CULTURAL TOURISM
Ener by Marsha Lidskin
It was Pedro Menendez de Aviles who first encountered the Northeast Florida territory and named it St. Augustine. How would this Spanish explorer react if he were to come across the 2025 cultural version of the city that he founded 460 years ago?
At this very moment, he would step into a timeless city that has become an epicenter of cultural authenticity. Its tourist attractions have preserved a historical heritage that connects its past to its present, gifting visitors with attractions linked to its centuries-old architecture and humanities. St. Augustine is a magnet for millions of tourists who celebrate the cultural entertainment that cements Northeast Florida as a world-class destination and place to visit. Vacationers pour money into the local community, enjoying attractions that sustain, preserve and elevate the arts as an important part of the region’ s economy. Dollars they spend not only support local artistic venues but also provide a truly enriching quality of life for those who call St. Augustine home.
Drawing attention to a single example in this classic city, let’ s raise the curtain on one of its renowned venues: the Limelight Theater. St. Augustine’ s only professional community theater is a gem in the jewel box of the city’ s cultural treasures. Established in 1991 as a part-time playhouse at the Monsoon Dinner Theater, founders Jean Rahner and Anne Kraft eventually expanded performances to full time and moved the theater company to an aging theater on Old Mission Avenue in the heart of St. Augustine. With a renovation budget of $ 450,000 from grants and donations, the joys of the Limelight Theater were illuminated in 2001.
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