Key West, Florida, a very popular vacation spot on the southern-most tip of the continental United States, features many events, festivals, and other annual celebrations! Here are some of the 2020 events that you won’t want to miss!
January 26th to February 2nd… Key West Food & Wine Festival where top chefs and restaurateurs from around the island will display their amazing culinary creativity and the cuisine that is indigenous to the island in a very flavorful schedule of events for food lovers.
Highlights of this wonderful event include the lively “Old Town Uncorked,” neighborhood wine strolls, delicious food and wine pairings, some intriguing food related seminars, a winemaker dinner series and a grand tasting.
February 4th Joan Osborne appearing at The Key West Theatre. Rams Head presents this multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee. This soulful vocalist is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and Mavis Staples, to name a few. She’ll be performing at 512 Eaton Street, where the doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8 PM.
February 6th and 7th Fringe Theater presents: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Reading with Music a delightful display of ambition and music will collide when the legendary blues singer, Ma Rainey, brings her awesome band together for a recording session. She and they are an American masterpiece. They are 1984 NY Drama Critics’ Circle Award winners. The performance will be at 7 P.M., at the VFW Post 168, 803 Emma St. Fringe Theater is Key West’s community-focused theater providing unique opportunities for people to enjoy theater.
February 9th South Florida Symphony presents Beethoven 250th Anniversary Celebration which will astound you. In honor of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth is this special South Florida Symphony presentation of his epic Symphony No. 9, with a full choir and the famous Ode to Joy grand finale. Also on the bill is Schumann’s beloved Piano Concerto, featuring a Key West audience favorite; Svetlana Smolina on piano. Performance is at 6:30 P.M., at the Glynn R. Archer Center for the Performing Arts. Don’t miss it!
February 9th is also the Key West Artisan Market: Love is in the Air Edition and you’ll find everything you need for your sweeties including wine & champagne by the bottle, beautiful jewelry, gifts and all the makings for a romantic dinner. Enjoy a full bar, coffee, smoothies, natural juices and cut fruit, multiple food trucks and stalls.
You can also enjoy shopping a curated outdoor market offering fine crafts, art and jewelry from talented Key West & Florida Keys jewelry makers and artists, as well as fresh produce, artisan cheeses, local seafood, honey, pickles and so much more.
From 10 AM to 2 PM at Clarence H. Higgs Memorial Beach. The market is conveniently located close to the free West Martello Tower botanical gardens, White Street Pier and of course, the alluring Atlantic ocean.
February 9th is also the date of the Impromptu Classical Concerts presents: Canellakis-Brown Duo consisting of pianist and composer Michael Brown and cellist Nicholas Canellakis, which have been hailed as “a pair of adventurous young talents” by Time Out New York and lavishly praised by the New York Times as “two outstanding musicians who are captivating audiences with innovative programs that combine masterpieces from the standard repertoire with original compositions and arrangements.”
These two highly acclaimed musicians continue to pursue solo careers with performances in such venues as the Lincoln Center and Alice Tully Hall. All Impromptu Classical Concerts are at 4:00 PM at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval Street in Old Town.
February 12th Waterfront Playhouse presents: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill Imagine that the year is 1959 and you’re seated in a seedy bar in Philadelphia. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances, given just four months before her untimely death. More than a dozen musical numbers are interlaced with salty, often humorous reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of this most amazing lady and her sensational music. Showtime is 7 P.M.
February 13th The Studios of Key West presents: Johnsmith This is part of The Studios of Key West Old Town New Folk Series. For thirty-odd years, Johnsmith has shared his fabulous music all across America and abroad. With faded jeans, blue eyes, and an infectious smile, audiences get the sense of a man who simply loves life, his family and friends, and sharing songs and stories. Showtime is 8 P.M., 533 Eaton Street. Tickets are $55 for Preferred seating, and $40 General admission. (A $10 discount is available for members with advance purchase only.)
