We rung in the Christmas season with RECORD crowds last night at our annual holiday open house, Luminary Night. Over a thousand luminaries covered the grounds and surrounding neighborhood as we welcomed our community in for a night of holiday cheer.
See some of the highlights from the evening below and be sure to mark your calendars for next year, Wednesday Dec. 6th, our 2017 Luminary Night!
A HISTORIC HOLIDAY TURNOUT
Thousands gathered for live music, crafts, and visits with Santa at 2016 Luminary Night, as seen in this view from the tower looking down at the 1876 Keepers’ House and courtyard.
Our 1876 Keepers’ House was glowing with white lights that will stay up through St. Augustine’s Annual Nights of Lights Celebration.
Performances at Luminary Night included the St. Augustine High School Choir, seen here under the direction of Mr. Jeff Dodd.
The Anastasia String Quartet entertained guests while they climbed to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of Nights of Lights!
WE HAVE A WINNER!
One of our favorite Luminary Night traditions is the annual drawing for a boat built by the talented volunteer craftsmen at our Heritage Boatworks. This year, we sold a record number (2,500) of tickets, raising over $10,000 in the process which will go back into the Heritage Boatworks program.
The lucky winners of our 12′ Acorn Skiff were Beverly and Bill Mitchell (pictured at right), who retired to St. Augustine from Silver Spring, Maryland, a year ago. Congratulations to the Mitchells!
Tickets are already on sale for the 2017 drawing! Stop by the gift shop to get yours today!
SUPPORT FOR ST. FRANCIS HOUSE
Thanks to wonderful support from our attendees, we were able to gather several boxes full of non-perishable items to help St. Francis House Homeless Shelter restock their food pantry, which was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.
Director of Museum Services Rick Cain (pictured below, behind our massive stack of donations) delivered the much-needed items to St. Francis House.
Thank you to everyone who contributed!
