This year, events flood the city and county in celebration of the 200-year bicentennial of Nassau County and Fernandina Beach. These festivities preserve our history in the ways we celebrate them.
History is built from the actions and lives of the individuals who have made up these communities. Oftentimes this history lives on but other times it is forgotten.
“This is why I started Amelia Island Footprints about 16, 17, 18 years ago. Ya know, it worried me, no one’s telling the story. I’m thinking, ‘My God, am I really that old?’ When I die, who’s going to tell it?” said Fernandina Beach native Nick Deonas.
Deonas is a native to the area who has lived here for his entire life, with the exception of his time spent in the military. He is a local entrepreneur, and his roots run deep in the shrimping and boat industry. He has devoted much of his time to keeping our history alive.
If you talk to Deonas ,he will tell you all sorts of stories from 60-70 years ago that only a native could remember. He talks about shrimp, boats, the old mills, pirates, catastrophes, his family and just plain fun.
Before Florida became a state, in 1824, the Territorial Council of Florida incorporated Nassau County. The town of Fernandina was incorporated shortly after in December of the same year. The museums and county and state groups have numerous accounts of the histories leading up to these incorporations, and after, beside big events in our communities such as festivals, pageants, dramatic events like hurricanes, fires and more, some of the history of the area may seem to dissolve as time goes on.
But history isn’t just a list of dates and names and events; it’s the combined histories of the ordinary and extraordinary people who lived and history can show itself in many ways, including the way we celebrate our current events.
As the county and city come together in celebration of this 200-year mark, this hidden history is shared with longtime locals, new residents as well as visitors and tourists, through the ways we party and have fun.
As Deonas and other historians will tell you, events like Shrimp Fest are deeply rooted in our history. Aside from the well-known history of the shrimping industry, which is the foundation of the festivities, the name itself remembers our history. The Amelia Island History Museum says the “eight flags” is named so for the eight different flags that have been raised on Amelia Island within the last few centuries, conquered and claimed on multiple occasions, before Nassau County was incorporated.
Alongside the increase of people in the area, event attendance for what have become large events, such as Shrimp Fest, have gone from tens of people in attendance to hundreds of people in attendance to now thousands in attendance.
“It just grew and grew and grew until it became Disney Land North,” Deonas said.
Another event to be held in conjunction with the bicentennial shines light on more ways our celebrations connect to our history. On Saturday, May 18, Nassau County will celebrate an inaugural opening of the beaches event. Though it is the first of its kind, this event brings flashes to longtime community members of opening of the beaches event held in the early 60s. These events were the forerunners to Shrimp Fest.
On June 7, 1964, Fernandina Beach held its first shrimp boat races, marking the first shrimp festival, formerly known as the Shrimp Boat Festival, but before the shrimp boat races, Fernandina Beach had different celebrations at this time of the year.
In the Amelia Island History Museums archives, you can find photos of the events recorded as Opening of the Beaches Fiesta Parades.
In the early 60s, before Deonas joined the military, he remembers one of these trailblazers.
“I remember cakes on the tables and pies and shrimp. Just, ya know, all the boat builders and the crew and captains, just everybody talking business and getting together,” he described of a get-together he remembered to be a forerunner to Shrimp Fest.
The Miss Shrimp Festival pageant, that we hold today with Shrimp Fest, was predated by the Miss, Mrs. and Little Miss Golden Crown Fiesta, held as a part of the Fiesta Parade.
Deonas said during the Fiesta Parades, he remembers his sister taking part in the pageants. “I remember my sister, she was gorgeous, but as a little girl, momma had her in the beauty contest, Little Miss Fiesta Queen,” he said.
Deonas also mentioned cars parked on beaches during these events, something not allowed today, and races on the beach as part of the festivities.
In 1961, the News-Leader published updates about the Fiesta Parade that was held in conjunction with the Golden Crown Fiesta pageant. One headline in June 1961 reads: “Beauty Contests Rate As Top Feature of Fiesta Events.” The News-Leader also informed the public in 1961 of the concert to be held before the pageant, a golf tournament, bowling tournament, Putt-Putt golf, a grand fiesta ball and more events that were included.
More than half a century ago, the Fiesta Parade was considered the event that marked the opening of the beaches, but this is the first year Nassau County will see an official “opening of the beaches” event.
Nassau County’s Opening of the Beaches Isle of 8K kicks off the event at Peter’s Point and ends at Main Beach Park, where the rest of the festivities will be held.
Though our history is a prominent feature during this bicentennial year, county officials say they really want the public to think about the future.
Director of strategic advancement in Nassau County, and the one leading the charge of the county’s efforts in the bicentennial events, Brandy Carvalho, said the big motivator behind the opening of the beaches event is to get residents out to the county’s vision tent, to give input on what they would like to see in the future of the county. Though they have done surveys like this with the public before, she said this is probably the largest-scale one the county has ever done.
“By connecting it with the bicentennial we are able to … get people to come to us and give their input on what they want to see the county look like between now and 2050.”
The chamber says of the inaugural event, “Opening of the Beaches” will be a collaborative effort between the County, the City of Fernandina Beach, and the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The free festivities will include activities for all ages such as a Kids Zone, Touch-a-Truck, Skateboard Competition, Food Trucks, Beer Garden and more.
The idea for this year’s event “came from showing collaboration between the city and the county,” Carvalho said. “This is technically on the city beach for the main event, but our two kick-off events are at Peter’s Point. Our movie night on Friday through the Parks and Recreation Department, and our 8K on Saturday morning … We’re all here to celebrate, have a good time, and recognize that the beaches are so important from a cultural and economic standpoint.”
Among the efforts of the Vision 2050 include online surveys with hundreds of participants, small focus groups, targeted outreach, popup surveys at small events and more. To give your input, look for the Vision Tent at the Opening of the Beaches event or visit https://www.nassaufl2050.com/bicentennial.
For more information and events associated with the bicentennial, visit the county’s dedicated Facebook page for the celebration, www.facebook.com/people/Bicentennial-Celebrations-for-Nassau-County-Florida/61552201004916/ or visit the city website at www.fbfl.us/1075/Fernandina-200-Bicentennial-Celebration.
achandler@fbnewsleader.com