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| Vol. 1, No. 2 | December 2004 |
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Hemingway Look-Alike Winner Rick Kirvan, right, plays the role of a fishing Santa Claus in a holiday lighted boat parade in Key West. |
Perhaps because the southernmost islands in the continental United States have never experienced a traditional white Christmas, businesses and organizations are extraordinarily enthusiastic in showing their holiday spirit in the Florida Keys.
From Key Largo to Key West, the calendar is packed with events designed to spread holiday cheer. Listed here are some highlights — all spiced with an individualistic Florida Keys flair.
Some of the many scheduled holiday activities in the Keys include:
Now through Friday, Dec. 30. — Christmas Tree Display in Marathon
The Marathon Garden Club, MM 49.5 bayside, presents a festive exhibition of approximately a dozen decorated trees with the theme A Storybook Christmas. Admission is $5 per adult. Call 305-743-4971 or 305-743-4734.
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, 6-9 p.m. — "Home for the Holidays" Tour of Lighted Guest Houses in Key West
Presented by the Key West Innkeepers Association, this festive self-guided tour is to showcase 12 historic bed-and-breakfast inns, all adorned with holiday finery. Refreshments at each inn. Tickets for the tour are $20 per person. Call 305-295-1334 or visit www.keywestinns.com.
Saturday, Dec. 11, approximately 6 p.m. — Eighth Annual Boot Key Harbor Christmas Boat Parade in Marathon
The event is sponsored by the Marathon Sail and Power Squadron and offers cash and prizes for the best-decorated boats. The Dockside Lounge, MM 50 oceanside, is the site of the judging, raffles, musical entertainment and awards presentations. Call 305-743-4614 or 305-743-0000.
Tuesday, Dec. 14, Evening — "Light up Lower Keys" Holiday Decoration Contest Judging
This contest encourages holiday-lovers from Sugarloaf to Big Pine Key to adorn their homes and businesses with festive decorations. Prizes will be awarded following the Dec. 4 judging. Call 305-872-0106.
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17-18, 5-8 p.m. — Holiday House and Garden Tours in Key West
Presented by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, the annual self-guided tours showcase five festively dressed Key West homes and gardens. "Red Shawl" volunteers at each location provide historic background on the properties. Tickets are $20 per person. Call 305-294-9501 or visit www.oirf.org.
Saturday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m. — Pops in the Park Family Holiday Concert in Islamorada
This holiday performance is presented by the Keys Community Concert Band. Concert attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy the music. At Islamorada Founders Park, MM 87 bayside on Plantation Key. Call 305-853-7294.
Saturday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m. — Schooner Wharf Bar/Captain Morgan Lighted Boat Parade in Key West
Lighted and decorated vessels, from rowboats to tall ships, proceed around Key West's Historic Seaport and harbor areas. Holiday decorations range from traditional to whimsical to island flavored. Judges observe from the Schooner Wharf Bar, 202 William St., awarding more than $13,000 in cash prizes to the most creatively bedecked boats. Spectators watch and applaud from bars, restaurants and resorts on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island. Call 305-292-3773 or 305-292-3302.
Sunday, Dec. 26, through Saturday, Jan. 1 — Kwanzaa Celebration in Key West
Presented by the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, the island city's Kwanzaa events incorporate activities celebrating family-oriented values. Kwanzaa culminates in an Island Junkanoo. Call 305-294-0884 or visit www.bcclt.org.
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| Sushi descends to ring in 2004. |
Friday, Dec. 31, Just Before Midnight — Key West New Year's Eve Celebrations
The Southernmost City celebrates New Year's Eve with a "conch shell drop" at Sloppy Joe's Bar, 201 Duval St.; the descent of a six-foot red high heel shoe carrying drag queen Sushi at the Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans House complex, 730 Duval St.; and the descent of a pirate wench from the top of the 110-foot mast of the historic Schooner America in the island city's Historic Seaport. Call 305-296-2388, ext. 21, regarding the conch shell drop; 305-294-4737 for the high heel drop; 305-292-9520 regarding the pirate wench.
Friday, Dec. 31, Midnight — New Year's Eve Fireworks in Key Largo
This bang-up community celebration of the New Year is sponsored by area businesses. Fireworks viewing is available at Sundowners Restaurant, Senor Frijoles, Cactus Jacks, Gus' Grille at the Marriott Key Largo Bay Beach Resort and the Caribbean Club lounge. Call 305-451-4502.
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005, 8 a.m. — Islamorada, Village of Islands' Annual New Years Day Celebration
A 5k Run, Walk, Crawl begins at approximately 8 a.m. at Islamorada Founders Park, MM 87 bayside. A boat parade and Blessing of the Fleet sets off at approximately 10:30 a.m. from Whale Harbor Channel, MM 84 oceanside. Call 305-853-1685.
For more holiday events in the Keys, click here.
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| Visitors at the Turtle Hospital observe a convalescing patient. |
The world's only state-certified veterinary hospital for sea turtles is now open to the public for tours in the Florida Keys.
At 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily, visitors can enjoy a 90-minute educational experience at the hospital and research facility, located at mile marker 49 bayside, that has successfully treated and released more than 75 percent of its turtle patients since its inception in 1986.
During the tour, visitors learn how the hospital opened and explore the unique facility, seeing equipment used in the care of the turtles. A veterinarian technician's description of the different sea turtles — hawksbill, leatherback, green loggerhead and Kemps Ridley — is followed by a question-and-answer period.
Visitors view the preparation room where turtles needing care are cleaned, weighed, photographed and measured. They also learn how blood tests can help determine the relative health of a turtle. The tour continues outdoors, where turtles in holding pens are fed shrimp, squid and food pellets each afternoon.
The Turtle Hospital opened in 1986 with the goals of repairing injured sea turtles and returning them to the wild; educating the public through outreach programs to local schools; conducting and assisting with research in conjunction with state universities; and working toward environmental legislation to make beaches and water safer and cleaner for sea turtles around the world.
Richie Moretti, founder and owner of the hospital, hopes tours will help raise money to establish a perpetual fund to care for the turtles. Tour admission is a donation of $15 per adult and $7.50 for children 4-12 years old. Children three and under are admitted free.
The educational experience is subject to cancellation in the event of a turtle emergency.
For more information or to reserve a spot on a tour, call 305-743-2552.
For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com
