Encouraging environmentally responsible behaviors is vital in protecting the Florida Keys' natural resources — including the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef. Visitors can share Keys residents' commitment to preserving the unique ecosystem by following the “10 Keymandments.”
What do visitors enjoy most about the Florida Keys & Key West? Discover insightful answers -- including unique architecture, biking around Old Town, and the welcoming LGBT community -- gleaned in a recent “man-by-the-pool” interview.
When work schedules and responsibilities seem especially stressful, the siren song of the subtropical Florida Keys can be almost impossible to resist. And why resist? The inviting island chain offers SO many ways to treat body and mind to “unplugged” relaxation, both on and off the water.
Florida Keys diners feast on local fish, shrimp, lobster and stone crab — often flavored with tropical fruits and spiced with influences from the island chain's rich melting-pot history. As well as fueling many local eateries’ success, this simply delicious cuisine has inspired culinary experiences from festivals to classes.
Every Sunday afternoon, Key West’s La Te Da hosts an event that has become a weekly tradition for visitors and residents who love a good time. It goes by the unlikely name of Tea Dance, and its music and merriment are overseen by beloved local DJ Rude Girl and her cohort Molly Blue.
Each year on Memorial Day Weekend, fans of the fast-growing minimalist trend cheer teams powering boats made of bare-bones materials in the annual Schooner Wharf Minimal Regatta. Now in its 26th year, the quirky regatta is an undisputed tradition in the Florida Keys -- featuring minimally constructed vessels, plucky mariners displaying a “sink or swim” spirit, and maximum fun for spectators.
The finale of the Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic, called North America’s largest annual LGBT bartender competition, features 17 regional bartending champions from the U.S. and Canada plus a rocking lineup of celebrity judges — and it all takes place June 7-11 in Key West.
Key West Pride events, set for June 7-11, are not just about parties and parades, although there is certainly no lack of them. The celebration also offers visitors a chance to experience Key West’s “One Human Family” atmosphere of enthusiastic inclusion and recognition that all people are created equal.
When Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote in Key West in the 1930s, he spent much of his leisure time with friends at Sloppy Joe’s Bar. On May 5, 2017, the iconic Key West watering hole celebrates 80 years at its landmark home at the corner of Duval and Greene streets.
The Key West community remembers the late Gilbert Baker, creator of the original LGBT rainbow flag -- and working alongside him June 15, 2003, during Key West PrideFest, to unfurl a 1.25-mile-long 25th anniversary edition of the iconic flag along the entire length of Duval Street.