St Augustine Area Regional Council, Inc.

Artists will be invited to chalk and be judged for their talents on the promenade between the Visitor’s Information Center (VIC) and the City Parking Garage on Saturday, March the 23^rd from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm and cash prizes will be awarded at 5:30. The art work will be viewable until 4pm on Sunday when all street art will be washed away. The event is completely free to the public and all are invited to come out and view the artist’s finished work.

The theme of Chalk Walk will be “Celebrate the Heritage of St Augustine”. Chalk art can be any expression of St Augustine’s historic significance and unique appeal. Examples of chalk art for the event include the city’s historic buildings, natural waterways, St Augustine beaches, culture, arts, and anything having to do with the city’s past and present.

Artists only need to bring talent and enthusiasm to make this inaugural chalk walk successful. Pastels and one box of chalk will be provided and all works produced are temporary. There are no artist fees to enter.

Chalk Art is a 500 year art form started in Italy in the 16th Century. The first recorded street-painting competition and ‘festival’ was held in London in 1906. Chalk art associations exist worldwide and festivals continue to take place as annual city events.

With such a long-standing history and said to be one of the most picturesque cities in the world, St Augustine is certainly due  for something as creative as this!

Chalk Walk has been accepted as an Inaugural Event for the city’ 450th Commemoration.

Please visit http://www.staugustinechalkwalk.com/ and/or contact Lorrie Goss lkgoss@att.net
904-625-7922 for artist signup and further information.

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St Augustine’s Historic Inns’ signature tradition is its Annual Holiday Tour – a chance to view all 24 of the city’s historic inns in one single weekend of fun. This year’s tour brings the old Christmas carol to life! Using the 12 Days of Christmas Theme, each inn will finish the verse both days of the tour. Inns will create different decorations and scenes based on the catchy tune’s verses. From a Partridge in a Pear Tree to Twelve Drummers Drumming, tour-goers will be immersed in the verses of the carol.

Prepare your self for a weekend of holiday fun in the oldest city! So many signature events take place during this festive time and the bed and breakfast holiday tour has made its mark year after year – in fact its recognized as one of the top 20 events for December by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Always the second weekend of the month, the 2012 St Augustine Bed and Breakfast Holiday Tour will be held on December the 8^th and the 9^th from 1:00 to 5:00 pm both days.

Aside from the festive decorations and the ability to tour each amazing inn, visitors always experience a taste of St Augustine along the way as each inn is partnered with a local restaurant or other culinary partner offering a taste from their menu and many assorted refreshments.

The self-guided tour is easily done on foot, but as usual Old Town Trolley will provide a designated shuttle for tour goers.

St Augustine’s 24 prestigious bed and breakfast inns pride themselves in the hospitality St Augustine is known for. This year, the tour introduces for the first time a property that is no longer an operating inn but has a long history in Southern hospitality.

The Ximenez Fatio House Museum known as St Augustine’s oldest inn – now an attraction will be featured on Saturday December 8th. The historic complex at 20 Aviles St.is one amazing fixture in the oldest city! Built in 1798, the property supported by the The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America of the State of Florida was once a female-operated boarding house from 1821-1860. The house will not feature one of the verses but will be decorated as it would have been for Christmas when it was accepting guests back in the 19^th century. Free admission will be granted for tour ticket holders only.

All the fun is just around the corner! Don’t hesitate to get your tickets now for this amazing event! Purchase them now at www.StAugustineBandBTour.com .

Tickets are also available for purchase at many downtown retail sites in St Augustine.

Metalartz, 58 Hypolita Street

The Spice and Tea Exchange, 59 Hypolita St.

The Market on Granada, 6 Granada St.

Rembrantz, 131 King St.

Partial proceeds of the St Augustine Bed and Breakfast Holiday Tour are donated to a local charity. This year’s tour contributes to a start-up First Coast Technical College Culinary Arts education program for the homeless.

Related articles

• Almost Time for the Annual Holiday Tour of St Augustine’s Historic Inns

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Fashion Designer Dragana Bubic of Buki Couture won first place modeling her amazing gown, which was inspired by the beauty of the nation’s oldest city and the chocolate meltdowns she had at Whetstone’s Chocolate store/factory here in the historical town of St Augustine.

Bubic described her chocolate creation as a reflection the ocean filled with sea shells and the lost treasures brought by the Spanish and French from overseas. She was able to make the dress possible with the help of Whetstone’s Chocolates who donated over 2,000 chocolate wrappers and 1,000 pieces of foil from their popular chocolate shells in colors of green, gold and blue. Bubic was able to weave and stitch these to the top and the bottom of the gown, which was decorated with pink ribbons and shimmery fabric resembling the mother of pearl reflection from the inside of a shell. After this time consuming portion of the creation, 650 brown paper chocolate cups from chocolate truffles were added to cover the bodice. Decorated with 320 pearls and 960 sequins to add the glow, gold milk chocolate coins and foiled covered chocolate shells provided the finishing touch.

