Oldest City To Celebrate Holidays With A Festival Of Lights And Events

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Oct. 10) St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city will celebrate the holiday season in dazzling style when the 13th edition of its memorable Nights of Lights flashes to life on November 18. One of the South’s most popular holiday extravaganzas, the city not only creates a magical setting with more than two million tiny white lights, the Nights of Lights also features a full schedule of special events including concerts, historical re-enactments, exciting tours and even a Christmas parade.

In a manner befitting one of the nation’s most historic cities, this inspiring display of light is based on the tradition of the town’s original Spanish colonists who placed a white candle in their windows to brighten the nights during the Christmas holidays. The Nights of Lights continues this tradition in grand style with tiny white lights that create a magical atmosphere as they outline the buildings of the historic district and beautiful bay front, reflect in the waters of Matanzas Bay, glisten from stately palms and extend their glow to the nearby lighthouse and beaches.

Within this holiday wonderland, an exciting array of special events and activities await visitors. Nighttime tours of ancient buildings and inns led by storytellers in period clothing, rollicking train and trolley tours through the narrow brick streets, festive shopping, First Friday art walks in December and January featuring more than 20 galleries serving free holiday refreshments, luminaries in the town plaza, holiday concerts – even a Christmas parade – are among the special events to be added to the memory books of visitors and residents alike.

This is also a special time to celebrate the brief 20 years when the town was occupied by the British (1763-1784). Held this year on December 2, British Nightwatch is a fun, re-creation of holiday frivolity with a torch lit parade through town by hundreds of authentically-clad re-enactors, house tours, wine, caroling and volleys of musketry.

The Night of Lights opening ceremonies, featuring a high-energy musical performance in the city’s historic Plaza de la Constitucion, get underway at 4:30 p.m. on November 18. The lighting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. when a single flick of a switch will bathe the historic district in the soft glow of two million lights.

For a detailed listing of all Nights of Lights tours and events, go to www.nightsoflightscelebration.com or call 1.800.653.2489. For St. Augustine Hotels Click Here.