The community is invited to Luminary Night

Local Historic City News readers, community members, and visitors are invited to enjoy live music, hot beverages and holiday cheer at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum’s annual Luminary Night extravaganza on Wednesday, December 3rd, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

This is one of our favorite events every year, with festivities that will include a bake sale, kids’ holiday crafts and an opportunity to visit with Santa Claus.

“The Junior Service League started this tradition over a decade ago as a way to spread the joy of the holiday season to our local neighbors and thank them for supporting our museum,” said Executive Director Kathy A. Fleming. “Now the event has grown into a city-wide celebration and we couldn’t be happier to share this joyous time of year with our community.”

Admission is free for this spectacular event. The public will enjoy this year’s holiday open house; which will feature performances by the St. Augustine High School Chamber Ensemble and Guitar Club, the Glad Melody Gang Recorder Group and the Anastasia String Quartet, whose Christmas melodies will exuberate from the walls of the lighthouse tower.

The celebration takes place amidst the flickering glow of over 1,500 luminaries spread through the light station grounds. This year, guests will also notice a change in the traditional holiday décor of the museum.

In celebrating the newly launched “At Home with the Harns” exhibit, this year’s decorations are more Victorian in style. Rich, burgundy bows trimmed in gold and wreaths adorned with fruit, magnolia leaves and roses bring an elegant touch reminiscent of early days at the Keepers’ House, which was completed in 1876.

For the little ones in the family, a tent with holiday crafts will be available as well as a special petting zoo exhibit from the St. Augustine Aquarium. Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without a visit to take pictures and share Christmas wishes with Santa.

Guests will also have the rare opportunity to see some of the shipwreck artifacts currently under conservation at the lighthouse for a future exhibit. These items were under water for hundreds of years before being recovered by the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) off the shores of St. Augustine.

For more information on this and other upcoming events at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, visit www.staugustinelighthouse.org