Public events include Spanish folk band Tejedor, street festival, and concerts
In collaboration with St. Augustine Sister Cities Association, St. Johns Cultural Council, Flagler College, the merchants, museums, and restaurants on Avilés Street, and the Diocese of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine is hosting a delegation from Avilés, Spain, from Thursday, September 5, through Monday, September 9, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of their sister city relationship.
On Thursday, September 5, the Cultural Council and St. Augustine Sister Cities Association, Inc., in collaboration with Flagler College, will present a free public concert by Asturian folk band Tejedor at Lewis Auditorium at 7:00pm. The concert is appropriate for audiences of all ages and will feature music and dance. Reservations may be made online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/953374758567?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline will officially welcome the delegation from Avilés, Spain, at a wreath-laying ceremony on Friday, September 6, at 10:00am, in front of City Hall, at the statue of Don Pedro Menendez de Avilés, founder of the Nation’s Oldest City. The public is encouraged to attend and witness this historic event.
“Our relationship with Avilés is deeply rooted in our history and the shared connection to that first visit to Avilés in 1924. We have recognized the significance of St. Augustine to Avilés, and vice versa, over the years by official visits and exchanges of historic and significant gifts,” Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline stated. “This year is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to publicly reconfirm our commitment to not only maintain, but to further expand the relationship. We are including leaders in our community whose organizations represent the diverse, yet specific goals of the original mission statement – and that includes, but of course is not limited to artistic, cultural and academic exchanges, economic development, historic preservation, tourism, and trade.”
The City of St. Augustine City Commission and the Avilés delegation will attend the Founder’s Day Commemoration festivities on Saturday, September 7, at the Mission Nombre de Dios at 10:00am, followed by attending the First Thanksgiving reenactment at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.
In conjunction with the Sing Out Loud Festival, the Colonial Oak Music Park will host a free public concert by Tejedor, on Saturday, September 7, beginning at 8:00pm, located at 21 St. George Street.
The public is invited to attend the unveiling of a 100th Anniversary interpretive marker and rededication of a tile mosaic that was gifted to the City in 2002. This special ceremony will take place on Avilés Street on Sunday, September 8, at 10:00am, prior to the opening of the Avilés Street Festival at 12:00pm.
The Avilés Street Festival is being presented by the St. Johns Cultural Council and the merchants and museums of Avilés Street, the oldest platted street in the United States. The street will be closed to vehicular traffic for the duration of the event taking place from 12:00pm until 9:00pm. This free street festival celebrating Hispanic culture will offer music, dance, food and art; and it will feature a plein air painting event co-hosted by the St. Augustine Art Association.
As part of the cultural exchange of the 100th Anniversary, the Cultural Council is sponsoring local plein air artist Martha Ferguson to travel to Avilés in August to represent the City of St. Augustine. In return, Avilés artist Samuel Fernández Arma, will be in St. Augustine to participate in this live plein air event and the public will have an opportunity to meet both artists.
Also on Sunday afternoon, Tejedor will perform their final free public concert in the Plaza de la Constitución, located at 1 Cathedral Street, at 2 pm. The public is invited to bring blankets and chairs to the Plaza and enjoy the afternoon concert under the canopy of oak trees.
On Monday, September 9, at 5:00pm, during the regular City Commission meeting, the mayor and commissioners will present the Avilés delegation with a Certificate of Recognition for their participation in the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of our sister city relationship.
A Brief History of the Inaugural Visit
Between August 7-10, 1924, an American delegation of twenty members, comprised of institutional, military, and civilian representatives, as well as a journalist, traveled to Avilés to take part in the transfer of the remains of Pedro Menéndez to a mausoleum built by sculptor Manuel Garci-González in the Church of San Antonio de Padua.
Members of the delegation were received by the Civil and Military Governor of Asturias, the Mayor of Avilés José Antonio Rodríguez, and the City Council. Ángel Cuesta Lamadrid was the driving force behind this trip. He was an Asturian, born in Peñamellera Baja, who made his fortune as an entrepreneur in Tampa, Florida’s business district.
This visit was very significant since it was the first time a city from the U.S. sent a delegation abroad. It was also the first time that a U.S. Ambassador, Alexander Pollock Moore, visited Avilés. The presence of this delegation was of great significance for the future of Spain since part of the delegation included representatives from ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph). Their presence led to a deal investing in the development of the National Telephone Company of Spain.
After the war in Cuba, a new climate of understanding was achieved between the two countries. From this moment on, the relations between the City of St. Augustine, Florida, and Avilés, Spain revolved around the significance of Pedro Menéndez, the founder of St. Augustine in 1565.
Mission Statement for the Centennial
The purpose of the reciprocal visits between officials from St. Augustine and Avilés, Spain, as part of the 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2024, is to further enrich and expand the relationship established in 1924. In February 2000, the Mayor of Avilés, Santiago Rodriguez Vega, and St. Augustine Mayor Len Weeks signed the “Sister City Agreement” with the intent of continuing to deepen the good will and mutual trust between the two cities.
Among the commitments agreed upon were exchanges in the fields of Trade and Investment, Academic and Cultural Exchanges, High Technology and Science, Historic Preservation, Environmental Protection, Artistic Exchange, Sports and Tourism Promotion, and Municipal Economic Development.
The events of 2024 include the City of St. Augustine’s community partners for the purpose of introducing those individuals in a leadership position to their counterparts in Spain, and to share the experience of celebrating our municipal relationship. Those community partners include St. Augustine Sister Cities Association, St. Johns Cultural Council, St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, St. Johns County Visitor and Convention Bureau, Flagler College, and the Diocese of St. Augustine.