PUCKER UP AND BLOW

HOT AIR & HIJINKS MARK ANNUAL CONCH SHELL BLOWING CONTEST

Country music legend Willie Nelson was “On the Road Again,” performing on March 1 to a packed house at Key West’s Coffee Butler Amphitheater.

Country music — and marijuana — wouldn’t be the same without the vocal influence of singer/ songwriter Nelson.

The outlaw country star’s music has spanned more than six decades and earned him nearly every award in the country music industry.

Even those who don’t consider themselves fans of Willie Nelson –or of country music – appreciate and recognize classics that have spanned generations, including several covers and duets. Nearly every American older than 40 can sing along to “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain,” “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” (a duet with Julio Iglesias), “Pancho and Lefty,” “On the Road Again,” “Seven Spanish Angels” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

Nelson has earned 15 Grammy Awards, along with dozens of Country Music Association and American Music Association awards. He ranks among Rolling Stone’s Top 100 musicians of all time. He was part of the 1980s country band, the Highwaymen, with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

He helped organize the annual Farm Aid concerts that started in 1985 and has served on the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Their musical prowess may not win them any Grammy Awards, but their enthusiasm for Key West and the Conch Republic earned them applause and awards at the annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest on March 4 at the Oldest House Museum & Gardens.

A Canadian woman and a pediatric cardiologist from Georgia won the men’s and women’s contests using different techniques to impress the judges.

Brian Cardis of Macon, Georgia, played the Jimmy Buffett song “Fins” on a pink-lined conch shell with holes so it can be played like a flute, while Carol Whiteley of Ontario, Canada, blew a long, loud blast with her shell to best other competitors.

“You sort of have to just buzz your lips when you’re blowing into it,” Cardis said. “You have to make a ‘pffft’ noise with your lips to generate the sound.”

Judges evaluated entrants ranging from children to seniors on the quality, novelty, duration and volume of sounds they produced.

Other winners included Michael and Georgann Wachter, a couple from Avon Lake, Ohio, who performed a conch-shell-andvocal duet parodying Elvis Presley’s

1. Nearly 20 contestants competed in this year’s Conch Shell Blowing Contest on March 4 at Key West’s Oldest House Museum & Gardens. LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly

2. From left, Brian Cardis, Finley Ray, Carol Whiteley and Georgann and Michael Wachter win medals in various categories of Key West’s annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest.

3. Key Wester David Johnson aka ‘Son of Poseidon’ competes in full costume.

“Hound Dog” that drew cheers and laughter from spectators.

The conch shell, an enduring symbol of the Florida Keys, has been used as a maritime signaling device in the region for more than two centuries.

The contest was conceived by the Old Island Restoration Foundation in 1972.

Sunday, March 12

• Impromptu Concerts presents the American Brass Quintet featuring works from Jennifer Higdon, David Snow and Eric Ewazen. 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 401 Duval St., Key West. Admission is $20 at the door. Students are admitted free. Visit keywestimpromptu.org.

• Anne McKee Artists Fund Fine Art Auction at The Studios of Key West features fine artwork, gourmet hors d’oeuvres and champagne. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and the auction begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and $60 for VIP seating and can be purchased at mckeefund.org.

Monday, March 13

• The Friends of the Key West Library’s speaker series presents Gaelin Rosenwaks, a marine scientist, explorer, photographer and filmmaker at 6 p.m., 700 Fleming St. Lectures are free and open to all, but you must register to receive a ticket at https://www.friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org.

Wednesday, March 15

• The third annual Key West NOW Women’s Film Festival will screen the third of five films at the Tropic Cinema at 6 p.m. “Trouble with Angels” is a light-hearted comedy starring Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell as mischievous girls in a convent school.

• The College of the Florida Keys and Dr. Doug Mader present “Pythons in the Everglades.” 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the CFK Upper Keys Center in Key Largo.

Friday, March 17

• The Key West Art & Historical Society offers free lecture by Sharika Crawford, “The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Labor, Conservation and Boundary Making from the Cayman Island to Key West.” 6 p.m. at Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St. Register at kwahs.org.

Saturday, March 18

• Key West’s chapter of NOW will host a fundraiser for its Connie Gilbert Scholarship from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Gardens Hotel, 526 Angela St., Key West. KWNOW is hosting a live orchid auction, silent auction and plein air painting. Funds will be used for scholarships for Monroe County women to continue their education. In 2022 four scholarships were given, totaling $7,000. Free admission, cash bar. Donations to the auction greatly appreciated; contact Darlene Lovell Thomas at 305-3041043 or email kwnowinfo@gmail.com.

Friday, March 24

• The Tropic Cinema will host a fundraiser and preview screening of “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” based on the book by Key West resident Judy Blume. The event will welcome Blume as well as star Rachel McAdams, producer James L. Brooks and others. Visit tropiccinema.com for tickets.

Saturday, March 25

• The Lilly Pulitzer shop at 600 Front St. in Key West will donate 10% of all sales to A Positive Step of Monroe County to help fund the organization’s 2023 Idle Hands Summer Youth Employment program. The fundraiser takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.