Menorcan Festival Saturday; 2019 Royal Trio announced for Easter Festival

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Anne Heymen in History, Local Events, St. Johns // 0 Comments

The 2019 royal trio includes Tiffany Louise Glover Root, Treven Severis Rogero,and Alexis Jordan Johns. Photo by VICKI JOHNSTONE

By ANNE C. HEYMEN

SAINT AUGUSTINE – Historic anniversaries are being marked this year by two groups which honor descendants of this ancient city.

March 2, the Menorcan Heritage Celebration the historic Llambias House in downtown St. Augustine will be the setting as the 242nd anniversary of the arrival of the Menorcans in St. Augustine is observed.

The traditional Menorcan Heritage Celebration includes storytelling, demonstrations on mullet net making, displays of family photos, sale of datil pepper sauces and jellies and serving of Menorcan Clam Chower, made with the spicy datil pepper; and all kinds of pilau, which also includes datil peppers. Pilau – pronounced per-low, is a rice dish which can be made with sausage, chicken, shrimp or pork, among the meat and seafood choices.

Hours for this year’s celebration are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the venue, 31 St. Francis St., across from the Oldest House. There is no admission.

EASTER FESTIVAL

April 20 when the yearly Easter Festival is observed with the colorful Easter Parade and other special events, the festival will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of a Royal Trio to reign over Easter events. That trio, composed of Queen Mariana, her son, King Juan Carlos II, and his sister Princess Margarita Maria represent the royal family in Spain in 1672, the year construction was begun on St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos, now a national monument. Each year’s trio is selected from the heritage natives of the city, some descended from the first Spanish settlers here in 1565 and others who came to the community in the late 1700s from Menorca.

Jacqueline Lopez Young McCraw was the first heritage native to portray Queen Mariana. Daniel Drysdale was the first king; and Nancy Pellicer the first princess.

The 2019 royal trio includes Tiffany Louise Glover Root, descended from the Masters, Mickler, Rogero and Pomar families; Treven Severis Rogero, whose ancestors include Rogero, Masters, Triay and Solana families; and Alexis Jordan Johns, descended from the Pellicer and Solano families.

When Easter arrives, a favorite tradition is the fromajadis – a cheese pastry with the recipe handed down from generation to generation.