Headquartered at Key Largo Fisheries, events include a Pirate’s Treasure Raffle, music, silent auction, two days of fishing, and awards dinner. Cash and trophy prizes are to be awarded. Proceeds benefit the Long Walk Home Veterans Charity Community Outreach., Contact: 305-504-3795, Email: thelongwalkhomeinc@gmail.com
Special flies, accurate casts and a bit of luck are the recipe for winning this prestigious challenge, using only a tournament-furnished tippet not greater than 16-pound test. Eligible tarpon must measure at least 48 inches in length to earn release points, and weigh at least 70 pounds for weight points., Contact: Betsy Bullard 305-587-1460, Email: fishnfever@bellsouth.net
Women compete in this all-release tournament to catch tarpon in one of the longest-running tournaments in the Keys. Marking its 40th edition in/2016, the popular Middle Keys event is a bridge tournament, with fishing spots at Long Key Bridge, Seven Mile Bridge and Bahia Honda Bridge. Visit tournament website for details., Contact: 305-304-8591
The Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce presents its 23rd annual event, where anglers contend for more than $35,000 in cash prizes and awards. A special cash prize of $20,000 is awarded for the largest dolphin over 50 pounds. Additional prizes await winners in the open, ladies and youth divisions., Contact: 800-872-2411 , Email: executivedirector@lowerkeyschamber.com
This tournament is headquartered at Skippers Dockside Restaurant (former location of Coconuts), behind the Holiday Inn. A kickoff and final registration party is planned Friday, 6/3; fishing days are 6/4 & 5; cash prizes over $60,000 include a first-place prize of $25,000. Prizes for top six teams as well as lady and junior anglers., Email: ditournaments@aol.com
Throughout the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys Guitar Festival presents eight virtuoso classical and jazz concerts in Marathon (6/4 & 5), Key Largo (7/2) and Key West (Aug. 5-7). The inaugural festival is to feature five of South Florida’s best guitarists including Matthew Jampol, Steve Ramos, Bob Hanni, Larry Baeder and Mike Emerson. Details to be posted online., Email: jampolmateo@gmail.com
Key West shows its Pride every day, and this is your chance to be a part of the celebration! The five-day schedule includes daytime pool and beach parties, late-night drag shows, on-the-water adventures ranging from snorkeling and kayaking to glass-bottom boat tours, a street fair, a 10k relay for tutu-wearing runners and walkers, and pageants to select Mr., Miss and Ms. Key West Pride., Contact: Guy Ross 305-294-4603, Email: events@gaykeywestfl.com
Hosted by the Florida Keys Elks Lodge, this event welcomes female angler teams to compete for the highest aggregate weight of three dolphin fish. Cash and prizes are awarded to first- through third-place finishers, and for the largest dolphin caught., Contact: Dianne Harbaugh 305-522-4868 , Email: ditournaments@aol.com, Key West /6/11/2016, VFW Fishing Tournament, This family oriented tournament offers cash prizes for dolphin, wahoo, tuna, snapper and grouper, along with prizes for heaviest fish by a lady angler, heaviest fish by a juvenile angler, pee-wee and active service member. Heaviest Dolphin is worth $2,500. All proceeds benefit disabled and/or needy veterans in Monroe County., Contact: Pete Thomas 305-509-7244, Email: psty2k@yahoo.com
Renowned mystery writers and acclaimed storytellers are to infiltrate the island where Hemingway and Tennessee Williams found their inspiration. Open to authors, aspiring authors and non-writing mystery-buffs alike, MWKWF/2016 welcomes keynote speaker, New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum, and special guest authors Timothy Hallinan, Heather Graham and James O. Born along with a criminally stellar hit-list of some two dozen high-profile and award winning mystery and crime fiction authors and true-crime experts. Also featured is presentation of the/2016 Mystery Writers Whodunit Writing Competition award., Contact: 305-587-9392, Email: info@mysterywriterskeywestfest.com
