The Florida Keys this year are celebrating their bicentennial — the 200th anniversary of the Territorial Florida legislature’s establishment of Monroe County, which contains the entire Keys island chain, that took place July 3, 1823.
From Key Largo to Key West, community events in the coming months will recognize the anniversary and recall the Keys’ two centuries of rich and vibrant history.
The celebration launched on March 25, with a “200 Years of Paradise Kick-off Concert” and drone show in Key West.
Some 250 drones lit up the sky as more than 2,500 spectators applauded. The silent drones formed symbols including a sailfish, conch shell and Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad train — all representing the subtropical island chain and its heritage.
Musician Nick Norman, and headliner Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band, provided the soundtrack for the evening. Monroe County commissioners offered Keys heritage presentations and big-screen video segments illustrated the region’s history.
To accompany Livingston’s Keys-inspired signature song “Blame It On the Margaritas,” he and the five commissioners prepared margaritas onstage using a 1952 Johnson outboard motor as a blender — and raised their glasses to the audience in a heartfelt toast to the Keys.
