“ART CAN!” Beautifying St. Augustine Beach, One Can at a Time

Press Release from the City of St. Augustine Beach (April 18, 2019)

“ART CAN!” is an exciting new beautification project in the City of St. Augustine Beach.  Many of the trash cans in the City of St. Augustine Beach are an eyesore; they are dented and filled with holes. Rather than purchase brand new cans, why not recycle and improve the old ones? Art Galleries of St. Augustine (AGOSA) President (Sylvia Gortz), Vice President (Laura O’Neal), and Ann Palmquist brought the idea of asking local artists paint the old trash cans to AGOSA.  The association members were enthusiastic to make our community a more beautiful place and ART CAN! took off.

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The City of St. Augustine Beach Public Works, under the leadership of Tom Large, began collecting six trash cans at a time and cleaning them so they could be painted by local AGOSA artists. Once the first wave of cans is complete, there will be a second wave of art cans hitting the streets, and so on…until the City of St Augustine Beach has all ART CANS! AGOSA will present The City of St. Augustine Beach with the first painted can at the Special Commission Meeting on April 29, 2019 at 6pm at St. Augustine Beach City Hall (2200 A1A South, St. Augustine Beach, FL 32080.) The meeting is open to the public and the public is invited to attend.

“I hope that this project and others like it will serve our local art community in a positive way,” said Vice President Laura O’Neal, “by bringing us together to paint, create, have fun and support one another, as well as beautify our CITY!”

Be sure to start looking on the sides to the road when driving along A1A in St. Augustine Beach, and see if you can spot them! You can also share a pic of your favorite one on Instagram and tag @CityOfSAB and @agosa_art_walk.

AGOSA is a non-profit organization that works to provide opportunities for professional local artists to show their work at places like The Limelight Theatre, in addition to their usual gallery locations. If you are interested in painting a can, or interested in joining AGOSA, please contact Laura O’Neal lauraoneal811@gmail.com or Sylvia Gortz at thegallerygroup303@gmail.com

For more information, please visit www.staugbch.com, The City of St Augustine Beach Facebook and Instagram page, and sign up for the monthly e-newsletter by texting CITYOFSAB to 22828. Artist Credit for the Cans in the Photo: MaryRose LaCavera, Brad Jones, Deane Kellogg

The St. Augustine Beach Pier hosts the 6th Annual Run for Peace 5K to support the Betty Griffin Center on April 13th.

This Saturday, April 13th, the 6th Annual Betty Griffin Center Run for Peace 5K will take place around St. Augustine Beach, beginning and ending at the St. Augustine Beach Pier. All proceeds from the race go to benefit The Betty Griffin Center. The Betty Griffin Center is a full service domestic and sexual abuse center located in St. Johns County. The primary purpose of the agency is to provide holistic services that directly relate to the victims’ experience of abuse which will increase safety and security for both the victim and the family.

There are still ways you can help for the race. Become a race participant, sponsor or volunteer. To learn more about the race and the Betty Griffin Center visit the race website by clicking HERE.

We would like to make you aware the race route will bring runners through your area between 8 am to approximately 9:30 am. Have fun being part of this race or just come on out and give support!

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Arbor Day celebration in the City of St. Augustine Beach

Date: Friday, April 26, 2019
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: City Hall (2200 A1A South)

The St. Augustine Beach Tree Board and Beautification Advisory Committee assist in managing this event as part of the Cities National Tree Friendly Community Certification and National Arbor Day Celebration. This event will include a brief program, beginning with the boy scouts presenting the flag. Then, winners from the RB Hunt poster contest and Pedro Menendez High School poetry contest will be announced.

Come out to enjoy free cake and beverages, a tree give away, a meet and greet with Smokey the Bear, and face painting! Check out an interactive sea creature touch tank, live bee hive exhibit, butterflies, and all types of wildlife exhibits! Also, Boy Scout Troop 345 will be joining us to collect aluminum cans, shoes, and old electronics to recycle! Food and drinks from African Love Kitchen and Espresso Based Treats will be available for purchase.

