Honoring an Island Legend
August 30, 2024
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Florida: That August 30, 2024, is recognized as “Jimmy Buffett Day” in Florida to celebrate the life and music of Jimmy Buffett, whose free-spirited life and significant contributions to national and state culture are commended and celebrated.
It’s Official
Early this spring, in recognition of Jimmy’s life and his many accomplishments as an artist and entertainer, philanthropist, environmentalist, author, and Margaritaville empire-builder, the Florida State House of Representatives passed Florida House Resolution 8065 — “A resolution recognizing August 30, 2024, as ‘Jimmy Buffett Day’ in Florida.”
Sponsored by State Representative Linda Chaney (R) – Florida House District 061 (In Office since 11/08/2022), the resolution was adopted by publication without opposition on February 22, 2024. The resolution, which can be found in full as a PDF here, reads in part:
“WHEREAS, Jimmy Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day in 1946 and traveled to Florida in 1971 at the invitation of fellow musician Jerry Jeff Walker, settling in Key West in 1972, and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Buffett honed his art as a singer-songwriter in the bars of Key West, and the laid-back island lifestyle of the Florida Keys was the foundation on which he built his signature tropical rock sound, and…
WHEREAS, Jimmy Buffett’s music has attracted legions of fans who call themselves “Parrotheads” and who gather at an annual weeklong “Meeting of the Minds” festival, and…
WHEREAS, Jimmy Buffett died of complications from a rare form of skin cancer on September 1, 2023, at the age of 76 at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, NOW, THEREFORE,
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Florida: That August 30, 2024, is recognized as “Jimmy Buffett Day” in Florida to celebrate the life and music of Jimmy Buffett, whose free-spirited life and significant contributions to national and state culture are commended and celebrated.
Key West Celebrates a Favorite Son
There is an unbreakable bond of love between Key Westers and the late, great singer/songwriter/adventurer and erstwhile traveling tropical troubadour turned serial entrepreneur Jimmy Buffet. The man’s legend and lyrical takes on the laid-back tropical beach lifestyle are rooted in the island soil of the Southernmost City.
Jimmy first came ashore here in 1971, and he found a home on stage at the infamous Chart House and other classic early 70s dive bars where the eclectic audiences of watermen, smugglers, beach bums, and modern-day freebooters that in those days tended to gather at land’s end provided receptive and fertile ground for Jimmy’s unique country/trop-rock fusion sound.
It is only natural that Key West has long played host to some of the largest gatherings of hard-core Buffet fans, the Parrotheads. It likewise follows that this Labor Day weekend on the island will be dedicated to feting his life and loving work with the style of party only Key West can throw. The inaugural Just a Few Friends Key West Favorite Son Celebration takes place from today, August 30 through September 2. Fans will pay homage to Jimmy and lift up glasses in celebration of the life, legend, songs, and stories he left us when he passed away peacefully at home on this weekend last year.
The Classic Labor Day Weekend Show
And Jimmy would surely approve. Conveniently and happily coordinated with the annual Key West Brewfest, this first running of what will undoubtedly become a landmark Key West party gathering features generous helpings of music, food, drinks, and fun all dedicated to the memory and spirit of a musician whose work lightened the hearts of so many people around the world. Margaritas and bloody Marys, brunches and barbecues, bubbles, cheeseburgers, shrimp, tribute bands, and walking tours are among the host of treats and diversions to tempt festival goers over the long weekend.
Events get fully underway with the formal State of Florida Jimmy Buffet Day Proclamation Reading at 11 am on Friday August 30. Then, don’t miss journalist Ryan White, author of the Buffet biography Jimmy Buffet: A Good Life All the Way, who will be at the Tropic Cinema Friday afternoon from 2 to 3 pm to present “Some Things Never Change (But Most Do): The Enduring Magic of Margaritaville,” a talk on Buffet’s legacy as the nation’s foremost tropical-rock superstar.
Cori Convertito, curator for the Key West Art & Historical Society, expressed appreciation that White was able to take part in the Society’s Distinguished Speaker Series in coordination with the tribute to Jimmy, and noted that Ryan’s presentation will “Emphasize the romanticism and optimism associated with ‘Margaritaville’ and why the idea of swaying palm trees, fruity frozen drinks and minimal responsibilities is more popular than ever.”
Other must-attend festival highlights include the Second Line Memorial Walking Parade on Duval Street at 5 pm Sunday September 1, and the wrap-up tribute concert with The Nautical Wheelers at 7 pm Monday September 2 on Sunset Pier. Check the Just a Few Friends event website for full daily schedules. If you are a Jimmy Buffet fan, or simply love the island spirit and lifestyle, you will want to be there at this first-edition festival (and get the t-shirt).
Fantastic Fall
With Labor Day on us already, the Key West sunset is coming earlier, the sea breeze might be getting just a tad cooler, and Monroe County kids went back to school on the 14th —two weeks ago already— all clear signals that indicate it is time to look forward to autumn in the Florida Keys. And while the color of changing leaves may be scarce down here in America’s Caribbean Paradise, fall in Key West is still arguably the most colorful season of the year.
As readers of these pages know, fall is when our annual Fantasy Fest excites the island with a carnival atmosphere. This year, the period October 18–21 will see massive crowds of carefree revelers engaged in a bacchanal culminating in a cacophony of creativity on the evening of October 26 as the Fantasy Fest Parade lights up Duval Street in a mini-Mardi Gras stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.
If you have ambitions of taking part in the parade, your parade application had better be in because today August 30 is the deadline for entries. If not, maybe take note for next year because this long-running Key West mainstay party has only gotten better since its debut in 1979. At any rate, come on down and be part of the scene as Key West swings into the busy holidays and bustle of our balmy fall and winter season.
Come to visit, and maybe stay a while—we can help you find a home in Key West. Check out some of the beautiful possibilities on our website and get in touch if you would like more information.
Bascom Grooms Real Estate—1110 Truman Avenue, Key West Florida—(305) 748-2057—info@bascomgrooms.com
*Image Attribution: Taps staff – https://archive.org/details/taps1977clem
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.
