Light-Up! Night honorees named for 2025 Nights of Lights
Minorcan heritage to shine in the Nation’s Oldest City
The City of St. Augustine is proud to announce the honorees for the 2025 Nights of Lights Light-Up! Night ceremony. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 15, with the lighting ceremony scheduled to begin at 6:30pm in the Plaza de la Constitución. The lighting tradition, which began in 2003, features a single ceremonial light switch that illuminates both the holiday tree and the canopy of oak trees lining the Plaza.
“This is an early recognition of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Minorcans settling in St. Augustine,” Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline announced. “They helped establish a strong and enduring community and are an integral part of our history and culture. It is my privilege as mayor to select the Light-Up! Night honorees every year, and this year is no exception.”
Rusty Hall, President of the Menorcan Cultural Society, and Lea Craig, one of the founders of The Minorcan Experience, will light the Plaza and the holiday tree from the gazebo.
The Menorcan Cultural Society was founded in the 1980s and continues to preserve and promote their heritage through events and education. More recently established is The Minorcan Experience, a group of descendants and relatives in St. Augustine who commemorate the Minorcan history and heritage with free events in March, celebrating Minorcan Heritage Month.
Rusty Hall is a proud heritage native of St. Augustine and a graduate of both St. Joseph Academy and Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service. He is an active member of the Cathedral Basilica Parish and is a dedicated civic leader serving as President-elect of the St. Augustine Sunrise Rotary Club, Awards chairman for Rotary International District 6970, and President of the St. Joseph Academy Alumni Association.
Born in St. Augustine and of Minorcan heritage, Lea Craig is one of the founders of The Minorcan Experience. She has a great appreciation and love of St. Augustine’s history and in particular, she is proud of her work in telling the Minorcan story.
The Menorcan story began in 1768 when more than 1,400 Mediterranean settlers including Menorcan, Greek, Italian, Corsican, and French peoples arrived in British East Florida, settling in modern-day New Smyrna. After years of hardship, fewer than 700 survivors made their way to St. Augustine in 1777 where they were granted land in the northwest section of the city. Since then, Menorcan descendants have been an integral part of St. Augustine and St. Johns County.
Note: The English spelling “Minorcan” is used when discussing people from the island of Minorca and their descendants. The Menorcan Cultural Society prefers the Spanish spelling.
For more information about the day’s events, visit www.CityStAug.com/LightUpNight.
For media inquiries, contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904.293.3307 or via email at mwissel@citystaug.com.
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Photo: 2025 Light-Up! Night honorees, Rusty Hall and Lea Craig
Who are the Menorcans?
In 1768, over 1400 people left the Mediterranean and set sail for British East Florida. Among this group were Menorcan, Greek, Italian, Corsican, and French peoples. This was the largest single group of European settlers to immigrate as a single group to the New World. The courageous efforts of the group to tame the wilderness and settle a portion of Northeast Florida represents a major contribution to early American history.
The Menorcans spent the first nine years toiling under harsh conditions and endured even harsher treatment. Their numbers were decimated by disease and starvation. In the fall of 1777, the remaining members, now less than 700 souls, walked to St. Augustine. They petitioned the British governor, Patrick Tonyn, and he granted them a space in the northwest section of the old walled city.
A second Spanish occupation and the eventual acquisition of Florida by the young United States changed the flags that flew over the city. Since coming to the city, the Menorcan colonists and their descendants have been an integral part of St. Augustine and St. Johns County for more than two centuries.
Preserving and promoting Menorcan heritage through events and membership.
The Menorcan Cultural Society was founded in the 1980s to preserve and promote the heritage and culture of the Menorcans who left their Mediterranean homeland to make a new life in the New World. We are the only Menorcan society in the United States, and we enjoy a worldwide membership.
San Juan Festival, Ciutadella, Menorca 06/23/14 photo by J. Masters
Join The Society
The Menorcan Cultural Society welcomes anyone who is of Menorcan ancestry or is interested in supporting Menorcan culture and history. We are involved in a number of activities throughout the year which are listed on the Events page. If you are interested in membership, please print out the form, fill it out and mail it to The Menorcan Cultural Society, P.O. Box 3565 St. Augustine, FL 32085