February 14th Oh My Gods and Goddesses: A Heavenly Burlesque Show Key West Burlesque presents a burlesque show of epic proportion! This “one night only” production will transport you out of this earthly realm and into the kingdom of celestial and supreme beings. Key west burlesque favorites Tatah DuJour and Moana Amour are joined by a cast of local and nationally touring burlesque and variety performers who portray immortal deities with a wink and a smile! Doors open 7:30 P.M., show start 8 P.M., at the Key West Theater, 513 Eaton Street.
February 14th Tennessee Williams Theater presents: Mandy Patinkin in Concert: DIARIES, presents the acclaimed actor, singer, storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer. “Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping,” raves The New Yorker, and that’s exactly what he does in this powerful, passionate evening of song. DIARIES is a marriage of many of Mandy’s favorite Broadway and classic American tunes, along with selections from his newest recordings on Nonesuch Records, Mandy Patinkin Diary January 2018 and Mandy Patinkin Diary April/May 2018. From Randy Newman to Stephen Sondheim, from Harry Chapin to Rufus Wainwright, Mandy Patinkin takes you on a dazzling musical journey you’ll never forget. Showtime 8 p.m., Tennessee Williams Theater, 5901 College Road.
February 14th 60th Annual Key West Home Tours allows you to tour a series of elegant and unique private homes in Key West, Florida, ranging from exquisite restorations to creative renovations, and interior design that complements each.
February and March tours are offered 10 am to 4 pm daily. Transportation between homes is not provided. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 on tour days. Proceeds benefit the foundation’s Oldest House Museum, grant and scholarship programs.
Do YOU want to buy a house in wonderful Key West? If you’re even thinking about it, then contact Darrin at Key West Luxury Real Estate Inc. because he or his staff will certainly be able to assist you!
February 17th Willie Nelson At Key West Amphitheater a show that you shouldn’t miss! With a six-decade career this iconic Texan is the creative genius behind the historic recordings of Crazy, Red Headed Stranger, and Stardust. Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor, and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. Doors open 5:30 P.M., show starts 7 P.M. The show is sold out, but we just had to mention it here!
February 19th to 23rd Fringe Theater presents: Desdemona another amazing show. Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Tony Morrison, has given voice to Desdemona, one of Shakespeare’s most mysterious women, in this inventive retelling of her murder by Othello. Music and movement will create a unique evening of performance theater. Performance at Aqua Side Bar, 504 Angela St. Fringe Theater is Key West’s community-focused theater providing unique opportunities for people to see and do theater.
February 23rd Impromptu Classical Concerts presents: The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet appears regularly at major concert halls all throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. The Vienna Zeitung hailed the quartet as the “Uncrowned Kings of the Saxophone” and a critic from Die Welt claimed, “If there were an Olympic discipline for virtuoso wind playing, the Raschèr Quartet would definitely receive a gold medal.” Although founded in the United States in 1969 the quartet was relocated in Germany several years later and has been based there ever since. All Impromptu Classical Concerts are at 4:00 PM at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval St. in Old Town.
February 29th Sixth Annual Cow Key Channel Bridge Run Do you feel like running across a bridge in the Florida Keys without waking up early or breaking a sweat? From 10AM to 2PM, you can join many zany-dressed participants for the world’s only Zero K across one of the shortest bridges in the Keys. The event is free to watch and it’s a lot of laughs. The world’s first zero-k started as a joke between friends mocking the grueling 7- Mile Bridge Run. They wanted to cross a bridge and get a t-shirt without waking up early or breaking a sweat, so the Cow Key Channel Bridge Run was born.
Measuring only about 300-feet long, The Cow Key Channel Bridge is one of the shortest bridges in the Florida Keys. (There are 42 bridges between Key West and the mainland.) This annual event has grown into one of the island chains’ most anticipated events, with runners, walkers and watchers from all over the world dressing in cow costumes and competing for Golden Calf Awards. Free rum shots are handed out at the finish line, where the runners form a parade and stroll to a nearby hotel for a bovine infused after-party and award ceremony. Bring your cowbell. This is a true Key West bucket list event.
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