Published by former Mayor George Gardner May 6 2015
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Reimagining Visitor Center
'After the 450th, what should it be?'
Mayor Nancy Shaver announced last week "an initiative with the (St. Augustine) Attractions Association and the VCB (Visitors and Conventions Bureau) for a task force to reimagine the Visitor Information Center. "After the 450th what should it be? What are their thoughts on that?" she posed to fellow commissioners last week.  Six years ago Bill Adams of the St. Augustine Trust for Historic Preservation had the same thought. He asked Historical Artist Alfred Simson to sketch out ideas to enhance that area.
Simson's assessment: "This historic building, conceived to represent the city's identity, deserves a prominent entrance for the decorum and civic pride that this ancient city represents. Currently, the entrance corridor seems devoid of decoration excepting water fountain, coin machine, commercial display, historic artifacts in frames which are not easily interpreted and mundane furniture which dominates the entrance hallway." Simson's vision: a building entrance embracing "the majesty of period Spain in the ambiance of soft chandelier lighting, jasper columns, wrought iron partitions, lanterns, marble flooring and benches, baroque mirrors, balustrade, tapestries, coats of arms and grand scale oil canvas panels of relevant historic events in the city's history to be placed on the side walls of the second hallway area, perhaps enhanced by recordings of soft Spanish classic guitar." Simson's complete assessment with larger sketches is here. |
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Romanza
Festivale
A celebration of art and music in the Nation's oldest city, featuring more than 60 events and exhibits by dozens of organizations to kick off St. Augustine's anniversary year.
Daily events include music and dance performances, concerts, art shows, fashion show, dramatic productions and much more at locations throughout the city.
Highlighting Romanza Festivale will be José Feliciano, recognized as the first Latin artist to cross over into the English language music market.
Many events are free and admission is required for others.
Visit the website.
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Advisory committee
for center redesign
A ten-member committee to generate ideas for a visitor center redesign will hold its organizational meeting May 14 at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park.
Volunteer members of the committee include:
- Dave Chatterton Old Town Trolley Tours
- Pat Dobosz The Kenwood Inn
- John Fraser Fountain of Youth
- Kim Kiff Ripley's sightseeing trains
- Cindy Stavely Pirate & Treasure Museum
- Lorna MacDonald Raintree Restaurant
- Joan Whittemore Marineland Dolphin Adventure
- Kathy Fleming Visitors and Convention Bureau
- Cyndi Humphrey Cedar House Inn
- Mollie Malloy St. Augustine Attractions Assn.
"At that meeting you will select a chair and vice-chair, set future meetings, and agree on a framework of what information you will need to make your recommendations," Visitors & Convention Bureau's Richard Goldman wrote to the volunteer group.
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Florida Historical Society
to gather here May 22-24
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Sessions on civil rights, the colonial era, and the 19th century in Florida will be featured in the 2015 Florida Historical Society Conference at the Renaissance Hotel, World Golf Village, May 22-24.
Program Chair James Cusick, curator of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History at the University of Florida, lists:
- Featured talks with University of Florida History Professor Dr. David Colburn and St. Augustine Civil Rights Leader Dr. Robert B. Hayling
- A plenary session with St. Augustine City Archaeologist Carl Halbirt
- Saturday morning session showcasing projects from this year's National History Day competition in St. Johns, Duval, Clay, and other counties.
Visit the website.
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Children's Book Week
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It's Children's Book Week at libraries throughout the county - from Share Your Favorites Storytimes with the bookmobile to a Share Your Favorites Contest at the main library.
Check with your local library for details.
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Camps at Castillo, Matanzas
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Archaeology, Native Americans, Nature, Spanish Exploration, Navigation, Colonial Florida, Masonry, Spanish Military and Artillery - summer camp offerings by Fort Matanzas and Castillo de San Marcos National Monuments.
The four camps include Hands-on-History and Nature Camp at Fort Matanzas June 8-12 and Hands-on-History Camps at the Castillo June 22-26, July 6-10, and July 20-24.
All four camps run Monday-Friday 9 am - 1 pm. Park rangers, St. Johns County teacher-ranger-teachers and knowledgeable volunteers will engage campers entering 5thand 6th grade - ages 9-11.
