Bringing Back the Fort
Key West Art & Historical Society partners with Key West Concerts to promote community events.
On Sunday, August 30, historic Fort East Martello’s parade grounds at 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd. will come to life with the acoustic-smooth sound and folky, island vibes of pro surfer-turned-musician Donavon Frankenreiter and young Australian Cody Simpson as part of Key West Art & Historical Society’s partnership with Key West Concerts.
The family-friendly concert is part of the KWAHS Music At Martello Series and will feature a “festival-like” atmosphere with artist vendors, food vendors, and a “kid’s zone” complete with a bounce house, sprinkler station, face-painting, castle-making, an art area along the parade grounds and a “backyard casual” setup for the early-evening concert.
The program will entertain as many as 900 concertgoers with music, food and libations in a venue whose history reflects a long timeline of community events including Cayo Carnival, music concerts, family picnics, and antique shows.
“The Fort has a long tradition of being a community venue,” says KWAHS Executive Director Michael Gieda. “One of Mario Sanchez’s carvings of the Fort depicts an early scene of families picnicking there. Even after the Society opened the Fort as a museum and gallery in 1951, it was the central location for exhibits, events and programs. This tradition carried through to the late 1990s and early 2000s when many beloved events and concerts were held on the Fort’s grounds.”
KWAHS has been hard at work innovating ways in which to bring back that tradition. Music At Martello is one such program helping to invite the community back into the fort that KWAHS is steward to.
“The goal of Music At Martello is dual,” says Gieda. It highlights the Fort as a local community gathering point and brings large events and concerts to Key West while supporting the mission of the Society by promoting the art, history and culture of the Florida Keys.”
KWAHS Programs and Membership Director Gerri Sidoti facilitated its development in the spring of 2013 with the concert duo “Tammerlin”, who performed with the Key West High School brass band using civil war-era instruments in conjunction with Friends of Ft. Taylor’s Civil War Heritage Days.
“We recognized that the Fort was underutilized,” says Sidoti. “Since it’s where KWAHS began, the music series was started as a way to utilize the Fort while bringing community awareness back to it in fun ways that embrace the KWAHS mission.”
This was just the start of many events to come. The relatively new partnership between KWAHS and Key West Concerts is strengthening the potential and gaining momentum.
“We both have the desire to present quality, family-friendly programing, something Key West seems to need,” says Gerri Sidoti. “Key West Concerts also has music connections and big-event expertise. With the space and parking at the Fort and our members/audience, it makes for a great partnership.”
Marky Pierson and Evan Haskell created Key West concerts in December 2014 with a mission to provide Key West with family-friendly events and picnic-style shows and entertainment outside of the Duval Street bar scene.
“The growth and support we received for the Zombie Bike Ride demonstrated a desire for large-scale, community-driven events,” says Pierson.
The business duo is no stranger to the parade grounds and festival area as shown in last year’s launch for their successful Zombie Bike Ride. They have also used the citadel lawns inside of the fort as a concert area for the co-launch of more intimate Music At Martello events including Will Dailey, Blair Crimmins and the Hookers, Mirah, and Holopaw.
The popularity of Frankenreiter –a musician known for his “feel-good” music and relaxed atmosphere that also ramps up at times for upbeat dancing in front of the stage- commands a larger area, which the parade grounds will accommodate with plenty of parking, easy access and cool ocean breezes.
“We are thrilled to be hosting Donavon as part of the Music At Martello program,” says Gieda. “His music reflects the laid-back vibe of the Keys. What better space to experience such a concert than during an ocean sunset at a historic Fort?”
As for the future of the partnership, the expectations are great.
“It’s a great synergy,” says Haskell. “We have some big things in the works for the new year.”
Portions of the concert’s proceeds, sponsored in part by Florida Keys Media, We Cycle, WonderDog Productions, Ecoscapes, Help Yourself, and Shipyard Brewing, will help fund KWAHS educational programs and initiatives. The concert is expected to sell out; advanced discounted ticket purchase is available at www.KeyWestConcerts.com for $25.
Doors open at 4:30; the opening show starts at 5:45 and will continue through twilight. Tickets purchased on site are $30, children under 12 are free. Key West Art & Historical Society members can call 305.295.6616 x 106 for special member-priced tickets and to join KWAHS to receive member benefits.
Parking will be available for $5, bike parking is free. For more information call 305.295.6616 x 106 or visit KWAHS.org.
Your Museums. Your Community. It Takes an Island.