ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The oldest city in America is getting older. 450 years ago, 1565, Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine. Now, it's time to celebrate.
"We're going to have a big birthday party over five days. City wide. World stage. Lots of performances, cultural expressions, you name it," said Dana Ste. Claire, director of the 450th Commemoration.
Since the first Catholic parish mass was held here, there's been talk of Pope Francis attending. It would be a huge undertaking, but right now, it doesn't look like it's going happen. The Diocese of St. Augustine reached out, but in the recent announcement of Pope's 2015 trips, Florida wasn't included. Still, he was courteous enough to weigh in.
"He did respond to the Catholic Diocese and said this is a pretty important event," Ste. Claire continued.
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Nevertheless, some big wigs are still in the mix. The king and queen of Spain are expected to come, as well as plenty of state and national leaders.
For tourists like Jackie Cafissi, who's from Toronto, that's huge.
"I think it's exciting. There's no place on this continent where anything is that old," she said.
Ste. Claire said the biggest guest of all are the locals. They're the ones who keep the Ancient City vibrant and will help sustain it for years to come.
"This is a celebration by the community for the community of St. Augustine, where we get to know our history. We get to share our wonderful story with the rest of the nation and the rest of the world."
The actual date of the 450th birthday is September 8. Tens of thousands of people are expected over Labor Day weekend.
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