How Key West is celebrating its 200th birthday: festival, gala dinner and ‘drone fireworks’
Key West always knows how to throw a party.
But this year, the island is celebrating much more than Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed cats, Duval Street pub crawls or a Fantasy Fest debauch.
Locals have an exceptional milestone to mark: The island is turning 200 years old.
Key West is celebrating the bicentennial of its settlement — Friday March 25, to be exact — with special events this week that include a festival, a gala dinner, a time capsule to open 50 years from now and silent “drone” fireworks.
On March 25, 1822, U.S. Navy Lt. Matthew C. Perry planted an American flag on island soil at what is now Mallory Square by order of the U.S. Navy.
The federal government sent Perry to claim the island, which had been purchased months before by businessman John Simonton, who shelled out $2,000 for it.
“We’re hanging out in the middle of nowhere, this tiny island,” said Cori Convertito, historian and curator at the Key West Art and Historical Society. “We could have been part of Cuba. We could have been part of the United States. The deep water port was here. The American government wanted to make sure we were theirs.”
The bicentennial is described on its website as the “first permanent settlement” of Key West to recognize that Native Americans were there first, coming to the island chain for fishing, Convertito said.
“They weren’t here in the summer because of the hurricanes,” she added.
And people were living on the island by the time Perry planted the flag.
“The island is owned and occupied by January but we’re not officially American until March 25,” Convertito said. “There are Americans living here already.”
Perry renamed the island “Thompson’s Island.”
“That just didn’t stick,” said Corey Malcom, an archaeologist and president of the Key West Maritime Historical Society. “The tradition had already been set by everybody calling it Key West.”
People of course had explored Key West long before Simonton or the government found out about it.
“We’re celebrating the 200 years of modern Key West, the founding of our community,” Malcom said. “So much remarkable history has happened over those two centuries. The rest of South Florida, they’re all youngsters compared to Key West.”
Malcom has already helped usher in the bicentennial party.
On Sunday, the Key West Maritime Historical Society presented Perry’s ship log book, which details the USS Shark’s arrival in Key West, to Monroe County at a ceremony on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum in Key West.
“It’s why we know it’s this weekend,” Malcom said. “What exactly unfolded. So much of it was beautifully documented by these guys back then.”
The society acquired the log book at an auction, with the help of a donation.
“We have no idea where it’s been but we know where it will be 200 years from now,” Malcom said.
Bicentennial events
Key West began celebrating the bicentennial in January but several events are set for the rest of the month.
Key West documentary screening
The bicentennial celebration includes a screening of Michael J. Kirk’s documentary “Key West: 200 Years of History and Culture” on Tuesday at the Casa Marina Resort, 1500 Reynolds St. It’s sold out but there is a wait list. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Conch Revival Picnic
You can enjoy a feast of Key West cuisine from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday at the Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters, 938 Whitehead St.. It’s a casual Conch-influenced dinner by chefs Martha Hubbard and Dave Furman. Tickets are $75 for members of the Key West Art and Historical Society and $85 for general admission.
The menu includes roasted pig, a whole roasted pig, conch chowder, conch fritters and a version of bread pudding dubbed “the queen of all pudding.”
Mallory Square events
Starting at 4 p.m. Friday at Mallory Square, the Key West Heritage Festival will include a reenactment of U.S. Navy Lt. Matthew Perry claiming the island as U.S. soil. Key West and Navy officials will join in.
Also locals will dedicate a time capsule, encased in a granite marker at Mallory Square, that’s set to be opened in 2072 for the 250th celebration.
Bicentennial Celebratory Gala
Also on Friday, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Bicentennial Celebratory Gala will be held at the Oldest House Museum and Gardens, 322 Duval St., featuring food and period costumes. Local and Bahamian officials are scheduled to attend. The 200 tickets available are $200 each.
Festival and fireworks
The Heritage Festival starts at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Truman Waterfront Park and will include music, historic talks, local vendors and, at 8:30 p.m., a 15-minute drone fireworks display. Organizers say the fireworks themselves are silent and environmentally and pet friendly.
‘Play Ball!’ art exhibit
Key West’s art scene is also taking part in the bicentennial.
The Studios of Key West, an arts center at 533 Eaton St., has an exhibit called “Play Ball!” to honor the bicentennial with a look at two of Key West’s passions: its cultural roots in Cuba and baseball.
It’s a collection of more than 100 baseball bats turned into art by acclaimed artists from Key West and Cuba. “Play Ball!” runs through March 31.
‘We seceded Where Others Failed’
Key West has another big anniversary this year with the 40th Conch Republic Independence Celebration set for April 15-24.
The festival remembers the city’s symbolic “secession” in response to the U.S. Border Patrol setting up a road block at the entrance to the Keys as a plan to crack down on the drug trade by stopping and searching cars.
The road block on the Overseas Highway — the only major road that runs up and down the 120-mile island chain — caused huge traffic jams on the way to the tourist-dependent Keys and riled people in Key West.
So on April 23, 1982, Mayor Dennis Wardlow and others fought back in true quirky Key West fashion that grabbed attention: declaring independence from the U.S. (They soon after surrendered and asked for foreign aid.)
Events include a drag queen race on Duval Street with an obstacle course, a boat parade, a Pirate ball, a reenactment of the “sea battle” of the Conch Republic and military forces and a performance of “Conch Republic: The Musical.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 7:06 PM.
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