20TH ANNUAL WOMENFEST RUNS THROUGH SEPT. 10

KEY WEST, Florida Keys - For the 20th consecutive year, the island city renowned for its all-embracing diversity is to welcome as many as 5,000 women during the Womenfest celebration.

Set to run through Sunday, Sept. 10, the acclaimed event for lesbians and their friends features activities ranging from pool parties and women-only watersports excursions to an art walk. The festival is being coordinated by the Key West Business Guild, the United States' oldest gay-oriented chamber of commerce-type business organization, and the Atlantic Shores Resort, 510 South St.

Activities are designed to allow singles, couples and groups of women to experience the atmosphere of openness and acceptance that has made Key West an internationally acclaimed lesbian and gay vacation destination.

Scheduled highlights are to include a free concert by the high-energy band Sister Funk. The five-woman band is best known for its commercial pop music with an upbeat dance attitude. Sister Funk's two self-produced CDs are critically acclaimed, with cuts receiving widespread play, and the band has appeared onstage with such musical luminaries as The Pointer Sisters and ZZ Top.

Scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, the concert is to take place in the 700 block of Key West's legendary Duval Street and is themed "Dance on Duval."

A street fair is to precede and accompany the concert, with vendors' booths turning the 700 block of Duval into a lively open-air marketplace from noon to 8 p.m.

Daily throughout Womenfest a hospitality suite is to be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Atlantic Shores Resort. At the suite, participants can get festival information, pick up programs and purchase tickets to events including watersports activities.

On-the-water excursions available to festival participants are to include women-only sunset sails and snorkeling and dolphin-watching trips. All showcase the natural vistas and undersea wonders that characterize the waters surrounding Key West.

Womenfest is to focus on the arts as well as the natural world. An art walk is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, giving participants a chance to explore the moods and mediums of artists who exhibit at the many galleries along Duval Street. A lesbian film festival is set for 6:30 p.m. the same evening at the island city's popular Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.

Womenfest attendees are to take to the links at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, for the annual Southernmost Women's Invitational Nonprofit Golf Tournament at the Key West Golf Course. The shotgun-start, best-ball-scramble tournament benefits WomanKind Inc., which provides healthcare for women in the Florida Keys. Tournament attractions are to include prizes and a cocktail party and awards ceremony at Pearl's Rainbow, 525 United St. The tournament entry fee is $75 per person. For details, visit www.swingkeywest.com. Attendees also are invited to discover the history, contributions and landmarks associated with Key West's flourishing gay and lesbian community during entertaining trolley tours beginning at 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9.

For women who want to celebrate and formalize their partnerships during Womenfest, a group commitment ceremony and champagne brunch are scheduled at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at Pearl's Rainbow. A cost of $60 per couple includes the ceremony, a certificate of union and champagne brunch. Couples' invited guests can share the celebration for $25 per person. For more information and to register, call (305) 292-1450.

A variety of events is to round out the Womenfest schedule. Standouts include an afternoon pool party co-sponsored by "She" magazine at the Southernmost Hotel, 1319 Duval St.; a "Gurrlesque Party" at Aqua Nightclub, 711 Duval St.; and a farewell tea dance at the Atlantic Shores Resort.

For festival information including event prices, ticketing and lodging, visit www.womenfest.com or call the Key West Business Guild at (800) 535-7797 or (305) 294-4603. For lodging information explore this web site.