Cost $25. Registration begins on Friday, May 1. Contact Mary Sims 904-829-6506 Ext. 227 or visit the websites for Fort Matanzas and the Castillo.
... And Limelight Theatre
From Hogwarts School to Broadway, Limelight Theatre's Kidz Factory offers a variety of summer programs to occupy 1st through 12th graders.
Treasure Trunk, Hans Christian Anderson and space exploration await grades 1 and 2, Harry Potter, Broadway and superheroes grades 3-5, and musicals and workshops grades 6-12.
To register, 904-825-1164, ext. 16 or email courtney.grile@limelight-theatre.org
Visit the website.
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Jubilee! 450 Years of Song
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The St. Augustine Community Chorus will introduce its new Director, Michael Sanflippo, during the upcoming concert Jubilee! 450 Years of Song at 3 pm Sunday, May 17, at the Memorial
 Presbyterian Church on the final day of the Romanza Festivale. The chorus will take a musical journey featuring over six centuries, from 16th century Spain's O Vos Omnes through Felix Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer, Norman Dello Joio's dynamic setting of texts penned by Walt Whitman, A Jubilant Song, to the 21st century with a performance of John Rutter's Mass of the Children. Michael Sanflippo was selected last summer as the new full-time director for the St. Augustine Community Chorus. For the past ten years, the chorus was under the co-directorship of Dr. Theodore K. Mathews, who has moved to California, and Kathleen Vande Berg, who recently retired. Tickets adults $20 in advance $25 at the door, Students $5. Visit the website.
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Youth in orchestra's 'Hidden Treasures'
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 Soloists from the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra Philharmonic will share the stage with the St. Augustine Orchestra at its May 15 concert.
Sarah Byre, a junior at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, is a Philharmonic member and co-concertmaster with Douglas Anderson Chamber Orchestra. She is three-time All-State Orchestra member and plans to pursue a career in music performance.
William Harrington, a sophomore at Ponte Vedra High School, is concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra. He's a 2015 finalist in the Young Artist Competition. In addition to his musical talents, William is an Eagle Scout and plans to pursue a career music and engineering.
The spring Hidden Treasures concert will be in the pool area of The Lightner Museum at 8 pm. Tickets $20 adults, $5 Students with ID, and free to Children 12 and under.
Visit the website.
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St. Augustine a city of song(s)
126 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
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"Everyone sing: 'Mission of St. Augustine' now city's own" the headline announced in the August 10 edition of the Florida Times-Union.
 Then St. Augustine City Commissioner John Giannotta proposed it, and the commission adopted it, even though, the newspaper suggested, "You can't dance to it. You can't really sing along with it."
"In the Mission of St. Augustine, we said farewell; and we made a vow to meet again as teardrops fell . . ."
That song, kept alive today at occasions through the voice of Michelle Reyna, has contenders both distant and recent. Our St. Augustine Historical Society's music collection includes sheet music and recordings of at least sixteen St. Augustine songs, Senior Research Librarian Charles Tingley says. They date back to at least 1844's St. Augustine Waltz.
Two more recent efforts have been crafted as we near the 450th anniversary of our city.
Eli Grimes, a musical master storyteller living in the St. Johns River area, sings, Pretty Little Old St. Augustine ("On the East Coast of Florida, there's a quaint little town. Almost 500 years of history can be found."), while New York songsmith Benny Kay, son of St. Augustine resident Alan Kay, offers The Ballad of St. Augustine ("Welcome the restless - we welcome you all; Sign on the roster - and now hear the call.").
But St. Augustine in music has long attracted writers, with everything from marches to serenades. One entry, Attack on St. Augustine; Sir Francis Drake, would not be a hit at a fiesta.
Mission of St. Augustine is credited to Jack Chiarelli. Other tunes and songsmiths: Old St. Augustine (Clara Gazzam and Oreste Vessella); St. Augustine Serenade (Emanuel Sodano); Ponce de Leon March and Where December's Turned by R.L. Parks, and Take Me Back to Old St. Augustine, by Felkel/Cola-Santo.
City Hall's 450th celebration will be a music weekend September 4-6.
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com or gardnerstaug@yahoo.com
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