Maybe you want something more from your Key West vacation than just lying in the sun by day and eating and drinking by night. You can sate your cerebral curiosity with workshops in many fields. Who hasn't wanted to paint something? (Churchill and Eisenhower took up painting late in life.) Maybe try a poem or two. (People even write poetry on Twitter these days, sometimes without knowing it.) Or learn a new avocation. (How old was Grandma Moses when she first lifted a paintbrush?)
Key West has plenty to keep you busy. Much of the activity is in winter, when Snowbirds (part-time residents) come south to soak in the sun, but a large group of artists, writers and other creative types make the island their year-round home, so some activities are available throughout the seasons. Here are just a few of the best:
The Studios of Key West
Helping to build a bold new community, a dedicated group of artists and their friends launched The Studios of Key West a couple of years back, giving the city a new arts center and providing a great deal of pleasure to the founders, its workers and the hundreds of students flocking there.
Having taken over the town's old Armory, The Studios now offer dozens of courses, all short-term, in painting, drawing, quilting and writing, not to mention acting, website planning, songwriting, and more.
The teachers offer courses that range in length from 3 hours to 10 evenings, in cost from $65 to $350. In all cases, members pay slightly less than non-members, and sometimes, a catered lunch is included.
Here are some of the courses featured at The Studios from March through June this year, following many other offerings from late October through February:
- Imagination in Acting, with Mike Milligan, May 4-29 (4 evenings), $190
- Impressionist's Palette, with William Welch, March 4-6, $250 including 3 lunches
- Encaustic Painting, with Kate Miller, March 7, $145 including lunc
- Making Memoir, with Diane Roberts, March 11-13, $200 including 3 lunches
- Art of Fiction Writing, with Jim Savio, March 18-20, $150 including 3 lunches
- Visual Storytelling/Photography, Joanne Savio, March 20-22, $180, 3 lunches
- Pan Pastel Painting, with Donna Aldridge, $235, March 27-29, $235, 3 lunches
- Watercolor Fundamentals, with Karen Beauprie, April 3-5, $200, including 3 lunches
- Experiments in Water Media, with Mark Mehaffey, April 7-11, $350, 5 lunches
- Painting Light & Color, with Steve Rogers, April 15-18, $350, including 4 lunches
- Flowers, Faces, Figures, with Janet Rogers, April 20-23, $350, including 4 lunches
- Plein Air Watercolor, with Priscilla Coote, April 27-28, $145, including 2 lunches
- Key West en Plein Air, with Sandford Birdsey, April 29, $65
- Fine Art Collage, with Roberta Marks, June 9-11, $175 including 3 lunches
- Mosaics, with Liz Nicklus, June 13-14, $150 including 2 lunches
- Narrative Non-Fiction, with Mark Hedden, June 15-17, $120 including 3 lunches
- Summer Solstice Watercolor, with Susan Sugar, June 24-27, $220
The Studios also present musical events throughout the season, and cooperate with artists, instructors and scholars in other community-wide events. For more information, contact them at 305/296-0458 or at www.tskw.org.
Poetry, Too
From April 15 to 19, 2009, the 15th Annual Robert Frost Poetry Festival will be held in the lovely garden of the Heritage House Museum and at other venues in town. The annual event has evolved from a gathering of local poets for an afternoon of readings to a five-day international celebration of poetry in all its forms. Frost's visits to the island and his friendship with Jessie Porter, a founder of the Old Island Restoration Foundation, were the impetus for the first festival in 1993. The cottage in the garden, where he stayed while visiting Key West, has been named in his honor and is listed on the National Register of Literary Landmarks. For more details, visit www.robertfrostpoetryfestival.com or phone 305/296-3573. You can also check this out on the site of the Heritage House Museum, www.heritagehousemuseum.org.
Festivals
- March 1: ardenFest, Tropic Forest & Botanical Garden
- March 7: 7th Annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest, OIRF
Artists Receptions & Gatherings
- First Thursdays Gallery Walk, Special exhibits & receptions
- Third Thursdays Walk on White Gallery Walk, exhibits & receptions
Literary Events
- Mondays through April 6:Free lectures, Friends of the Library, at TSKW
- First Sundays: Poetry Guild meets, Blue Heaven restaurant
- Tuesdays: The Writer's Den meets at Shanna Key dining room
- Third Wednesdays:All for One Book Club at the library
Music
- Weekdays Free organ and/or piano recitals at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
- March 6-7 Keys Chorale Spring Concert
- March 8 KW Pops 10th Anniversary Concert
Theater
- Through April 18 Steel Magnolias at the Red Barn Theater
- March 10 Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking at Tennessee Williams Theater
- March 19 Tommy Tune, Steps in Time at Tennessee Williams Theater
- March 20 Waterfront Playhouse Annual Gala
Film and Museums
The Tropic Cinema presents first releases as well as art films and classics. The city's museums have ongoing exhibits, many of world-class importance. You can get a complete listing of what's going on from the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, contact at 305/295-4369 or at www.keysarts.com.