The event is to include a not-for-profit fishing tournament; innovative art exhibits featuring recycled materials, conservation organization displays and local vendors, all showcased in a 100 tent “Conchservation” Village to highlight ‘trash-to-treasure’ art exhibits and conservation efforts in the Florida Keys; a trivia event; beach and water sport competitions; a Rum Village and Kids Pier Fishing Tournament; fishing seminars and the traditional burning sculpture bonfire, a 15-foot mako shark design, beachside. The event will also aid in raising funds for marine sciences scholarships., Contact: John Bell 954-684-5155, Email: johnebell@bellsouth.net, Islamorada /6/16/2016, Morada Way Arts & Cultural District presents: Third Thursday Art Walk, Showcasing the fine arts, music and culinary nuances of the Purple Isles, the Morada Way Arts & Cultural District features national and local artisans who are showcased in galleries at Morada Way between mile marker 81 and 82 – formerly named Industrial Road – as well as “culinary art” and live music from 6-9 p.m. Free admission. Art Walk is held the third Thursday of each month., Key West /6/18/2016, Key West Island Swim: FKCC Swim Around Key West, The officially sanctioned event is a 12.5-mile swim clockwise around the island of Key West that is open to all age groups. Individual swimmers and relay teams can compete. The route takes swimmers through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, ending where they began at Higgs Beach., Contact: Lori Bosco 305-809-3562, Email: aqualb@aol.com; lori.bosco@fkcc.edu
Explore music, art, and Key West’s Afro-Caribbean culture during a three-day destination retreat focusing on thought, culture and wellness. The festival is to integrate music, art and cultural tourism, exploring Afro-Caribbean culture in Key West. Join scholars as they discuss their research and wellness experts present their practice areas., Contact: Chris Norwood, Email: cnorwood@keywestafricanafestival.com
With founders including baseball great and avid fly fisherman Ted Williams, this challenge appeals to “tarpon addicts,” and both experienced and novice anglers can compete. The event is limited to 25 anglers and proceeds are to benefit the Florida Keys’ fishing industry’s Guides Trust Foundation., Email: infodept@goldcuptt.com
Anglers can fish with some favorite former Miami Hurricanes All-Stars in the one-day tournament that features cash prizes for the heaviest dolphin. Other attractions include a charity auction and more., Contact: Judy Layne 305-598-2525, Email: info@canesfish.com; judy@canesfish.com
Offshore powerboat racing events are held along a course parallel to the Marathon shoreline near the world-famous Seven Mile Bridge. Enjoy free admission to view the boats and meet drivers and crews at the Race Village dry pits and wet pits., Contact: John Carbonell 305-296-6166
A wacky talent show, pie-eating and cooking contests and other tasty temptations await Key West visitors during the fourth annual Key Lime Festival. A Key Lime martini Sip and Stroll, and Key lime rum sampling and distillery tour are among events to kickoff the weekend-long event., Key West /7/04/2016, 32nd Annual Hospice of the Florida Keys & Visiting Nurse Association Picnic, Benefits Hospice of the Florida Keys and the Visiting Nurse Association takes place at the luxurious Casa Marina Resort & Beach Club, A Waldorf Astoria Collection, located at 1500 Reynolds St. overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The celebration is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. with fireworks starting at 9 p.m., courtesy of the Key West Rotary Club. Live music, a silent auction and lots of children’s games round out the fun-filled family festivities., Contact: Casa Marina 305-294-8812, Key Largo /7/04/2016, Fireworks Show on Blackwater Sound, Blackwater Sound provides the perfect nighttime mirrorlike surface to make the annual fireworks display seem like a 3-D viewing experience designed to dazzle. The show is to take place on the bayfront in Key Largo at 10 p.m., 7/4. The best seating can be found at Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill, Sundowners and Senior Frijoles restaurants, Caribbean Club and Marriott Key Largo Bay Resort, all located around mile marker (MM) 104 bayside. Reservations are suggested because seating is limited; contact restaurants directly., Marathon /7/04/2016, Marathon Beach Party & Fireworks Show, For one of the Keys’ largest and longest fireworks displays, families gather for a full day of activities in Marathon for a patriotic parade that begins around 10:30 a.m. and proceeds from Marathon High School on Sombrero Beach Road (MM 50 oceanside) to free-admission Sombrero Beach, where a daylong celebration features food, drink, kids’ crafts and entertainment, capped off after dark with fireworks. Marathon is known as the Boating Destination of the Keys, and hundreds of boaters line up in front of the beach for a preferred view of the festivities., Contact: 305-743-5417, Email: info@floridakeysmarathon.com
