By Colleen Jones
Posted Nov 14, 2018 at 6:10 PMUpdated Nov 15, 2018 at 6:21 AMSt. Augustine Record
  
For the last 24 years, the moment the switch is flipped the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Nights of Lights officially has kicked off the holiday season in St. Augustine.
Millions of tiny white lights drape canopies of trees and illuminate St. Augustine’s skyline of Spanish-inspired architecture. The spectacle draws tens of thousands of people to the Ancient City between November and — this year, at least — February of each year, also bringing them into the shops, restaurants and hotels in what historically had been a time of darkness, not light, for business activity in St. Augustine.
And that was the original catalyst when local merchants and city officials began planning for the very first Nights of Lights in 1993.
“The downtown area basically closed up after dark in November and December with business shut or keeping fewer hours,” said Kathy Catron, communications director for the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau.
According to Catron, who researched the history of the event before its 25th anniversary this year, it was former St. Augustine city commissioner William Lennon and real estate developer and former mayor Len Weeks who first came up with it as a way to combat the slow off-season for tourism. They came up with the lighting scheme and raised money through private donations to pay the bills.
As Lennon told Catron, “We figured eventually, once the people see it — meaning the owners of the businesses — they will realize we can bring some people down here in the winter. All of a sudden, little by little, they started opening their [previously closed] businesses on St. George Street.”
The event’s reputation and traction grew every year, with the footprint of the lighted areas expanding as well as the number of weeks the lights are kept on.
Irving Kass, owner of the St. George Inn, recalled how when he took over the business in 2004 the Lights were popular and he could count on the display to fill rooms, especially on weekends.
In the past six or seven years, though, following National Geographic naming it to the magazine’s list of Top 10 Holiday Lighting Displays in the World, Kass said the crowds have been overwhelming and he has bookings all the way through January.
“I think that now people all over the country know this is a pretty cool thing to do,” Kass said.
The economic impact Nights of Lights has had on the city is well into the millions. Its crowds even manage to support two trolley companies that run tours for the Lights as well as water tours on schooners, boats and pirate ships and private tours in golf carts or horse-drawn carriages.
“Prior to Nights of Lights, winter was a very slow time of the year for tourism in St. Augustine and St. Johns County,” said Dave Chatterton, owner of Old Town Trolley Tours. “Most people working in tourism had to find second jobs to support themselves and their families during this time. Nights of Lights has provided year-round economic stability for many St. Johns County residents and businesses.”
The boost in business has also helped restaurants and retail shop, putting them solidly in the black to end the year and in good shape to start out the next year.
“It’s like our only time of the year, starting Saturday and going through New Year’s is our crunch time,” said Josh Watts, manager of Al’s Pizza.
Watts is busy now, scheduling extra servers to keep up with the crowds — “usually we’re on a wait, especially on Saturdays,” he said.
This year, for the first time, the restaurant has installed a take-out window to deal with the overflow of orders.
“We’re hoping that will bring in even more business,” Watts said.
Said Catron, “It’s certainly one of our biggest times of the year and it’s helped to put St. Augustine on the map and put us on the world stage.”
Light-Up Night is Saturday with the lighting ceremony scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Plaza de la Constitucion. The Nights of Lights continues through Feb. 3. For more information, visit www.CityStAug.com/LightUpNight