Another birthday commemoration for City

The topic of discussion around the City of St. Augustine recently has centered on the 450th Commemoration, however, the city’s birthday is always one of the most exciting times of the year.

The commemoration grows each year; and 2010 includes three full days of special events — Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 2-3-4.

Starting on Thursday, September 2 and continuing through Saturday, September 4, 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 Menéndez de Aviles.

All activities surrounding the St. Augustine 445th Birthday Commemoration are free and within convenient walking distance from the Visitor Information Center and Historic Downtown Parking Facility.

Music and Birthday Cake
Thursday, September 2
7:00pm

A traditional part of the St. Augustine’s commemoration of the anniversary of its founding is the ceremonial cutting of the community birthday cake with the opportunity to serve hundreds of pieces of cake to the public.

This year the cake cutting will be held on Thursday, September 3 at 7:00pm at the start of the evening’s Concerts in the Plaza performance by Skin ‘n Bonz & The Big Hungry Boys as a kick off for a weekend of birthday related activities.

City officials joined by members of the St. Augustine Royal Family for the cake cutting ceremony in the Gazebo and afterward cake will be served at the Government House for those in attendance.

Celebrating Those Who Were Already Here
Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3
9:00am – 5:00pm

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 Archaeological Park. It is on this site that Spanish explorer Menendez lived with the Timucuans and established the first settlement.

Seminoles and other U.S. Indian tribes that have been part of Florida’s history will also be represented with encampments. Admission is free to St. Johns County residents.

Landing Reenactment & Celebration of Mass
Saturday, September 4
10:00 am

A full morning of activities begins at 10:00 a.m. as authentically clad soldiers prepare for the reenactment of the landing by the city’s founder, Don Pedro Menéndez de Aviles. The landing will be held nearby the 208 foot stainless steel cross which was erected by the Diocese of St. Augustine in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding.

Following the landing, a proclamation from the City of St. Augustine will be read and there will be a presentation by Dr. Bonnie McEwan, director of Mission San Luis in Tallahassee who will speak about the development of the first mission, Nombre de Dios, and the Spanish missions which followed throughout Florida and the northeast.

The landing reenactment and presentation will be followed, as it was 445 years ago, with a celebration of Mass at rustic outdoor wooden altar by the water’s edge at the Mission Nombre de Dios, located at 27 Ocean Ave. off San Marco Ave. Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Victor Galeone, Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Augustine, at approximately 11:00am.

Afterward, at approximately noon, there will be a procession with the casket of Pedro Menéndez de Aviles from the Shrine of Our Lady of la Leche Chapel, to its new home at the Mission Nombre de Dios Museum. The museum which has been under construction for less than a year, will also be dedicated by Bishop Galeone.

16th Century Cooking Contest
Saturday, September 4
6:00pm to 9:00pm

Decades before the Pilgrims sat down for a harvest feast the good people of St. Augustine had already established the tradition with their neighbors the Timucuan. There will be a cooking contest featuring foods dating from the 16th century. The prepared food will be judged at 4:45 p.m. and there will be plenty of sampling of the Spanish flavors and demonstrations that will teach about the flavors that have influenced the culinary culture of St. Augustine.