distance from the Visitor Information Center and adjacent parking facility.
St. Augustine's 442nd
Birthday Celebration
THUMBNAIL SCHEDULE
(click on each link for a map)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28
6:30 pm
Vespers at the St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica
7:30pm
Dr. Andrea Steiken lecture at the Bishop Baker Center
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29
5:00pm-7:00pm
Seloy, a large Timucuan village, Fountain of Youth Archeological Park
7:00pm
Walking tour of the park's archeological sites
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30
5:00pm-8:00pm
Colonial Clothing Demonstrations, Government House
Friday, August 31
5:00pm-8:00pm
Entertainment of the 16th Century, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
Saturday September 1
9:30am-11:30am
Landing Reenactment and Celebration of Mass, Mission Nombre de Dios
Noon-2:00pm
First Thanksgiving cooking contest, Fountain of Youth Archeological Park
2:00pm-4:00pm
Birthday Celebration in the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum
7:00pm
Changing of the Guard, Government House
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Week Full of Activities
Day-by-Day
Celebrating The City's Namesake
Tuesday, August 28
On this date in 1565, the Spanish fleet arrived offshore and in recognition of the fact that it was the feast day of St. Augustine, Admiral Menendez named the area after the celebrated Bishop of Hippo. At 6:30 p.m. Vespers will be celebrated at the St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica followed by a solemn liturgical procession to the Bishop Baker Center for a special theological presentation by Dr. Andrea Sterk, Associate Professor of History and Affiliate Faculty in Religion at the University of Florida. Admission is free.
Celebrating Those Who Were Already Here
Wednesday, August 29
The Spaniards were not the first to think of the St. Augustine area as "home." Native Americans known as the Timucua had been living there for at least 500 years when the Europeans first arrived. In fact, from the first moments of their arrival, the Spaniards encountered the residents of Seloy, a large Timucuan village located at the present site of the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park. As part of the birthday celebration, the park will feature demonstrations of Timucuan culture and lifestyles from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. At 7:00pm, the University of Florida's Dr. Kathleen Deagan will present a walking tour of the park's archeological sites. Dr. Deagan's extensive archeological work at the site has made her the leading authority on Seloy and the original Spanish occupation of the area.
Celebrating The Hearth
Thursday August 30
Unlike the English settlement of Jamestown more than 40 years later, women and children were among the 800 Spaniards who arrived on the first day of St. Augustine's existence. From 5:00pm until 8:00pm, St. Augustine women in authentic period clothing will demonstrate hand-dyeing, weaving and other 16th century skills. Visitors are invited to participate! The demonstrations will be held at Government House on the Plaza de la Constitucion and will include a presentation on the role of women in the Spanish colony.
Celebrating The Entertainment
Friday, August 31
From 5:00pm to 8:00pm, 16th century entertainers, including jugglers, madrigal singers, and actors will present authentic skits and comedies in the gardens of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum located at 19 San Marco Avenue. Admission to the grounds is free.
A Day Long Celebration
Saturday, September 1
The Landing
A full day of activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with a reenactment of the landing by the city's founder, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, at the Mission of Nombre de Dios, the exact landing point of the Spanish colonists in 1565. The site of the landing is marked today with a 208 foot stainless steel cross erected in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the city's founding.
Each year, a leading citizen is invited to portray Menendez by the organizers of the Founder's Day Reenactment. This year the role of Menendez is portrayed by Herbie Wiles, a lifetime resident of St. Augustine, Navy Veteran, father, grandfather and one of the community's most respected business and community leaders.
After returning from the U.S. Navy, he enrolled at Florida State University, graduated in 1953 with a BA in Business and Insurance. He joined with his father representing a Direct Writing Insurance Company. In 1963 he founded Herbie Wiles Insurance and today is the company's CFO.
As an active member of the community and county, he served 3 terms on the St. Johns County Board of County Commission. Today he dedicates much of his time to his role on The Board of Trustees of the St. Augustine Historical Society, The Advisory Board of the Betty Griffin House, Flagler Hospital Advisory Board, and is a member of the Presidents Council of Flagler College. Herbie enjoys getting together with good friends at his coffee club, at golf and enjoys traveling.