Whetstone’s Chocolates of St Augustine is truly honored to have assisted in the creation of this chocolate masterpiece and is proud to showcase the winning dress in their King Street store from November 2^nd to the 12^th

  Calling the dress a masterpiece, Virginia Whetstone President of Whetstone Chocolates is proud to announce that the dress will make its first appearance during First Friday Art Walk in St Augustine and will be free of charge for all to stop in and view.

More on the Festival of Chocolate 

Known as the Ultimate All-Chocolate Shopping, Interactive and Educational Event and the largest in the Southeast, the Festival of Chocolate features a large vendor showcase with sales of chocolates and treats from the region’s best chocolatiers and confection companies, various demonstrations, educational presentations, and live competitions for all ages. For information, ticket purchase and schedule of events, log on to www.festivalofchocolate.com

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Gone are the days of the many street performers and painters that you could see all over when you strolled St George Street back in the 1980s and before. What once was a fixture here in the oldest city has now become nearly obsolete with city ordinances and rules applied to when and where artists are able to perform and display their work for profit.

Local businesswoman Joyce Hayes and partner Hester Longstreet realize the lack of opportunity for up and comers in the oldest city and came up with a plan to help talented individuals display their art to the community and produce a profit at the same time.

With a vision of opportunity for the community in place, these two set out to open a business that they believe the city really needs and the result is a consignment shop for local artists of all types. The next step for them was finding the perfect location and obviously one that is easily accessible to Flagler students and locals and a spot that is often visited by passerbys and visitors of the oldest city.

As soon as the Lion and the Mermaid Bookstore closed its doors at 28 Cuna Street, Hayes and Longstreet obtained the space and immediately “The Starving Artist” became a work in progress! For those of you unfamiliar with the location, this is the half of Cuna Street that is accessed from the Bayfront, just a quick right turn off of Charlotte Street in a car or a quick turn off of St George on foot. The old house where the shop is taking shape has been known for many local businesses over the years. Always an apartment residence upstairs, the downstairs holds the key to the perfect location for something like this. This two-story Colonial-style house is located just across the street from the Tasting Room Restaurant and The Agustin Inn Bed and Breakfast and just around the corner from the most walked street in the historic district.

In addition to the already fantastic inside art consignment gallery, each weekend “The Starving Artist” will showcase a designated artist of the week who will be given the opportunity to work and display their art on the front lawn near the Cuna   Street sidewalk.  In the meantime the owners recognize that music is another form of art, and will allow a local musician to play there and liven up the old cobblestone street as well.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at The Starving Artist on Thursday, November the 15^th for the owners, their family and friends, participating artists, and the Chamber of Commerce. On Friday, November the 16^th, the Starving Artist will open its doors to the public just in time for the city’s Annual Nights of Lights Celebration!

In the meantime, if you are a local artist of any type and looking for a space to display your work, there are a few slots remaining, but you must act fast! For more information, contact Joyce Hayes/Hester Longstreet at thestarvingartist2012@gmail.com. Please include your phone number and type of art work in your request.

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If you haven’t had the chance, take a moment to research the many reasons why you would want to visit this amazing city. There are so many making it so hard to choose from just one or two things to do when you get here. The town simply has something to offer everyone. Whether you are looking for a good time at the beach, a walk along the historic streets to indulge in history, or even just the feel of the city’s old charm while staying in a historic St Augustine Hotel or Bed and Breakfast, you can find what you are looking for right here!

Many people who choose St Augustine as a travel destination become attached to its beauty and find themselves returning time and time again.

Here’s a thought – Why not choose this amazing place for your retirement? One thing that may convince you is another accolade St Augustine received.

CNN Money Magazine recently compiled a listing of 25 Top Retirement Destinations in the U.S. and low and behold St Augustine came in at number 10. The article mentioned the famous landing of Ponce de Leon 500 years ago on this very land and joked about retaining everlasting youth from taking a drink from his famous Fountain of Youth. Locals will tell you that its no joke– the old city does make the claim and has even launched a campaign to prove its truth.

CNN Money chose St Augustine as the perfect retirement spot for its nearly year-round awesome weather, beautiful beaches, world class golf resort, vast housing opportunities, and even its first-class hospital.

Other cities that made the list include: Albuquerque, Louisville, Portland, and Tucson.

Read full article here – http://money.cnn.com/gallery/retirement/2012/10/16/best-places-retire.moneymag/4.html

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The event lineup on Saturday and Sunday is huge and Aviles Street merchants and local St Augustinians cannot stop talking about the upcoming weekend!

