By Nancy Lucas
Florida Keys News Bureau

Photo © 2007, HGTV

The HGTV Dream Home 2008 is located at The Shore at Islamorada. A lucky person is to receive this luxury home during HGTV's 2008 Dream Home Giveaway.

That dream is to become a reality for someone when Home and Garden Television awards a luxury residence in Islamorada to the winner of its 2008 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway contest set to begin Jan. 1.

The three-story, three-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot custom designed and fully furnished home is situated on a private shallow-water beach in an enclave called The Shore at Islamorada, off U.S. Highway 1 at mile marker 86.7 bayside. The home and its associated prizes, including a hybrid vehicle and an HGTV Doggie Dream Home, are valued at more than $2.2 million.

People can register to win the home online at www.hgtv.com. Visitors to HGTV's Web site also can view 360-degree virtual tours of the home and learn details of its construction.

The home will be showcased on an HGTV special program scheduled to premiere at 9 p.m. ET Jan. 1, with additional airings until the contest's conclusion Feb. 19.

The dream home's architecture and landscape design was inspired by the Keys' traditional small waterfront fishing villages, and the elegant residence even has a room dedicated to Islamorada's sportfishing tradition.

The dream home's winner isn't the only one to benefit from the giveaway. The property is to be open to the public for tours from Jan. 3 to March 2, with proceeds from the $20 per person ticket cost slated to benefit the Florida Keys Children's Shelter.

The contest winner is to be announced March 16 on an HGTV special live program.

For information about Islamorada, including area accommodations, contact the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce at (800) 322-5397 or (305) 664-4503, or click here.

By Carol Shaughnessy
Florida Keys News Bureau

From beachside fireworks to wacky takeoffs on the traditional ball drop in New York's Times Square, the Florida Keys offer visitors a wealth of ways to welcome 2008. And because "winter" in the subtropical island chain means balmy breezes rather than blizzards, revelers can leave overcoats and boots behind as they celebrate in shirtsleeves, shorts and sandals.

Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau

At Sloppy Joe's Bar on Duval Street folks ring in the New Year watching a gigantic manmade conch shell descend from the skies to the roof of the bar.

For additional information on Key Largo events, call (305) 451-4502.

Three celebrations in Key West, all slated for the night of Monday, Dec. 31, are to be staged as very different — though equally lighthearted — takeoffs on the Times Square gala.

On Duval Street, thousands of people are to ring in the New Year by watching a gigantic manmade conch shell, the symbol of the Florida Keys, descend from the skies to the roof of Sloppy Joe's Bar (201 Duval St.). Spectators can expect pre-midnight antics by a rooftop host, confetti and streamers and ultimately the shell's descent.

Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau

Drag queen Sushi descends before a throng of revelers gathered along Duval Street for the annual New Year's Eve celebration.

In Key West's Historic Seaport, New Year's Eve revelry combines with a salute to the island city's colorful seafaring heritage. Just before midnight, a pirate wench is to begin her descent from the top of the mast of the historic tall ship Liberty Clipper — completing it as the clock strikes and 2008 officially begins. Also planned are cannon blasts and rocking live music at the Schooner Wharf Bar.

For more information on these Key West events, call (305) 296-2388, ext. 121, regarding Sloppy Joe's conch shell drop; (305) 293-9800 regarding the high heel drop, and (305) 292-3302 regarding the descent of the pirate wench.

Just after midnight in Key West, at 12:30 a.m., the Kwanzaa "Thunder from Down Under" Junkanoo Parade is to welcome 2008 with music and merriment. Presented by the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, the parade is to proceed from Bill Butler Park, Poorhouse Lane and Windsor Lane, to the Coral City Elks Lodge at 1107 Whitehead St. For more information, call (305) 294-0884 or visit www.bahamaconchclt.org.

Visitors and residents who want to begin New Year's Day with a focus on fitness can do so starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 1, when a 5K run, walk and crawl is to depart from Islamorada's Founders Park, mile marker 87 bayside.

For boaters and boating aficionados, a blessing of the fleet is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:30 a.m. at Whale Harbor Bridge.

The day's festivities also include a birthday party for Islamorada, the Village of Islands, complete with a birthday cake, and the New Year's Revolution Skate Competition and Skate Jam set for noon at Founders Park.

For additional information on Islamorada events, call (305) 853-1685.

Photo by Debbie Spear, DRC

Becky DiCello, a visitor to the Keys, greets a resident of Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key in Marathon.

The Atlantic bottlenose dolphins residing in facilities throughout the Florida Keys are living the good life. They work. They play. They get the highest quality medical care and food. They make baby dolphins.

Many of the dolphins' homes in the Keys are members of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, including Dolphin Research Center at mile marker 59 bayside on Grassy Key; Dolphin Connection at Hawk's Cay Resort, located on Duck Key off U.S. Highway 1 at mile marker 61 oceanside; and Theater of the Sea at mile marker 84.5 oceanside in Islamorada.

Members have successfully completed the Alliance's stringent accreditation process, which ensures that the facility meets the association's standards and guidelines "to optimize the psychological and physical health of, and environmental conditions for, individual marine mammals under their care, and to maximize the educational and scientific value of their collections as a whole."

But the dolphins themselves are the best evidence of the care they receive, and the love and professionalism that goes into that care.

Tursi, daughter of two of the original "Flipper" dolphins from the movie and television show of the same name, is still thriving at Dolphin Research Center — even though she's 44 years old.

Photo by Stephen Frink, StephenFrinkPhoto.com

Courtney Smith of Boston College backstrokes during the Orange Bowl Swimming Classic at the Jacobs Aquatic Center in Key Largo. Boston College won overall honors in both men's and women's divisions last January.

By Nancy Lucas
Florida Keys News Bureau

Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau

Competitors at the Orange Bowl Swimming Classic fly off the starting blocks at the Jacobs Aquatic Center in Key Largo last January.

The Classic is to be a sprint-style event — the culmination of a month-long Orange Bowl training session for collegiate swimmers in the Keys. Fifteen college teams are scheduled to train in Key Largo, including those from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. — both already registered to compete in the Classic.

"The Upper Keys embraces this event. It is exciting to host the Orange Bowl Classic and to be associated with the Orange Bowl, one of South Florida's premier events," said Dr. Jim Boilini, event chairman, who also serves on the board of directors of Upper Keys Community Pool Inc., also known as Jacobs Aquatic Center.

Admission is free to watch the competition.

Other activities centered around the Classic include an evening welcome dinner set for Friday, Jan. 4, at Key Largo Community Park, adjacent to the pool. A post-contest awards luncheon is to commence at the Jacobs Aquatic Center immediately following the meet.

An array of events surrounds the annual FedEx Orange Bowl football game, scheduled Thursday, Jan. 3, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

For information regarding the Orange Bowl swim classic, call (305) 453-7946.

For information on Upper Keys accommodations, call the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce at (800) 822-1088 or (305) 451-1414, or click here.

For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com