SHELF HELP ANNE MCKEE APPLICATIONS DUE

April 15-16

• Blue Angels return for the Southernmost Air Spectacular at Naval Air Station Key West at MM 8. Admission is free both days. Gates open at 10 a.m. and the show starts at 11 a.m. See page 4.

Saturday, April 15

• Following a $1 million renovation, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Eco-Discovery Center in Key West reopens with a “Community Day’’ celebration with games and hands-on activities for children and families, and tours of the re-imagined visitor center and exhibits. This event is free, just like admission to the Eco-Discovery Center itself, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

April 21-30

• Conch Republic Days commemorate the Florida Keys’ symbolic 1982 secession from the United States and formation of the independent republic. Visit conchrepublic.com for schedule and details.

Thursday, April 20

Grant applications for the Anne McKee Artists Fund close at 5 p.m. Friday, April 14.

The Anne McKee Artists Fund awards grants up to $2,000 for project-based work. The grants are given to individual visual, performing and literary artists who reside in Key West and the Florida Keys.

In addition, there are three youth-based scholarships, with categories for kids over 14 and under 14, as well as the Jon McIntosh Student Grant for Artistic Advancement.

The artists’ fund was created to give projectbased assistance to individual artists. Grants are awarded on the basis of financial need and/or to promote recognition of emerging talent. Other factors considered are a history of dedication and excellence in the applicant’s area of expertise and the applicants’ commitment to and involvement in the cultural community of Key West and the Florida Keys.

Grants are awarded at the sole discretion of the board of directors, after fair and careful consideration. Proceeds from the Anne McKee Art Auction recently held on March 12 fund the annual grants.

Applications and details for interested applicants can be found online at McKeeFund.org or via email McKeeFund@gmail.com Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Friday, April 14.

• Reef Relief and Sunset Social Drinking Club host 420 Key West Fest, 4:20 to 9 p.m. at Sunset Pier, 0 Duval. St. Event features food, drinks and live music by the Red Not Chili Peppers, Reggie Lou and the Kind Budz, plus a silent auction and raffle for the benefit of Reef Relief. Ten prize packages including watersports passes, gift certificates for local bars and restaurants, and other luxury items will be auctioned.

Saturday, April 22

• Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade kicks off at noon from the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front St. Mobile sculptures and art bikes will travel the length of Duval Street to the Southernmost Pocket Park, where a block party and awards ceremony celebration will take place from 1 to 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 29

• 2nd annual Cuban Sandwich Throwdown, noon to 3 p.m. at the Green Parrot Bar, Key West. Tickets are $20 to participate in taste tests of nine Cuban sandwich entries. 100% of proceeds benefit The Learning Center preschool.

• Cori Convertito from the Key West Art & Historical Society discusses “Crossing the Florida Straits: 150 Years of Cuban Migration to South Florida,” 1 p.m. in the Toppino Nature Chapel at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, College Road, Stock Island.

Monday, April 24

• Taste of Key West, 7 to 10 p.m. at Truman Waterfront Park to benefit AH Monroe.

Staff from your Monroe County Public Library recommend some of their favorites from the collection.

What: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” and “The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires,” both by Grady Hendrix

Why: I recommend both these books because the author identifies the latter as an unofficial sequel. They both take place in the same South Carolina neighborhood in the late ’80s. Common themes in these books are friendship, trusting yourself, the silencing of women’s voices to the detriment of problem solving, monsters, and the importance of working together. Both stories follow the arc of frustration, determination and eventual resolution. “The Southern Book Club” felt like historical fiction, a frighteningly realistic view on an ’80s housewife’s concerns in and outside the home; the titular vampire isn’t the only monster in the story. “My Best Friend’s Exorcism,” on the other hand, reads like a thriller filtered through the lens of an increasingly frustrated teenager — the epilogue of which houses the most touching discussion of love in friendship I have ever personally read. Both books display the power and capacity of women put to test, without feeling like hard “anti-men” literature. A+

Where: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is available as a print book and “The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires” is available as a print book, ebook and e-audiobook from the Monroe County Library system.

How: You can request books online by logging in to www.keyslibraries. org and get ebooks and e-audiobooks 24/7 at www.estuff.keyslibraries.org.

If you don’t have a card, you can visit your local branch or register online to get one. Questions? info@keyslibraries.org

Recommended by: Faith Price, librarian, Key West branch.