A D I R O L F A VIV S T N E V 00 E
5
F
rom discovering the culture and artistic traditions of The Seminole Tribe of Florida at the Museum of Florida History to celebrating Florida’s history with food, music and more at a festival, there are a wide variety of Viva Florida 500 events and family-friendly activities happening across the state. Viva Florida 500 is a yearlong commemoration of 500 years of Florida history and cultural heritage.
Viva Florida 500 events and activities: Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and the Founding of St. Augustine (St. Augustine) Sat, Sept 7 – Four hundred and forty-eight years ago, in September 1565, Admiral Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés stepped ashore on Matanzas Bay and founded St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest, continuously occupied, European city, port, and parish in the continental United States. On Sept 7, the annual, historical reenactment of Menéndez’ landing and anniversary commemorations will be
102
held at Mission Nombre de Dios. The event will feature: The historical re-enactment of Admiral Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés’ landing in 1565 by Florida Living History, Inc. A Mass of Thanksgiving, celebrated by Bishop Felipe J. Estévez, Bishop of St. Augustine. Grand Procession following the Mass of Thanksgiving. Performance of a scene from Lope de Vega’s New World Discovered by Christopher Columbus, by Florida Living History, Inc.’s Theater with a Mission group, will follow the Mass and Procession. Charting the Land of Flowers: 500 Years of Florida Maps (Tampa) Sept 21 - Feb 16, 2014 – Featuring the most comprehensive exhibition of Florida cartography ever presented, Charting the Land of Flowers traces six centuries of Florida history, bringing together 150 maps from museum and library collections around the world, many of which will be on view to the public for the first time. Marking the quincentenary of Ponce de León’s 1513 landing on Florida’s shores, the exhibit offers a rare opportunity to see the world as the early European explorers saw it, and to watch the peninsula that would become one of our county’s most populous and diverse states evolve. Much of the earliest European exploration of North America occurred not in New England, but in Florida. Tampa Bay History Center. www.tampabayhistorycenter.org
www.AccentOnTampaBay.com