We want to invite all our local families to join us at this event. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Walker at cwalker@cityofsab.org

Arts and Crafts Festivals coming to The St. Augustine Beach Pier!

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Come out to the St. Augustine Beach Pier Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. & Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (February 16th & 17th and March 9th & 10th) for the St. Augustine Beach Arts & Crafts Festival.

This fun, free event features handmade arts and crafts by local, regional, and national artists, along with live music and lots of delicious food. The festival attracts artists and crafters from all over the country to showcase their work just steps from the beach at the St. Johns County Pier. Vacationers can enjoy browsing everything from handmade jewelry and ceramics to stained glass and fine artwork. With a variety of food and drink for sale, as well as vendors with natural plants, herbs, fruits, and veggies, the Arts and Crafts Festival is a complete experience for the whole family.

The St. Augustine Beach Pier is located on beautiful Anastasia Island at 350 A1A Beach Boulevard. For more information on this event please click HERE.

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The all new Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Augustine Beach Oceanfront Resort soon to be hiring at the beach.

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The all new Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Augustine Beach Oceanfront Resort, located next to the St. Augustine Beach Pier and Pier Pavilion, is scheduled to open this December and will soon be hiring for several available positions.  There will be a job fair being held on Thursday, November 8th from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Resort in the Anastasia Ballroom.  Please see the attached flyer for more information or visit https://careers.hvmg.com/jobs/search/where/32080 to learn about the available positions.

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Paid Parking at the St. Augustine Beach Pier is on the horizon.

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It may not be long for residents and visitors to have to pay for parking at the St. Augustine Beach Pier and Pier Park.  City Commissioners have voted unanimously and are in the final planning stages as to how paid parking will take place and when it will start.  Read the complete article at MY 904 News by clicking HERE.

National Night Out returns to the St. Augustine Beach Pier and Pier Park on Tuesday, October 3rd.

The annual National Night Out, a year-long community building campaign, returns to the St. Augustine Beach Pier next Tuesday, October 3rd from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.  The event being held by local law enforcement officials is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime programs and strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.  There will be lots of food, music, goodie bags, raffles and exhibits available and on display.  So come out and join us for some fun and community partnership.

The new beach access walkover and stairs are open to the public…

We want to begin this post by pointing out what a beautiful day it has been in St. Augustine Beach today and how great the Pier looked this morning with the calm ocean of less that 1′ of wave action.  You can see from the photo posted that it certainly looks nice out and will only get better as we move towards the weekend.

As many of you may know from visiting St. Augustine Beach over the past few months, the walk-over and stairs leading to the beach from the seawall were not open to the public and in need of repair from months of water damage and erosion to the beach.  Well, we would like to note that a much needed replacement of the stairs has been made and it appears to now be open to the public making beach access from the St. Augustine Beach Pier Park possible for all.  In addition to the walk-over and stairs replacement, they have expanded the width of the stairs to accommodate two way pedestrian traffic and a much greater flow of beach-goers.  We wish to thank St. Johns County for the work that has been done…

 

Picture of St. Augustine Beach Pier

A beautiful morning looking at the Pier

St. Augustine Beach Pier stair replacement

Side view of stairs with Pier in the background

St. Augustine Beach Pier

New beach access stairs at the St. Augustine Beach Pier

Repairs are underway for the St. Augustine Beach Pier

Well, the much needed repairs have started on our treasured St. Augustine Beach Pier.  The St. Johns County Commissioners approved $300,000 in repairs back in November for concrete reinforcement and repair of the pilings, as well as additional work to take place over the coming weeks.  The St. Augustine Beach Pier is expected to be closed to the public for the next month.  Not to worry though, it will be all ready to go in time for a warm Spring and sunny beach weather.

Read more about the project in the article titled Pier Renovations Underway, that was featured in the St. Augustine Record on Tuesday March 6th.