Only in the Keys
"Only in the Keys!" has become a common response from people hearing about everything from a Key West parade for dachshunds to mermaids attending a Lower Keys music festival (FYI, these are both actual things).
A Key by Any Other Name …
Recognized as a prime Florida Keys boating and family destination, the Marathon and Middle Keys area is made up of a group of small islands whose names are as colorful as their vivid nightly sunsets. They include Boot, Knights, Hog, Vaca, Stirrup, Crawl and Little Crawl keys — plus Pigeon Key beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge, East and West Sister’s Island, Deer, Fat Deer and Grassy keys.
Key West: Not Exactly Normal
Key West is gloriously, outrageously abnormal — a place where wild chickens roam the streets and people feel comfortable wearing tiaras to lunch. A place where dogs are favored customers at more than one bar, and nobody thinks it’s strange to spot grown men dressed like Darth Vader or Marilyn Monroe (sometimes during the same evening!).
Lime Lovers at Large July 4 in Key West
It’s likely to get messy in Key West on this Fourth of July. At least, it will for everyone who plans to step into the “limelight” and participate in the annual Mile-High Key Lime Pie Eatin’ Contest.
Keys Rebel Artist Inspires Kinetic Sculpture Parade
If one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, then the late Key Largo resident Stanley Papio was a treasure hunter extraordinaire. And ultimately, he became a treasure creator — crafting some of the edgiest and most eclectic metal sculptures of his generation.
‘Drag Race’ Features Female Impersonators Sprinting in High Heels
High heels instead of high octane powered the 12 contestants in Key West’s Great Conch Republic Drag Race, a madcap marathon for female impersonators that took place April 23.
Offbeat ‘Zero K’ Race is MOO-ving Experience
While some runners push themselves to race long and grueling distances, participants in one recent Florida Keys challenge did the exact opposite. About 1,400 “athletes” who didn’t want to break a sweat romped, strolled and ambled across the Florida Keys’ shortest bridge (spanning mere feet!) during April’s Cow Key Channel Bridge Run.
History and Humor Define April’s Conch Republic Independence Celebration
Loaves of stale Cuban bread, a governmental border checkpoint, and a request for a billion dollars in foreign aid played major roles in the Florida Keys’ secession from the United States and the formation of the independent Conch Republic.
The Saga of Santa Keys
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Keys Smiling holiday revelers savored the breeze. But in other locations, nobody was smiling as they braved freezing temperatures far from the islands.
New Year’s Eve to Star Sushi and the Red High Heel
Sushi climbs over the balcony railing in a gorgeous couture gown, settles herself in the eight-foot-long red high heel dangling some 15 feet above the street, and waves to the New Year’s Eve revelers below.