Summertime...and the livin' is easy!

Key West, FL -
Summertime in Key West...it's perfectly warm and the livin' is easy...people wear less clothing and sexual tension seems to hover in the air. So what's the problem? Let's party! Hardly a summer weekend goes by in the Florida Keys without a special event or festival taking place. Key West's Cuban-flavored heritage, residents' fondness for free-roaming chickens, the coral reef life of the Lower Keys, Ernest Hemingway's life and work, and the Keys' creative cuisine are all commemorated with colorful festivals scheduled in June, July and August.

Summertime in Key West...it's perfectly warm and the livin' is easy...people wear less clothing and sexual tension seems to hover in the air. So what's the problem? Let's party!

Key West's rich Cuban heritage is celebrated first during the week of June 14th. The festival will include everything from a cigar dinner, a scholars' symposium and book signing, to a traditional Cuban feast and a salsa party. Located just 90 miles from Cuba, Key West was the site of nearly 150 cigar factories in the mid- to late-1800s, when the city welcomed thousands of Cuban immigrants seeking greater personal and political freedom.

The family-oriented Cuban American Heritage Festival showcases the vibrant culture and customs they brought with them to Key West. One of the festival's highlights is the rollicking "coast-to-coast" conga line, featuring comparsa dancers, salsa musicians and costumed revelers promenading all the way down Duval Street! Duval street is well-known as the only street in the United States that connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean...about a mile and a quarter of famous stores, boutiques and restaurants, not to mention a few Hotels and "Bed and Breakfasts" along the way!

Among those scheduled to dance in the coast-to-coast conga line is a group of costumed chickens celebrating the new, 1st Annual ChickenFest Key West, set for Thursday through Sunday, June 17-20. Paying homage to the island city's free-ranging "birds of paradise," the festival will feature family-friendly fowl play including a competition for the best-looking "drumsticks," the Chicken Scratch Miniature Golf Tournament and the Fowl Follies talent contest. Chickens have long been a part of domestic life on the island and roosters continue to play their part to perfection...though they often are confused about the exact hour of dawn are are known to crow "incessantly" throughout the night. Depending upon the precise location of a loudly crowing rooster, it can be either atmospheric or downright annoying...but life goes on and now the chickens have their very own festival!

Other interesting "Chicken events" will include a Tastes Like Chicken Cook-off showcasing chickenless cuisine, the Why Did the Chicken Cross the Street Fair on Duval Street, an all-day egg-stravaganza for children and a Poultry in Motion Parade featuring chickens of the sea, Foghorn Leghorn look-alikes and rooster revelers of all sorts.

The focus changes from feathers to fins in July, when the 20th annual Underwater Music Festival attracts divers and snorkelers to enjoy the sounds of music in the Keys' ocean realm. Staged by radio station WCNK 98.7 Conch FM, the sub-sea songfest takes place Saturday, July 10, at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, an area of the Florida Keys' living coral reef located approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key.

Musical selections, broadcast underwater via speakers suspended beneath boats, typically include water-themed melodies like the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and the theme from "Titanic." Past participants have glimpsed underwater surprises such as a longhaired harp-wielding mermaid and snorkeling Elvis look-alikes playing underwater guitar.

Undersea adventures give way to literary adventures later in July, as Hemingway Days draws fans of the author's literature and lifestyle to Key West, the island where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote throughout the 1930s.

The 2004 event is scheduled for Tuesday through Sunday, July 20-25. The schedule always includes a popular look-alike contest for "Papa" pretenders and authors' readings and presentations. New this year is a world-premiere art exhibition on the grounds of Hemingway's Whitehead Street home, as well as a family boat-building experience, a one-man theatrical showcase, an internationally acclaimed marlin tournament and an offbeat "Running of the Bulls."

The festival's leading literary event is the culmination of the 24th annual Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, which awards $2,000 each year to deserving writers. In addition, the Key West Museum of Art & History will present an exhibition featuring objects from Hemingway's Key West years.

Key West's creative cuisine takes center stage from Friday, July 30, through Sunday, Aug. 8, at the Key West Summer Food and Wine Festival. The mouthwatering gala showcases the talents of Key West's master chefs as well as the quality and diversity of the island's culinary offerings.

Events include gourmet wine dinners featuring vintages from around the world, champagne sunset sails aboard a seafaring catamaran, a "dinner and a movie" night, a master chefs competition, Florida lobster feasts observing the start of the Keys lobster season and a "wine walk" through historic Old Town Key West. A series of cooking classes will be offered to teach the preparation of fine dishes ranging from succulent seafood to Mexican sauces to classic risotto. Culinary classes for kids will also be available.

Key West in the summertime takes on an entirely different feeling and everyone slows down the pace...yes, it really is possible to take the pace down yet another notch!! The island is less crowded and everyone has a little more time to "relate." Islanders finally have a chance to talk with one another, regaling each other with stories about the past season. Store clerks actually have time to help you and it's usually possible to get a table at the very best restaurants.

Packing for your summertime trip should be easy...the major fashion statement in the summer months is a pair of shorts, a tank top and a pair of sandals... you start removing layers from there! Of course you will also need a good swim suit-summer is the absolute best time for snorkeling. The water is a perfect temperature, it's calm and the visibility is ieal. What could be better than a day out on that famous aquamarine water? Why not take a picnic and make a day of snorkeling and eating? Or maybe a little scuba diving and then time it so you come back to shore just as the sun is setting...if you're lucky you'll get to witness the famous green flash as the last remnants of the sun melt into the horizon...

Oh yes, there's still plenty of nightlife during the summer...something about the warm, sultry evening air that makes everyone relax and...enjoy! Key West is a wonderful place to meet people from all over the world and summer is the most popular time for the Europeans to visit. (How about a summer affair with a sizzling Italian?) The island is filled with live music, whether it's a cozy, intimate piano bar at the Pier House, a rip-roaring drag show at La Te Da or a full out "blowout" at Sloppy Joe's...as usual, there's something for everyone!

Finally, when it's time to go home, you'll walk under a star studded sky...and sniff the jasmine in the air. Palm fronds will gently sway in the breeze and the bougainvillea and flame trees will provide color and profusion you never thought possible. There is a reason that Key West is often referred to as...Paradise...and it's right here on earth-at the very tip of the Florida Keys!