The City of St. Augustine is proud to announce the honorees for the 2025 Nights of Lights Light-Up! Night ceremony. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 15, with the lighting ceremony scheduled to begin at 6:30pm in the Plaza de la Constitución. The lighting tradition, which began in 2003, features a single ceremonial light switch that illuminates both the holiday tree and the canopy of oak trees lining the Plaza.
“This is an early recognition of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Minorcans settling in St. Augustine,” Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline announced. “They helped establish a strong and enduring community and are an integral part of our history and culture. It is my privilege as mayor to select the Light-Up! Night honorees every year, and this year is no exception.”
Rusty Hall, President of the Menorcan Cultural Society, and Lea Craig, one of the founders of The Minorcan Experience, will light the Plaza and the holiday tree from the gazebo.
The Menorcan Cultural Society was founded in the 1980s and continues to preserve and promote their heritage through events and education. More recently established is The Minorcan Experience, a group of descendants and relatives in St. Augustine who commemorate the Minorcan history and heritage with free events in March, celebrating Minorcan Heritage Month.
Rusty Hall is a proud heritage native of St. Augustine and a graduate of both St. Joseph Academy and Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service. He is an active member of the Cathedral Basilica Parish and is a dedicated civic leader serving as President-elect of the St. Augustine Sunrise Rotary Club, Awards chairman for Rotary International District 6970, and President of the St. Joseph Academy Alumni Association.
Born in St. Augustine and of Minorcan heritage, Lea Craig is one of the founders of The Minorcan Experience. She has a great appreciation and love of St. Augustine’s history and in particular, she is proud of her work in telling the Minorcan story.
The Menorcan story began in 1768 when more than 1,400 Mediterranean settlers including Menorcan, Greek, Italian, Corsican, and French peoples arrived in British East Florida, settling in modern-day New Smyrna. After years of hardship, fewer than 700 survivors made their way to St. Augustine in 1777 where they were granted land in the northwest section of the city. Since then, Menorcan descendants have been an integral part of St. Augustine and St. Johns County.
Note: The English spelling "Minorcan" is used when discussing people from the island of Minorca and their descendants. The Menorcan Cultural Society prefers the Spanish spelling.
For more information about the day’s events, visit www.CityStAug.com/LightUpNight.
For media inquiries, contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904.293.3307 or via email at mwissel@citystaug.com.
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Photo: 2025 Light-Up! Night honorees, Rusty Hall and Lea Craig