This January, food and wine enthusiasts can sample the the Florida Keys' culinary delights at five fantastic cuisine celebrations. Each one spotlights local chefs’ creativity, indigenous ingredients like unparalleled fresh fish and seafood, and premium wines. And the Keys' subtropical weather provides another "tasty" reason for a January escape to the welcoming island chain.
Celebrate New Year's Eve in Key West by watching beloved drag queen Sushi, perched in a super-sized red high-heel shoe, "drop" to famed Duval Street in a wacky takeoff on the Times Square ball drop. The Key West event marks its 20th anniversary this year -- and features celebrity guest host Austin Armacost, best known for Logo TV’s “The A-List.”
Who were the monarchs that reigned over Key West's 2017 Fantasy Fest celebration? "King" Paul Murphy, "Queen" Destiny Montgomery, "Duke" Bucky Montgomery and "Duchess" Vicki Hodgson — a royal family that earned their titles by raising more than $129,000 for the Florida Keys' AIDS Help organization!
Thousands of Jimmy Buffett's fervent "Parrot Head" fans are gathered in Key West, widely known as the cradle of Buffett’s creativity, to celebrate his music and the “Margaritaville mindset” it inspires. This “Keys Voices” column looks back at a surprise concert Jimmy performed during the Parrot Heads' visit in 2011 — and his spontaneous comments that revealed an undiminished affection for the island city.
Once the stone crab season began Oct. 15, the savory claws started starring on the menus of top Keys restaurants — triggering a virtual stampede of savvy seafood aficionados. That's because the claws contain sweet and scrumptious meat that’s among the Keys’ most popular (and deservedly famous) delicacies.
Key West’s renowned Fantasy Fest, scheduled Oct. 20-29, is more meaningful than ever this year. Why? Because it demonstrates Florida Keys residents’ spirit, resilience and determination to celebrate life and creativity -- even after Hurricane Irma’s unwelcome visit in early September.
There’s a new “Papa” Hemingway in the island city where legendary author Ernest Hemingway lived during the 1930s. White-bearded Texan Richard Filip won the 2017 Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, the undisputed highlight of Key West's annual Hemingway Days celebration.
As the first widely-renowned author to make Key West his home, Ernest Hemingway inspired generations of writers and readers to follow in his footsteps and explore the island’s innate creativity. His legacy and love for Key West are celebrated each July during Hemingway Days.
For more than three decades, the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival has spotlighted coral reef protection and environmentally responsible diving. The unique “submerged songfest” takes place in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary at beautiful Looe Key Reef (about six miles south of Big Pine Key).
In the waters off Key Largo, divers have installed a bronze plaque that names and honors the final 250 of 1,000 contributors to a project that sank a former U.S. Naval ship — exactly 15 years ago — to become an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The panel was attached to the side of the Spiegel Grove, the third-largest ship ever scuttled to create a new reef for divers, as another milestone in a story that proves sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction.