O
n September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez stepped off his boat onto this spot in la Florida (which had been discovered in 1513 by Ponce de León in his search for the Fountain of Youth.) He brought hundreds of colonists with him — Spanish, Africans and others — and merged with the native Timucuan Indians. Of course, a lot of upheaval, territorial wars, pirate sacking, and illness ensued through those early years, but this area would go on to become the oldest permanent American settlement we still call St. Augustine. Several local families can actually trace their lineage directly back to those early settlers. The 450th celebration included concerts, exhibits, reenactments, tours and a host of events. We were there for three jam-packed days and barely scratched the surface of what there was to see and do. The rain gods held off for most of the outdoor events to the relief of event goers. We managed to catch a delightful concert by Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell on Saturday night, and missed seeing Aaron Neville the night before. Unrivaled fireworks finished off the night. Another show, which was mesmerizing, was the Fiesta 450 on Sunday. It was performed by the Ensemble Español at the St. Augustine Ampitheatre, and featured all styles of authentic Spanish dance, culminating in a breathtaking performance of Ravel’s Boléro. We could have parked ourselves in front of the Gazebo in the Plaza de la Constitución for days, where non-stop entertainment took place on the stage — music, dance and historical stories. On Monday the 450th Proclamation was read and a big cake was cut and shared by all the festival goers. Actually there were many large cakes offered in all different flavors to accommodate the huge crowds, and surprisingly, they were really tasty! Elsewhere throughout the town bands played every day in various venues inside and out — too numerous to mention. All the events during the celebration, with the exception of the Ensemble Español performance, were free to the public!
Crowds settle in for gazebo concerts.
www.AccentOnTampaBay.com
69