Photo Credit: Taylor – art showcased in the Aviles Street Gallery

History of Festival de Aviles

 Just on the other side of the Plaza de la Constitucion; otherwise known as St Augustine’s center of life, sits one of the most charming streets in the entire city – in fact it is the oldest here and in the entire USA! Completely lined with sidewalk bistros and cafes, art galleries, unique shops, and buildings listed on the National Registry of Historic Landmarks, Aviles Street is one of charm and real St Augustine character. As you enter through the archway, the Spanish Military Hospital is on your left, Potter’s Wax Museum on your right, and many charming places to peek into along the cobblestone street just past these two popular attractions. Cars even seem entirely out of place here, the setting more ideal for a horse and buggy with a guide telling a St Augustine tale, or maybe an occasional pedicab explaining the history of the surrounding buildings and houses.

For years, the oldest street was often missed by visitors as they became immersed in pedestrian-only St George Street for all its shops and well-known eateries – walking to the other side takes visitors by surprise having never noticed Aviles before.

 Lately Aviles Street is receiving a lot more of the attention it so deserves…

Photo Credit – Georgia Nicks Photography

 The Aviles Festival was started three years ago by the merchants and residents of the street bearing the name of St Augustine’s founder – Pedro Menendez de Aviles, to bring back the days of old when street parties and events took place right there on the oldest street in the USA. The idea of the festival is to celebrate the city’s Spanish culture and all but re-live the days when partiers gathered on Aviles often in their costumes and even fully decked out in their paper mache heads as seen in other city’s Spanish festivals.

Some are calling this year’s event an all-out weekend street party! Traffic will be closed from King Street to Cadiz Street Saturday, October the 13^th and again Sunday, October the 14^th for a day filled with live music, Flamenco street dancing, and one of Aviles Street’s most anticipated events – The Running of the Bulls! Despite requests from one of the street’s local merchants for a live bull or a few.. the city decided against it, but don’t let that spoil the fun as this year’s bull will actually be riding a Segway!

Free contest sign up will be offered prior to the 2 p.m. Saturday event for anyone who dares to chase the bull, with donated prizes from local restaurants and shops for the winners. There is no admission cost to attend the festival and commemorative t-shirts will be available from Aviles Street merchants throughout the weekend – The first 100 entirely free and the remainder just $5.00.

 Festival Event Schedule

Saturday, October the 13^th 

10:30am – Zumba Fitness by Juliana Borgia

1:00 to 3:00 pm – The Jazzland Allstars North State

2:00 pm – Running of the Bulls

3:00 – 5:00 pm – Flamenco Dancing by Maria Benton and Company

3:30 – 6:30 pm – Luis Mario Parel and His Latin Jazz South Stage

6:30 – 10:00 pm – Mestre Lazaro Santos Brazilian Tropicana Show

Sunday, October 14^th

Sangria Sunday

3:00 – 6:00 pm – James and Sylvia Kalal

Watch video of last year’s festival here

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The event kicks off each year with the Annual Celtic Parade, which wraps around St Augustine’s historic district beginning at 10:00 am on March 9th. The parade of course is free to the public. Festivities will continue all weekend in Francis Field right next to the St Augustine City Parking Garage.

Activities and shows include the Highland games athletes demonstration of their mind-boggling strength! Various vendors are scheduled to offer up authentic Celtic cuisine and hand-made crafts throughout each day of the event.

One of everyone’s favorite parts and certainly a highlight of the event is the music of course! Everyone is excited to hear Scottish and Irish bands scheduled to play both traditional tunes and modernized renditions of ancient Celtic music as they appear live on stage throughout the two-day festival – The Celtic Festival’s website argues, “This is the best collaboration of Celtic artists assembled in the United States”! We strongly encourage you not to miss out on all the fun! Check out the full lineup of artists and event scheduling at http://romanzastaugustine.org/celtic/celticperformers.html.

Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance through the Celtic Festival’s website – also the site of Romanza – a word meaning “a love affair with St Augustine” -a community organization and schedule of cultural events happening throughout the years leading up to the 450th commemoration of St Augustine in 2015, including the Celtic Festival.

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Featuring one of the “Top Ten Light Displays in the World” according to National Geographic, this is one time of  year you won’t want to miss a visit to the oldest city in the USA! St Augustine is not only beautiful, but its packed full of events from November through the end of the year. One of the most popular is the signature event held by St Augustine’s Historic Inns (SAHI) – an association of 24 historic inns in St Augustine, Florida. This is the Annual Holiday Tour! This tour has become extremely popular for visitors and locals for some time and is now on its 19th year! This is your time to visit all St Augustine’s Bed and Breakfast Inns on one weekend as half are on tour Saturday and the other half on Sunday – always the second weekend in December from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

What could be more magical than touring these wonderfully decorated inns? Imagine walking through and being able to taste something special from many of St Augustine’s exclusive restauranteurs! That’s right – the tour features a different restaurant partnered with every single inn you walk through this December weekend!