A family-formatted boat tournament series is to feature nine target backcountry and oceanside species. Trophies are awarded to the top boats in weight and release categories, as well as private vessel and charter divisions., Contact: Dianne Harbaugh 305-522-4868 , Email: islamoradafishingclassics@aol.com, Big Pine & the Lower Keys /7/09/2016, 32nd Annual Underwater Music Festival, The nationally-acclaimed submerged songfest is held at Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The marine musical event is set 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and staged by Keys radio station US1 Radio 104.1 FM. The music is broadcast underwater via Lubell Laboratory speakers suspended beneath boats positioned above the reef. All participants are encouraged to come in costume!, Contact: 305-872-2411 , Email: executivedirector@lowerkeyschamber.com
Anglers fly-fish on the flats in a challenge that honors the late angling pioneer Del Brown, who caught and released more than 500 permit off the Keys. Professionals and guides are allowed to compete as well., Contact: Loren Rea 305-360-6969, Email: loren@keywestdesign.com
Anglers ply the waters once fished by novelist Ernest Hemingway, vying for $50,000 in guaranteed cash prizes. Held in conjunction with Key West’s annual Hemingway Days festival, the event awards $25,000 to the first-place team. Teams can enter one fun fish (dolphin, tuna, wahoo or released sailfish) per day to add to their point total., Contact: Tim Greene 305-304-0317, Email: tim.greene@keywestmarlin.com, Islamorada /7/21/2016, Morada Way Arts & Cultural District presents: Third Thursday Art Walk, Showcasing the fine arts, music and culinary nuances of the Purple Isles, the Morada Way Arts & Cultural District features national and local artisans who are showcased in galleries at Morada Way between mile marker 81 and 82 – formerly named Industrial Road – as well as “culinary art” and live music from 6-9 p.m. Free admission. Art Walk is held the third Thursday of each month., Key West /7/21/2016, Key West Theater presents: Leon Russell, Leon Russell is a music legend and perhaps the most accomplished and versatile musician in the history of rock ‘n roll. Leon has played on pop, rock, blues, country, bluegrass, standards, gospel, and surf records. As a session musician, arranger, producer, singer, songwriter, pianist, guitarist, record company owner, bandleader, and touring musician, he has collaborated with hundreds of artists from Joe Cocker, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and scores more., Contact: 305-985-0433, Email: keywesttheater@gmail.com, Key West /7/23/2016, Hemingway 5K Sunset Run & Paddleboard Race, This is the original and oldest ongoing 5K Run in Key West and takes place as part of the the annual Hemingway Days Festival. The race course is a scenic flat course that runs past Key West’s most famous landmarks including the Ernest Hemingway Home, the iconic Southernmost Point and the famous Green Parrot Bar. Visit website for more details., Contact: Barb Wright at 305-240-0727, Email: barb@keywestspecialevents.com
The 36th annual celebration of the legendary author’s work and lifestyle features literary readings, Running of the Bulls, short story competition, fishing tournament, Sloppy Joe’s Look-Alike Contest and a birthday “party” commemorating Ernest’s 7/21st birthday., Contact: (305) 296-2388 (Look-Alike); 797-0579 (literary)
The Key West Business Guild presents this all-male celebration that typically includes pool and dance parties, on-the-water adventures and a fashion show that raises money for a local non-profit organization., Contact: 305-294-4603, Key Largo /8/20/2016, Anything that Floats Race, Grab your oars and anything that floats and enjoy this family-fun event – an on-the-water race of vessels crafted from items around the house – on Blackwater Sound, mile marker 104 bayside. Waterfront bars and restaurants offer excellent viewing areas for observing the race and enjoying a Keys sunset, with live music and more fun to follow., Contact: 305-451-4502, Email: events@fkrm.com