Herbie's son, Doug Wiles, current President of Herbie Wiles Insurance, portrayed Menendez in 2001 when he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 20.
The Guest Speaker and Mass
The landing reenactment will be followed, as it was 442 years ago, with a celebration of Mass at an outdoor wooden altar by the water's edge. This year the
Mass will be celebrated by the Most Reverend Robert J. Baker, Bishop of Charleston, SC. Bishop Baker will also serve as this year's guest speaker prior to the Mass.
Bishop Baker was ordained a priest of the Diocese of St. Augustine in 1970 and served as pastor of St. Augustine Cathedral-Basilica for over 12 years starting in 1984. He was ordained the twelfth Bishop of Charleston in 1999. The Bishop Baker Parish Center, located at Cathedral Parish School, is named in his honor.
In addition to his many theological works, Bishop Baker is the author of "Cacique, A Novel of Florida's Heroic Mission History." The novel combines fact with fiction to present the tale of Florida's Potano Indian chieftains and their relationship with Spanish Franciscan missionaries. Bishop Baker will be available after the Mass in the Shrine Gift Shop to sign copies of "Cacique" as well as his other books.
The Feast
Decades before the Pilgrims sat down for a harvest feast with their New England neighbors the Wampanoag, the good people of St. Augustine had already established the tradition with their neighbors the Timucuan. That First Thanksgiving will be remembered at noon with a cooking contest featuring authentic 16th century foods and recipes. Local restaurants will team with re-enactors to present authentic great cuisine in amateur and professional classes. The contest will take place at a special historical encampment featuring a living timeline of the city's history on the grounds of the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park. For more information on the contest, call Michele Reyna at 904.823.9852.
The Party
For a birthday party, or fiesta, you have to have cake, and there will be lots of cake, actually cupcakes at the Birthday Fiesta in the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum from 2:00pm until 4:00pm. There will also be great Latin music from Luis Mario's Latin Jazz Band, authentic Colonial crafters and artisans, and a special ceremony when St. Augustine's Royal Family cuts the official cake.
St. Augustine's Royal Family represents the Spanish Royal Family in 1672, the year the Castillo de San Marcos was commissioned. Each year the royal trio is selected from among St. Augustine's oldest families. This year's Royal Trio are Virginia Solana Wood as Queen Marianna, who traces her heritage back through the Solana family; Anthony Solana Trout, as King Carlos, whose heritage is traced through the Solana family; and Katie Usina, as Princess Margarita Maria, who traces her history through the Usina family.
Birthday cupcakes will be distributed as long as quantities last and soft drinks and water will be available for purchase. No food or drink may be brought into the museum. The museum is open 9:00am-5:30pm and admission is free all day.
The End of the Day
At 7:00pm the day's events end in much the way a typical day would have ended in Colonial St. Augustine. Having secured the gates of the walled-town, troops are dismissed for the night, but not before their replacements arrive and are ready to take over the duty of guarding Government House, the home of the Spanish Governor. The 20-minute Changing of the Guard ceremony concludes with the resounding volley of musket fire.
The Changing of the Guard takes place in front of Government House, situated on the Plaza de la Constitucion. Spectators are invited to take lots of photographs and to remain after the reenactment as participants will answer questions about the life in Colonial St. Augustine. This is the final reenactment of the Changing of the Guard which has been running Saturdays during the summer months.
For More Information
The place where every visit to St. Augustine should begin is at the St. Augustine & St. Johns County Visitor Information Center. Helpful guides, connections to various tours, a free shuttle to downtown and lots of clean restrooms.
Adjacent to the Visitor Information Center is the Historic Downtown Parking Facility. With its nearly 1,200 parking spaces, the facility has become the preferred parking location in the city.
For directions and more information on the Visitor Information Center, visit www.vicparking.com.
To better plan your visit to St. Augustine and St. Johns County, call 800.653.2489 of go to www.getaway4florida.com.