Move Over, St. Augustine. There's a New Light Show in Town
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Downtown Vero is getting a Christmas miracle this year, and it begins under the oaks in front of the Citrus Museum and Vero Beach Heritage Center.
That’s the same spot where William Jennings Bryan, three-time presidential nominee and then the most famous voice in America, came in July 1925 to toast the birth of Indian River County. It was one of his last public appearances; he died weeks later.
This December those oaks will be bathed in light for Miracle on 14th, a brand-new holiday tradition and the first Christmas of what downtown hopes will become its signature season for residents and tourists.
Indian River, the county Bryan came to celebrate was born just a few doors down. In 1924 the Florida Theatre opened on 14th Avenue with The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
When St. Lucie County’s blue laws shut it down for -- gasp -- showing a movie on a Sunday, of all things, Vero decided it was done with St. Lucie. Within months, the town had a County of its own, made official inside the theater itself, now owned by the Brackett family.
A century later, the street where Vero declared its independence is about to glow.
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Miracle on 14th is the work of Main Street Vero Beach, The Citrus Museum at Vero Heritage Center and Wilfred Hart, one of the most beloved names in town, and the ambition is a Vero answer to St. Augustine. Hats off to Jackie Williams and Leslie McKenzie for the idea!
St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights began in 1993 as a nod to an old Spanish custom, a single white candle in the window at Christmas. Today it’s more than three million lights and a National Geographic top-ten pick, and people book hotel rooms a year in advance just to see it.
This is Vero’s year one, and every tree wrapped this season is the first candle in the window. Bryan had a line for exactly this kind of beginning:
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
TP Kennedy, a fifth-generation Vero resident whose grandfather managed the Florida Theatre, set the pace with a $10,000 gift.
“Supporting Miracle on 14th is a way for me to honor those roots, give back to the community, and help another generation of families create lasting memories." TP Kennedy
Barbara Ruddy has just given $1,000. Property owners Joe Cataldo, the Brackett Family, Rob MacCallum, Scott Chrisholm and Robbie Vaccaro have pledged their buildings and their support. Vero Minute will publish regular updates highlighting those who have pledged/committed to make Miracle on 14th a reality.
So far $38,500 has been raised and pledged, and every dollar does double duty. Part of it goes to the lights: more wrapped trees, more lit buildings and décor downtown they can bring back every December. The rest goes to local kids through Miracles with HART and the Fresh Start Collective, covering uniforms, school meals and supplies for students who need them, including the more than 900 in our district known to be without stable housing.
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It all builds to December 11–13. Friday is Miracle in the Grove, a ticketed evening at The Citrus Museum & Heritage Center. Saturday afternoon brings Miracle on Main Street, a free street party along 14th. On Sunday morning, PopUpVero hosts Miracle at the Market.
Bryan believed “the divine measure of a life is its outgo, its overflow,” and this is a good season to test that theory.
Give any amount.
Just $25 helps light the street, and every gift is tax-deductible through Main Street Vero Beach.
In 1925, Vero built a county out of one Sunday movie at our downtown theatre. In 2026, it starts building a Christmas tradition the whole coast will drive to see, and a few years from now, when 14th Avenue is blazing every December, you’ll be able to say you lit the first one.
Add your name to the list at miracleon14th.com.
Starting at $350, individuals and businesses can sponsor and decorate a tree for the Miracle Tree Auction. More sponsorships begin at $500, with your logo on the Miracle on 14th website, and build to presenting sponsorships at the $25,000–$50,000 level.
