Top Keys
Cultural News
The late Mario Sanchez, whose painted wood- carvings depict the culturally diverse Key West of his 1920s boyhood, was lauded in 1996 as the 20th century’s greatest living Cuban-American folk artist by the American Museum of Folk Art.
The self-taught Sanchez died at age 96 in April 2005, and just months later plans are underway to expand his legacy far beyond the vibrant, intricate images exhibited at museums and galleries and pur- chased by discerning collectors. Click here to learn more.
Top Keys
Fishing News
After learning their infant daughter had cystic fibrosis, Florida Keys fishing guide Gary Ellis and his wife Sue immersed them- selves in fundraising activities to benefit the affliction’s charitable causes. There were tennis tournaments, bowling clinics and black tie dinners.
But Ellis believed there had to be way to bring his pro- fession to aid the cause. He envisioned a celebrity angling tournament and sought support from the late baseball great Ted Williams to get it started. At first Williams, a client and friend, said no. Click here to learn how Ellis convinced Williams to begin what eventually became a series of annual tournaments staged to “Catch the Cure for Cystic Fibrosis.”
Top Keys
Diving News
The warm, clear waters and shallow reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are perfect for underwater photo- graphy. Widely published pro- fessionals Stephen Frink, Tom Stack and Clara Taylor give you some tips on taking great underwater shots. Click here to learn some secrets of underwater photography.
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Upcoming
Keys Events:
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Now through
Dec. 31
in Key West
“Fishing, Friends and Family — Hemingway in Key West, 1928-1939” |
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Key West Art & Historical Society presents a fascinating exhibit about the Nobel laureate who lived on the island in the 1930s. Custom House, 281 Front Street. Click here or call 305-295-6616.
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Sept. 6-11
in Key West
WomenFest |
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A lesbian-oriented festival of art shows, sailing and snorkeling, comedy performances and other activities. Click here for more information.
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Sept. 16-18
in the Keys
Key West
Poker Run |
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Motorcycles cruise from Miami to Key West to raise funds for local charities in the 33rd annual event. Contact Matt Cochran at 305-295-3286.
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September 23
in Key West
Performing Arts in the Hospital |
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Florida Keys Council of the Arts presents Keys Chamber Orchestra at the Lower Keys Hospital lobby 12-2 p.m. Click here for more information.
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Oct. 21-22
in Key West
Goombay Festival |
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Two-day street fair with island-style food, handmade African arts and crafts, nonstop live entertainment and dancing in the streets. Held in Key West’s historic Bahama Village. Click here or call 305-747-4544.
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Oct. 21-30
in Key West
Fantasy Fest |
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Ten-day celebration with outlandish costume com- petitions, grand parade and wacky sights. Theme for 27th annual event is “Freaks, Geeks & Goddesses.” Click here for more outrageous details.
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Nov.1 to May 31
in Key West
Key West Old Island Days |
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Events include an art festival, crafts show, conch shell blowing contest and house and garden tours celebrating Key West culture and history. Click here for more details.
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Nov. 3-6
in Key West
14th Annual Parrot Heads in Paradise “Meeting of the Minds” |
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Jimmy Buffett fans gather for their annual convention featuring live music at various venues throughout Key West. Click here for more details.
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Nov. 5-6
in Key Largo
21st Annual
Island Jubilee! |
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Barbecue, Card- board Boat Regatta, arts and crafts presented by Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Harry Harris Park, Mile Marker 93 Overseas Highway, Tavernier. For more information, click here or call 1-800-822-1088.
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Nov. 13-20
in Key West
Key West Offshore World Championships |
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High-speed power- boats continue Key West’s longstanding tradition in a chal- lenge described as the Indianapolis 500 of powerboat racing. Click here for more information.
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Nov. 21
in Big Pine
Blue Sky Art and Craft Show |
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Artists and craft makers present their works outside the Floating Island Gift Shop, 30364 Overseas Highway, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 305-872-2635 for more details.
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Nov. 25 to Dec. 4
in Key West
Pirates in
Paradise 2005 |
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Various Key West venues are transformed into a pirates’ stronghold with sea battles, a thieves’ market, sunset pirate sails, a living history encampment and nonstop entertain- ment. Click here or call 305-296-9694 for additional details.
