St. Augustine is 454 years old this year, and will celebrate the original September 8, 1565, landing by the Spanish with its annual Founder's Day Commemoration on Saturday, September 7, 2019. The anniversary of the founding of the city by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés will take place at the Mission Nombre de Dios and the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, with activities from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

   The Historic Florida Militia's “Men of Menéndez” will present the 2019 Founder's Day commemoration in partnership with the Mission Nombre de Dios, and the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park and the Saint Augustine Maritime Heritage Foundation. 

    Starting at 10:00 am on the grounds of the Mission, the Landing ceremony will be the recreation of Menendez naming the new Spanish settlement in honor of Saint Augustine de Hippo.  Native Americans along with Spanish settlers will greet the landing party with the waving of flags and the firing of cannon.  The ceremony will continue with a recreation of the blessing of the new settlement by Father Lopez, an important member of the Spanish landing party.  These events will be followed by a Catholic Mass celebrated by Bishop Felipe Estéves on the very spot the first mass, in what would eventually become the United States, was celebrated.  After the mass there will be time for visitors to mingle with the reenactors for photo opportunities and to ask questions.  Our reenactor/historians have a wealth of knowledge that they are more than willing to share. 

   At 12:15pm, the day's events will continue with a procession of the reenactors, ceremony participants and mission pilgrims from the Mission Nombre de Dios property along city streets and through the main gate of the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.   The Fountain of Youth will be the sight of a historical encampment, one much like what would have occurred right on that very spot in 1565. 

   At 1:00pm, the re-creation of the real First Thanksgiving, the one that occurred here in Saint Augustine 55 years before the Pilgrims ever stepped foot on Plymouth Rock, will take place.  After the feast, visitors and guests will once again have a chance to mingle among the living history reenactors and witness how life would have been in 1565. 

   At 2:00pm, as an added treat, the City of Saint Augustine will provide cake for everyone present to help celebrate the occasion.  The cake cutting will occur at in the special events pavilion at the Fountain of Youth.