The Grand Marshal of the 2020 St. Augustine St. Patrick Parade, March 14, will
be Sr. Bernard Joseph,
curator of
the Sisters of St. Joseph O’Reilly House Museum. The Sisters of St. Joseph will also be
represented in the Parade by Sister Kathleen Carr, General Superior of the
Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation, Sister Catherine Bitzer, archivist, and
Sister Carol Stovall, a member of the Congregation’s leadership team.
Father Miguel O’ Reilly House Museum: The O’Reilly House is the
oldest house on the oldest street in the oldest part of the oldest city in the
United States. Irish Priest Miguel (Michael)
O'Reilly supervised the
construction of St. Augustine’s beautiful Cathedral from 1793 to its completion
and consecration in 1797. He and fellow
Irishmen were the Spanish colony’s principal vicars in the Second Spanish
Period. O’Reilly was born in Ireland
where the English were suppressing the Catholic faith. He was trained for the priesthood in Spain and
sent to St. Augustine in 1777 to minister to the Menorcans. He became the chaplain of the Hibernian
Regiment and “vicario” of the entire Colony. Here he was the teacher of Felix Varela, the
Cuban writer and hero who is now up for Sainthood.
The house was built around 1691 and was given to the Sisters of St. Joseph in
1866. Father Miguel O’Reilly wanted his house used for education. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Le Puy, France
arrived in St. Augustine at the request of Bishop Verot to bring education to
newly emancipated slaves. November 1866
witnessed the opening of the O’Reilly House as the first school for African
American boys in St. Augustine.
The O’Reilly House has been under the care and ownership of the Sisters of St.
Joseph since 1866. The unique history of
the house and its usage is such an important part of the history of St.
Augustine that the Sisters opened it for a museum in 2002. The house is operated and maintained by the
Sisters. They have a wonderful group of
volunteers that assist the Sisters in sharing the faith and the good works of
the Congregation.
The St. Patrick Parade begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday March 14 in
downtown St. Augustine, the site of the world’s original St. Patrick parade,
begun in 1601! The Parade follows a 3-mile route throughout downtown from
Francis Field to Orange Street to Castillo Drive, Avenida Menendez to
Cathedral, Cordova Street to Orange Street, and returns as the Celtic Music
& Heritage Festival is beginning on Francis Field. This is one of the three largest Parades in
St. Augustine, with over 1,000 participants including numerous bands, floats,
marching units, dancers, horses, cars, carriages, tour trains and more that
fill the route from end to end.
The Parade Reviewing Stand is hosted by Ann O’Malley’s Irish Pub at 23
Orange Street. This year’s Parade Judges
will be Jessica
Clark, First Coast News; Sheldon Gardner, St. Augustine Record reporter; Amy
Hendrickson, local musician; Shelton Hull, Folio Weekly columnist; and Jeff
Valin, First Coast News. The Parade
announcer will again be Mike Sullivan, a winter resident of St.
Augustine, who is a retired police officer from Michigan, and a pub singer in
Port Huron in his spare time. The Parade
will also feature Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes and Drums,
Jacksonville Pipes & Drums, and Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Dept. Pipes
and Drums.
For more information about the Parade or to register to be in the Parade,
please visit HERE.
St. Augustine’s St. Patrick Parade is produced by non-profit Romanza
– St. Augustine, Inc. and is funded in part by the St. Johns County Tourist
Development Council, and by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division
of Cultural, Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
In its tenth year promoting
and producing performing arts and cultural events in St. Augustine, the Romanza
Organization will now support smaller, yet noteworthy, independent cultural
projects. Known for its highly acclaimed
Romanza Festivale, the organization wants to further induce the development of
new and excellent cultural offerings.
Each year, Romanza will grant 3 to 5 awards to performers, artists, bands,
troupes, and cultural organizations. Awards
will range from $500 to $2,000 each, in support of selected arts and culture
activities that show excellence.
“All of us at Romanza are extremely grateful to members of the St. Augustine
community for the support we have received throughout the years. This is our
way of giving back” stated Albert Syeles, Director of the Romanza.
Applications for 2020 must be submitted before November 1, 2019. The events receiving funding must take place
the following year EXCEPT during festival season - the months of March, April,
and May. All activities must take place
in St. Augustine.
This is the Last Week for all artists,
groups and organizations with projects in the music, dance, visual arts, and
film/video/media disciplines to apply. For
more information about this award, visit HERE.
There's plenty of exciting entertainment to keep
the whole family enthralled at the opening weekend (May 3-5) of the 2019
Romanza Festivale, in St. Augustine, Florida.
Friday, May 3 features concert pianist and Chopin expert Juana Zayas
- it's FREE thanks to generous underwriting by Winter Properties, Robert
Silverman and EMMA. It takes place at 7
p.m. at the Basilica Cathedral, Cathedral Place, downtown St. Augustine.
May 3-5, there's a weekend-long Gamble Rogers Music Festival at
the Colonial Quarter, 33 Saint George St.
Saturday, May 4 presents an all-day Latin American music, dance and food
festival with Unidos en la Música Latin American Festival at Francis
Field, 29 West Castillo Drive downtown from 10 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
For Sunday, May 5 there's a Cinco de Mayo Latin music celebration
with Caribeno Tropical and Mariachi Garibaldi from 5 – 9 p.m. in the Plaza de la Constitución. It's FREE, just bring your chairs and dancing
shoes.
There are many more special events all weekend long, like the St. Augustine
Arts Association Awards Ceremony, Art Walk, Aviles Street Fair, The Gainesville
Brass Concert by the North Florida Women's Chorale, and more.
Celebrate the Arts at Romanza Festivale: The Romanza celebration of
music and the arts takes place from May 3-12 with daily events throughout St.
Augustine, including 75+ concerts, shows, exhibits and more at venues
throughout the area. Many events are
free.
St. Augustine's Romanza Festivale of Music & the Arts is produced by
Romanza-St. Augustine and funded in part by St. Johns County Tourist
Development Council, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of
Cultural, Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and by Visit Florida.
For a calendar of events and further information, go to: RomanzaFestivale.com.
