Life and Island Times August 4 2016 – Sunset Celebration

“See you at Sunset” has a special significance on this island. It’s an invitation to a spontaneous celebration as jugglers, tourists, clowns, fishermen, psychics, island musicians, artists, food vendors, and friends gather each night to celebrate the close of another day in Paradise.

Mallory Square has a long history as being a center of activity in Key West. It was the base for anti-pirate campaigns orchestrated by Commodore Porter in the 1800’s. Years later it was the center of the wrecking industry and the assembling point of American forces for four wars.

Sketch of Key West by William A. Whitehead, ca. 1838, reproduced in Jefferson
Browne, Key West: The Old and the New (St. Augustine: The Record Company, 1912)

Many noted figures have enjoyed the view of sunset from Mallory Square over the years. Audubon wrote glowingly of the glorious Key West sunsets while visiting in the early 1800’s, and legend has it that Tennessee Williams initiated the ritual of applauding the sunset at Mallory Square, gin and tonic firmly in hand.

The contemporary incarnation of the Sunset Celebration really took off in the late 1960’s as groups of carefree gypsies descended upon Key West and Mallory Pier in search of paradise. Legend has it that the sunset ceremony got started when all the freaks (aka drug users) stared going there high on LSD to watch Atlantis arising mythically out of the cloud formations at sunset. There were about 30-40 regulars, many of whom lived in Fogarty House on Duval Street which at that time was hippie crash pad.

Fogarty House on Duval Street

The late 1970’s and early 1980’s were a pivotal time in the history of the festival. At that time vending on the dock was risky since there were signs up saying “no peddling on the pier;” yet, as word got out, more and more people starting showing up to set up shop with their wares or their street acts along with the long term plain celebration eccentrics like Iguana Man. The freak show was turning into a flea market.

Mallory Square 1976 (l) & 1984 (r)

Iguana Man

One such vendor was the Sunset Cookie Lady of Key West. She pedaled her original recipe magic brownies and assorted other baked goods by rhyme from her bike.

Mid 1970s, Early 1990s, Mid 2000s Cookie Lady (her brownies were excellent)

Here are photos of a few of the other originals:

Magical Mystery Michael

OJ Dave

Sister selling her tie dyed shirts in the 70 and the 00s

Amazing Walter

Dennis the bad bagpiper in the late 80s and 00s

Palm Frond Shari

Noodle Ron

Wood Carver

Love 22 – a former PR man who was obsessed with the number 22; ran for mayor
in 1987 and then disappeared; only to reappear in the 00s to run for president in 08 & 12

Pedro and his congo drums

Featherman Louie

Coconut Dave

Lake

Tom Ware

To make matters worse the dock was being renovated to accommodate cruise ships so the fate of Sunset Celebration was hanging in the balance. Merchants adjacent to Mallory Square had also begaun complaining about the unsupervised nature of the event.

Will Soto

The City of Key West had to address the issue. Meanwhile, Sunset participants, realizing the gravity of the situation began getting organized to preserve the tradition. Richard Bertocci (a retired art teacher who was arrested for selling art at Sunset) and his wife Karen, Will Soto (a high wire act performer), Featherman Louie (a jewelry vendor), Marylyn Kellner (the Cookie Lady), Love 22, and Sister along with a large group of participants formed a legal entity known as the Key West Cultural Preservation Society, Inc. (a not for profit corporation) in 1984.

The organization drafted guidelines for participation and negotiated a lease with the City of Key West with the understanding that CPS would manage the Sunset Celebration and ensure its artistic integrity.

The rest is history, as they say.

See you at Sunset!

Copyright © 2016 From My Isle Seat