About Key West Sunset Celebration:
Key West Florida's Sunset Celebration is a year-round nightly festival of culture and art. It is one of the most beloved local traditions in North America, and a defining event in Key West, Fl. It is also the story of one of the sweetest little tropical parties you'd ever hope to stumble upon… magical, exotic, intriguing, entertaining and one of the premier attractions on an island of attractions. The Sunset Celebration occurs 365 days a year, weather permitting, on a westerly facing pier (Mallory Dock) in Old Town, Key West. It begins 2 hours before the sunset and officially ends 2 hours after the sun sinks into the Gulf of Mexico. The Celebration features Street Performers (Buskers), artists, craftsmen and food vendors. The street performances are likely to include jugglers, wire-walkers, escape artists, magicians and musicians, etc. The artists span everything from jewelry and photography to hand painted coconuts. Visitors can have their palm read, get a massage or have their caricature drawn. Mallory Dock itself was named after Stephen Mallory, the Secretary of the Confederate Navy. The once-wooden and now concrete dock boasts a most advantageous view of the setting sun. In 1832 John Audubon was one of the first to write about the spectacular sunsets he witnessed there. From Mark Twain in 1867 to Tennessee Williams in the late 20th century Key West and it’s sunsets have been memorialized in art, prose, poetry and, most recently, photography. The birth of the Sunset Celebration is generally considered to be in the mid-1960’s when vagabond hippies began to mix with the already colorful locals, and Mallory Square became ground zero for the sunset gathering. What started as a completely spontaneous salute to the sunset and a toast to Mother Nature grew into an internationally famous ritual for locals and tourists alike. The event is now managed by a non-profit corporation formed in 1984, the Key West Cultural Preservation Society, whose members are mostly participating artists, performers and vendors.

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