Community Corner

Happy Birthday: Florida Turns 500

Five hundred years ago Juan Ponce de León discovered Florida and now the state is celebrating that discovery with a year-long celebration of Florida's history.

Around April 2, 1513, Juan Ponce de León became the first recorded European to discover Florida or anywhere else in the U.S. and to celebrate that occasion; the state is launching Viva Florida 500.

The initiative aims to highlight, "500 years of historic people, places and events in present-day Florida since the arrival of Juan Ponce de León," according to a state news release. 

“Viva Florida 500 is a year-long commemoration, but we believe it is important to draw extra attention to the week of Ponce de León’s arrival because of its historical significance for our state and nation,” said Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said in a news release. “Florida is truly the place where the world’s cultures began to unite and transform into the great nation we know today as the United States of America.”

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This week you can celebrate Florida's 500th birthday locally at 10:30 a.m. April 6 at the St. Pete Beach Public Library. There, authors Donald H. Thompson and Carol Thompson will be talking about and signing their book "Egmont Key: A History."

The Viva Florida 500 celebration is ongoing throughout 2013, and includes hundreds of events throughout Florida. 

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For a full list of Viva Florida 500 events in Pinellas County, click here. For a list of statewide events, click here

Also launching this week is a new website to promote the Sunshine state's history. 

VivaFlorida.org; a multimedia campaign that includes a 30 minute television special that will be airing statewide and an online clickable map featuring historical information, fun facts and current events; the touring schedule of a 16th Century Spanish galleon replica bound for Florida; and a three day exhibit in the Museum of Florida History featuring historic documents rarely seen by the public such as Florida’s original 1838 Constitution and a Sir Francis Drake map from 1586.

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