No Direction Home

This humble blog was started to document our travels around the country during the summer of 2006, We have opted to continue updating it due to the requests from family & friends. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Celebration

August 17, 2011

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Photobucket Lobsterfest

Photobucket Jay

Celebration

This week saw us attending a couple of fantastic celebrations here in Key West, one a private party celebrating the 50th birthday of a friend and the other a public party in honor of the start of the annual Lobster fishing season, Lobsterfest. Both of these events were great fun and highlight the wonderful friends and community that we are so fortunate to have here.

Photobucket Martha & Elena

Photobucket Guillermo,Kathy, Erica & Kent

Photobucket brothers, Ed & Jay

Jay Scott is the Executive Director at the Studios of Key West and he has transformed it from a fantastic cultural treasure into a super amazing fantastic cultural treasure. His leadership has built upon what was already a pretty amazing place and under his tutelage, the Studios has grown by leaps and bounds. He has done it all by energizing his terrific staff , the artists who call the place their artistic home and the donors who kick in to make it all possible.

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Photobucket Joel, Ed & Kathy

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When we received the invite for the party to celebrate his 50th birthday party, we could not possibly miss it and neither could a huge portion of the Key West community who turned out to honor this man who has meant so much to our island. Jay is one of those positive people who it is impossible not to like, Kathy & I feel fortunate to count him among our friends.

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The party, like most hosted by Jay, was fantastic. His daughter was also celebrating, having turned 16 the previous day and it was one massive party to honor the birthday duo. The place was packed with many of our friends and the mood was festive, the food and drink flowing and no fewer than three birthday cakes. It was a great evening.

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The weekend also saw another of the many summer celebrations along Duval Street with the 15th annual Lobsterfest street fair taking over downtown. This festival has grown by leaps and bounds and now draws a massive crowd of both locals and tourists to take in the street fair and to partake in fresh Florida Lobster cooked up in all manner of preparation.

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The festival is held a couple of weeks in to the start of the fishing season for Florida Spiny Lobster and features many restaurants and bars cooking up Lobster in a variety of ways as well as a street fair featuring arts and crafts and a number of vendors catering to the masses who gather to eat lobster.

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Photobucket Todd

Photobucket Diana & Kris

It is generally brutally hot during Lobsterfest and this year was no exception, though a dousing brief rain shower cooled things off during the late afternoon when Kathy & I were there. Thankfully we were able to duck in to the Porch and enjoy some tasty craft beers while waiting for the weather to improve.

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Photobucket Marco, Jeanne & Kathy

Photobucket Kathy