Named “One of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society for many years, the Holiday Tour often supports worthy causes in the St Augustine community each year.

Not only is each inn decorated in striking holiday fashion but all support one Christmas theme. This year’s theme “The 12 Days of Christmas”!

This year also includes a special entry to the Ximenez Fatio House as St Augustine’s Historic Inns recognize that this is indeed one of the city’s oldest inns operating in the early 19th century. Built in 1798, and recognized as a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2012, the Ximenez Fatio House is supported by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida and is now one of St Augustine’s popular attractions. The museum does guided tours daily Tuesday thru Saturday from 11 am through 4 pm to show visitors how their traveling predecessors fared without the luxuries associated with modern vacation accommodations of today.

On Saturday, December the 8th during the BnB tour, the attraction entrance will be excused for BnB tour ticket holders. The house is located at 20 Aviles Street South of the Plaza.

Don’t miss this exciting event. Buy your tickets early – they go on sale September 14th on the St Augustine Bed and Breakfast Tour’s Website. Check this site for more information and to purchase tickets in advance! You won’t want to wait as the event sells out faster and faster each year! Limited tickets will be available at some of the inns the day of.

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Another highlight of the weekend festivities was the reenactment of America’s First Thanksgiving held at the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park, which has been established by archaeologists as the site of the earliest Menendez encampment after he landed on September 8, 1565. According to history books and social studies teachers in elementary many of us learned that the First Thanksgiving was in Plymouth Rock. Local St Augustinians and historians are beginning to disagree. Because St Augustine was founded in 1565, it is 42 years older than Jamestown, VA and 55 years older than Plymouth Rock and the landing of the Pilgrims. We have to realize that this is where it all began. The spokesman for the FOY historic landmark - John Stavely states that ““Archaeology has shown this to be the original colony site at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park”. “Because this is also the original site of Seloy Native American Village it is certainly possible that Pedro Menendez de Aviles our founder and his men held a First Thanksgiving right here at this very site of the reenactment this weekend”.

Photo Credit: Rhonda Parker

The rains that weekend did not put a dampening on the spirits of reenactors portraying the early settlers and Pedro’s men as they understood that in 16th century times, things weren’t always easy for the people preparing meals by open fires, but they made do. Things like this can add to the excitement and create an even more real experience.

So forget the Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock for now, when you reflect on the First Thanksgiving this year, imagine a Florida feast where the natives brought oysters and giant clams and the Spaniards brought garbanzo beans, olive oil, bread, pork and wine. Of course its not expected that you change your traditional Thanksgiving meal, but Florida Historians are hoping one day more will recognize this important fact. A focus of the city’s 450th commemoration in the year 2015 is to help people learn more about the history of Florida and the establishment of St. Augustine as the oldest city in our nation where many of these firsts occured.

Related articles

• Fountain of Youth Hosts St Augustine Founders Day Celebration
• St Augustine Founder’s Day Celebration to Feature Menendez Casket Artifact
• Happy 447th Birthday St Augustine!

The post Not Plymouth Rock but St Augustine is the Site of First Thanksgiving appeared first on 450 Years.

The event is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank with direct proceeds going to three local charities – Children’s Museum of St. Johns, Alzheimer’s Project of St. Johns County Council on Aging, and a new program aimed at educating homeless students in the culinary arts at the First Coast Technical College.

Kick-off for the event is on Wednesday October the 3^rd and will take place at 6pm at the Tasting Room located at 25 Cuna Street in downtown St Augustine. This popular local tapas restaurant is known for its “Taste of Spain”.

On October the 4^th, the tasting extravaganza moves to Rhett’s Piano Bar at 66 Hypolita Street same time to continue with an exclusive wine tasting and culinary spectacular!

Events through the weekend include a reception and a four-course dinner at the River House 180 Marine Street on Friday the 5th followed by a full day of wine tasting and tapas at the Downtown Visitor Information Center on Saturday the 6th , half of which will be by invitation only to the hospitality industry of the region.

The very same evening will be dedicated to more wine tasting, light hors d’ oeuvres and tapas provided for ticketed guests. Parking in the downtown parking garage will be included in admission. Commemorative glasses will also be given.

For more information or to purchase tickets for each one of these amazing events, visit the Spanish Wine and Food Festival’s website at http://www.staugustinespanishwinefestival.com/

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