On Saturday, January 13, 2024, the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners and Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted the Bicentennial Kickoff Event at Wildlight to celebrate Nassau County's 200th birthday. The event included a chili cookoff, cornhole tournament, vendors, food trucks, games and live music. The event was well attended throughout the day and while we don't have an exact figure, it is estimated that several thousand came to the event throughout the day.
We also had the Nassau Vision 2050 tent where attendees were encouraged to stop by and give their input as the County plans for the future. More than 600 people visited the Visioning Tent to share their thoughts and big ideas on the future of Nassau County. Activities were available for all ages and backgrounds including the postcards to your future self mural, community priority sticker boards, custom coloring sheets created by Arts & Culture Nassau, a shark teeth guessing game thanks to the Nature Center, and more!
Following the event, Board of County Commissioners Chairman John Martin stated, "Kudos to Gil Langley and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Brandy Carvalho and the County Staff for executing an excellent event. Thank you to Congressman Aaron Bean, Senator Clay Yarborough, and Representative Dean Black for their remarks and support of Nassau County’s Bicentennial, and Commissioner Justin Taylor for being the emcee. We are looking forward to 2024, and celebrating Nassau County’s 200th birthday!"
The Board would also like to thank the Wildlight for sponsoring/hosting the event; The Residence Inn by Marriott-Amelia Island for being our stage sponsor; and Florida Public Utilities for being the sponsor for the kid's zone. We also appreciate everyone else who assisted in various ways from planning to being present during the event to mingle with guests...each of you played an integral part in making this event a success and we are so grateful.
Last but not least, would also like to congratulate Team Loggerheads on their victory in the chili cookoff and Tyler and Grady Heatwole on winning the cornhole tournament.
We hope that everyone had a great time at our Bicentennial Kickoff and we look forward to many other events throughout 2024. Please visit nassaufl2050.com for details on Nassau Vision 2050 and Bicentennial events and activities.
-Sabrina Robertson
Public Information Officer