Parrot Head Club meets in Marathon
The Key West Parrot Head Club has been holding Marathon “phlockings” for the past year, but have made their new nest at Overseas Grill and Pub. With more than 200 clubs worldwide and 800 members in the Keys, the Key West Parrot Head Club, a chapter of Parrot Heads in Paradise, meet three times a month, once in Key West, in the Lower Keys, and in Marathon, and helps out 12 Monroe County nonprofits while gathering.
“We needed to find a home, and Tim at Overseas has been awesome,” said 25-year-member and Marathon resident Sandee Shaw. “It will be our phlock’s new home as long as they will keep us.” She expects the phlock to be about 30-40 people at Wednesday’s event.
Shaw joined the group because she enjoyed Jimmy Buffett’s music, and although that’s still a big part, she said the most important thing was helping young musicians coming up. “We want to help out the young guns,” she said. “I started because of Jimmy Buffett, but stay involved because it is so much more than that.”
Last year, the club raised $40,000 for local charities like Kids Come First, Grace Jones Daycare Center, Domestic Abuse Shelter, Habitat for Humanity of Key West & the Florida Keys, Wesley House, Keys Area Interdenominational Resources (KAIR), Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, Florida Keys SPCA, Reef Relief Coral Camp, MARC House, and Samuel’s House. Nationally, the club raised $43 million during 14 years.
To join, swing by their monthly phlocking and check it out. Yearly membership levels range from $10 to $35 for individuals and couples, and $50 for business memberships.
Recently, Rachel Price of Marathon joined. “I heard they were a great group of people who help out in the community,” she said after learning about the club from a friend. “It’s a nice way to meet people and network throughout the Keys, not just in Marathon.”
PARROTHEADS: The next “party with a purpose” is on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Marathon’s Overseas Grill and Pub. Entertainment this month will be trop rocker Paul Kercher. The phlockings are held in Marathon the second Wednesday of the month.
Phlocking behavior is the behavior exhibited when a group of Parrot Heads, called a phlock, are all together at a meeting. There are parallels with the shoaling behavior of fish, the swarming behavior of insects, and herd behavior of land animals.
Caption: Parrothead members Julie Waters, left, Sandee Shaw, Susan Baker, and Jeanne Adams enjoy the parties with a purpose.
