HELP KEEP KEY WEST CLEAN

JOIN A 1- HOUR CLEANUP FRIDAY MORNINGS

One hour a week makes a huge difference, and volunteers are welcome every Friday and some Saturday mornings, from 8 to 9 a.m., when the Key West Ploggers clean up a designated area of the island.

Gloves, pickers, buckets, vests, hand sanitizer and a parking pass are provided to all volunteers.

A troubling number of cigarette butts and plastic bags have been included in recent hauls. Please remember your reusable bags when shopping so we can keep the plastic off the streets, parking lots and, most importantly, out of the water. And dispose of cigarette butts in any receptacle rather than the street or sidewalk, as from there, they easily end up in the ocean.

The city of Key West and its residents ask everyone to do their part to help keep Key West beautiful. With simple steps like making sure you bag your trash before putting it in your Waste Management trash cans or Dumpsters, and making sure the lids on Dumpsters are closed, will keep a lot of trash from blowing into the streets. Call Waste Management at 305-296-8297 for any furniture items left on the city right of way.

Please pick up around your home or apartment complex. Every piece of trash picked up

CONTRIBUTED is one less that may end up in the ocean that surrounds and sustains our island community. It is not just the large items you can see easily when you are walking, but the smaller items such as bottle caps and cigarette butts that are collected by the volunteers that make the biggest difference.

It takes committed community involvement to keep Key West beautiful and we are making progress with every cleanup event and every spot that’s adopted. Call Dorian Patton at 305-809-3782 to find out how your business, nonprofit or club can help.

— Contributed

Join a Friday morning cleanup from 8 to 9 a.m.

Friday, June 30: Nelson English Park at the end of Catherine Street

Wednesday, July 12: For I Love Stock Island Festival: Corner of College Road and US 1

Friday, July 14: South Roosevelt between Riviera Canal and Dead Man’s Curve. Meet along the sea wall on South Roosevelt at the end of the airport runway.

Friday, July 21: Southard and Whitehead streets hosted by Courthouse Deli & Whit’s Custard

Thursday, June 29

• The College of the Florida Keys invites prospective students, family members and the community to learn about CFK Academy at an information event and dual enrollment showcase. 5:30 p.m. at the new CFK Academy building on the Key West campus.

The event will highlight the benefits of dual enrollment, a program that allows students to earn high school and college credits simultaneously. The event will include tours of the new CFK Academy and beyond onto the main college campus. RSVP at CFK.edu/ CFKAcademy.

June 30-July 4

• Key West’s Key Lime Festival will celebrate the world’s most sensational citrus with a bountiful array of festivities across the very island where Key lime pie was conceived.

July 1-4

• The Key West Mermaid Festival features interactive mermaid adventures in the island city. Events include a “sailing with the mermaids” sunset sail, a mermaid encounter at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center and an Ocean Blue Party with dancing by the sea. On July 4, bring the kids to enjoy donuts with mermaid Ariel and Prince Eric from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on the beach at Lagerheads, 0 Simonton St. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., watch mermaids perform for the cameras during a music video taping. A portion of festival proceeds will benefit Reef Relief’s efforts to protect the coral reef ecosystem. Visit keywestmermaidfestival.com.

Tuesday, July 4

• Since 1976, the Rotary Club of Key West has presented the island’s annual Independence Day fireworks show. Staged from the Edward B. Knight Pier overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at 1800

White St., fireworks will begin at 9 p.m. Onlookers can view the spectacle from Smathers Beach, Higgs Beach or from oceanside hotels and restaurants. Attendees can celebrate before the fireworks at a catered, ticketed “Patriotic Dinner Under the Fireworks” next to the pier at Indigenous Park, 1801 White St., starting at 7 p.m. Dinner proceeds will benefit the Rotary Club of Key West’s scholarship fund. Visit keywestrotary.com.

Saturday, July 8

• Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival at Looe Key. Local dive and snorkel boats head to Looe Key reef from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., as the radio experts at US 1 Radio 104.1 broadcast tunes underwater. Visit lowerkeyschamber.com/ chamber-events/ for details about boat reservations.

July 12-16

• The I Love Stock Island festival celebrates Key West’s hard-working neighbor to the north. Enjoy culinary events, island cleanups, art strolls and more. See the July 6 Key West Weekly for a complete event guide and schedule.

Saturday, July 15

• Mel Fisher Day tribute to the late, legendary Key West treasure hunter starts at 4 p.m. at Schooner Wharf Bar, 202 William St., Key West. Visit melfisherdays.com for a full schedule of events.

July 18-23

• An array of literary events awaits readers and writers during Hemingway Days 2023. The festival celebrates the talent and Key West lifestyle of author Ernest Hemingway, who lived on the island for most of the 1930s. Visit hemingwaydays.net for a full schedule of events.