3rd Annual Key West Food & Wine Festival: Kick Off Party

What would you do?  It’s late January, the holidays are long over, and you’re definitely feeling the winter blahs – what do you do?  Well, you can do what I did and head south for the 3^rd Annual Key West Food & Wine Festival – a four-day gastronomic celebration in continental America’s “Southernmost City.”

Thursday evening, on white sand under the palm trees, the festival kicked off with a beach party!  The boisterous crowd, which seemed as happy to be in the sub-tropical warmth as I was, sampled wines from a variety of local distributors, food from the host restaurant, the Southernmost Beach Café, and listened to the music of DJ Jimmy Jamz.

Cassie from Anaheim

Nancy from Jacksonville

I spent time chatting with old acquaintances from my time as a Key Wester, and meeting new folk from across the country like Cassie from Anaheim and Nancy from Jacksonville, a woman who can trace her family history back to the founding of Florida. 

The party continued while the famous Key West sunset (have you ever seen the green flash?) occurred off the other end of Duval Street and the lights on the palm tree trunks came to life.

Chef Alice Weingarten

The next event of the evening was a choice of three Neighborhood Strolls through historic Key West areas with scheduled stops at well-known and up-and-coming restaurants to sip wine and share a bit of their unique culinary offerings.  Of the three:  Key West Bight, Mallory Square, and Petronia Street, I chose the Petronia stroll as it visited Bahama Village, my old neighborhood.  Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming demand for the strolls and a previous engagement on my part, I was unable to join in the event.  But I am sure, from the festive atmosphere I witnessed as my fellow party-goers boarded the Old Town Trolleys to their destinations, that they had a grand time.