Parades and Parties

December 8, 2010



Kathy & Rosie

Kathy, Breanne, David, Nancy, Mark & Michael

Michael & Esme

Parades and Parties

Key West is a festive place year round, but somehow during the holiday season, the mood elevates even more and the pace of things picks up to a more frenetic (yet still enjoyable) level. No single day illustrates this for us than the first Saturday in December which is the traditional date of the annual holiday parade in Key West.

Corey & Jill

Kathy, Ashley & Michael

Kathy & I make a point every year to attend the Holiday parade, but that is not that surprising because much of the community either attends or participates in the parade. What makes the event so frenzied are the parties and ancillary events that accompany the parade, which we also make an effort to attend.



This year we had the added bonus of having our friends Corey & Jill visiting from Indianapolis and so we made it one long fun and festive evening celebrating the holiday season and many friends. We started off as we have the last few years at a parade pre-party at the home of our friends George & Carla. They live only a block off of the parade route and have hosted the pre-party each year since they moved there.

George & Carla



Kathy & Kris

It is a great way to kick off the evening with friends, food and libations. It is especially cool to see the large crowd of kids in attendance, because in reality the holiday season is all about the kids. After enjoying the party, Kathy & I along with our friend Kris made our way over to Truman Avenue to watch the parade. It was great seeing so many local friends and families lining the street to watch the parade. The parade itself was great, the floats get better and better every year and unlike Fantasy Fest and many of the other parades throughout the year, almost every entry is full of local participants, each throwing massive amounts of candy into the happy crowd.



Kathy & Holly





Our post parade tradition is to head to the Conch House B & B which always hosts a popular party on parade night which is packed full of a large & happy local contingent. It was here where we had our Indianapolis friends meet up with us. I always enjoy it when friends from home visit. Even after being gone from Indianapolis for 20 years, I have been able to maintain a close bond with many, many friends. I think my frequent trips back help.

Hilary & Carol

Bethany & Eliza

Bethany, Richard, Sue, Courtney & Eliza

Corey had visited before, way back in the early 1990s, with a group of friends for a raucous spring break trip that involved getting thrown out of Rick’s for slam dancing and the faces of those who passed out on my floor treated as canvases for graphic sharpie works of art. This visit was somewhat more serene, though we did close out the night at Point 5 where another large group of friends were celebrating the birthday of bad boy burrito’s master chef Chris.

Jill





Corey & Jill

It was the perfect conclusion to a wonderful night of fun and frolic, one that I would pay for the next day, but that is another story.

Esme, Chris & Kathy

DJ Starlo

Elena & Ashley

Happy Holidays

December 6, 2010







Happy Holidays

The holiday season, which is as crazy busy here as anywhere I have been, kicked off right after the Thanksgiving with the annual recognition of World AIDS day on December 1st. In all the years that I have lived here, I had never managed to make it to the candlelight vigil and march to the AIDS memorial to remember those lost to the disease. I wanted to begin the season by changing that and honoring some friends who are no longer around before kicking off the fun festivities that typically mark the holidays in the Keys.





Everyone who lives in the Keys, or at least all those who have been here since the 80s or 90s, knows personally someone who has passed away from AIDS and countless others who have been impacted. Certainly Kathy & I are no exception, having both lost friends and seen the terrible toll that has been experienced by our small island.





It was a solemn memorial at the foot of the White Street Pier where the names of all those lost from Key West are listed. The crowd stood silently as the names were read aloud in a ceremony that sadly lasted far too long. Next the fifteen new names of those lost during the last year were read and added to the tragic toll. I was at once saddened by the terrible loss and proud of my small island community for taking the time and remembering those lost.





After the ceremony, there was an annual event at La Te Da to raise money for AIDS Help, the Tree of Life. The event consists of a huge Christmas tree that is decorated by small stuffed angel bears that are sold to raise money. In place of the bears, small pieces of paper with private messages are added to the tree, so in the end the tree is covered with hundreds of thoughts and memories.







On a lighter note, we attended another holiday event this week that marked the start of the Christmas season when we heeded over to Key West High School to see the most recent production by the wonderful theatrical group, Keys Kids. The show, “Broadway Santa” featured a huge cast (actually two separate casts- we saw cast A) of children from the community.





Of course if there are kids involved, we are almost certain to know many of them and this was no exception. The play involves a plan by Santa & Mrs. Claus to bring the crew from the North Pole to Broadway and open a show based on their lives. The show doesn’t go as planned and yet is somehow still a huge success.





The kids mostly play the roles of elves and reindeer with a few larger roles for the older kids to fill. Kathy & I enjoyed it, though it wasn’t any great piece of theater. What it lacked in skill was more than made up for in enthusiasm and effort. It is so cool to see the kids giving it their all. Next up for Keys Kids will be a production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” which will feature mostly older kids and I am sure will be well worth checking out.