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Nov. 27-28
in Marathon
Florida Keys
Art Guild
Outdoor Art Festival |
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One of the season’s first outdoor art festivals. At Gulfside Village Shopping Plaza, 5800 Overseas Highway. Call 305-743-4200 for more details.
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| Vol. 1, No. 11 |
September 2005 |
The Florida Keys have quickly recovered from its brush with Hurricane Katrina last Friday and are open to vacationers. Click here for more details.
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| Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau |
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Weirdness prevails during Fantasy Fest as demonstrated at last year’s Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade on Duval Street.
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Key West’s Fantasy Fest Set to Present Delicious Revelry Oct. 21-30
By CAROL SHAUGHNESSY
Florida Keys News Bureau
KEY WEST, Florida Keys – Beauties and beasts, divine divas, freak-show escapees and goddesses of excess are expected to strut their stuff in Key West Friday through Sunday, Oct. 21-30, during the island city’s annual Fantasy Fest celebration.
The outrageous masking and costuming festival, themed “Freaks, Geeks and Goddesses” for 2005, is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on Key West’s annual calendar. Its 10-day schedule features a packed roster of masquerade balls, quirky costume contests – including one for pets and their owners – and other revelry climaxing in a lavish grand parade.
Now in its 27th year, Fantasy Fest was the brainchild of enterprising local merchants hoping to liven up the autumn season. Beginning as a two-day gala, it subsequently grew into a 10-day celebration internationally recognized as the perfect place to “let it all hang out.” Its uninhibited flair and lighthearted spirit attract ever-larger crowds of people eager to shed their real-world personalities and live out their fantasies on the quaint streets of Key West.
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Stephen Tiffenson of Oakland, Calif., works his “Muthamba the Witch Doctor” entry at the 2004 Pier House Pretenders in Paradise Costume Competition.
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For 2005’s “Freaks, Geeks and Goddesses,” Fantasy Fest organizers encourage people to bring their wildest dreams to life in a celebration of the irregular, the bizarre and the bewitching. Costumes and parade floats might be delightful, decadent or devilish, portraying everything from carnival characters to cyber-geeks to heavenly harlots and bestial buffoons.
Fantasy Fest’s menu of mania is to begin with a Royal Coronation Ball to crown the king and queen of the masked madness. Scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21, the coronation is to cap a two-month fundraising effort by candidates to benefit the Key West–based AIDS Help Inc. The 2004 campaign raised nearly $250,000.
The delicious decadence is scheduled to reach its climax Saturday, Oct. 29, as tens of thousands of spectators throng the island’s historic downtown for the Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade. Some of its brilliantly conceived floats breathe smoke and “flames” or rise to towering heights. Caribbean marching bands and dancing groups, often dressed in bright robes and feathers, join costumed walkers to round out the parade lineup - all displaying the creativity and energy that has exemplified Fantasy Fest throughout its storied history.
For more information about Fantasy Fest and a schedule of events, visit the festival’s Web site at fantasyfest.net or call 305-296-1817. For information about lodging in Key West, call 1-800-LAST-KEY or explore fla-keys.com.
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Jane Harlan operates a powerboat during a recent She’s at Sea seminar.
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Seminars to Teach Women Powerboat Operation
ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys – A series of two-day seminars designed to teach women how to handle a powerboat safely is to be offered in Islamorada.
Captain Elizabeth Jolin of the Bay & Reef Company is set to conduct She’s at Sea seminars Sept. 17-18 and 24-25; Oct. 8-9 and 22-23, and Nov. 5-6 at the Cheeca Lodge & Spa.
The classes provide basic boat-handling skills in a safe, nonthreatening atmosphere that enables participants to reach personal goals in technical skill, passenger safety and the pleasure of being on the water at the helm of a boat.
“There are very few programs offering this type of hands-on education exclusively for women,” said Jolin. “Many women have the ability to purchase their own boats and want the confidence and technical skills to operate them safely, in accordance with maritime laws.”
More than 75 percent of course time is to be spent on the water, learning boat-handling skills, basic engine operation, anchoring techniques and the rules of the road.
At the conclusion of the two-day program, women should have gained the fundamental knowledge and confidence to operate personal or rental powerboats.
The cost for the seminar is $375 per person, including lunch each day and course materials.
For more details about the She’s at Sea boat-handling course, call (305) 393-0994, or e-mail info@bayandreef.com.
For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com
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