Key West Makes Memorial Day Memorable With Reggae On The Beach

Better than a boring barbecue in the back yard is going to Key West, Florida to hear some of the greatest reggae artists performing live, all day long (and into the night), right on the sandy beach.

The Rotary Club is an internationally recognized service club dedicated to helping make a difference in the lives of those in their community, as well as helping disaster victims around the world. To help make this happen they organize fundraisers that tap into the unique personalities of where they are located. Naturally, this means that if you are the Rotary Club of Key West, Florida, people are going to expect a beach party. The Rotarians never disappoint, and this Memorial Day weekend will not be any different when they present their annual Reggae Concert at Higgs Beach.

"The informal motto for our particular club is 'Focused on service and serious about having fun'," said Sergeant-at-Arms, Virginia Panico. "We know that when we plan an event it isn't just for the amazing residents of this island town, but also for people from all around the world who are experiencing island vacations for the first time. We want to be sure that those people are just as excited as the locals are, so we make sure we bring in the absolute best talent from around the world."

Whereas the rest of the country celebrates Memorial Day as the first weekend of summer, many of the employees of the numerous Key West restaurants and bars look at the weekend as the end of winter and high season. They, just like everyone else, want to have a fantastic memorable weekend, so just like everyone else, they visit the waterfront bars and the Roof Top Cafй, but they are also sure to save some of their energy for dancing on the beach.

Ms. Panico admitted that the biggest challenge in doing so is working around the schedules of people who are in high demand, so oftentimes the line-up isn't announced until just a few weeks or even days before the concert. That has never gotten in the way of bringing in some of the most well-known performers like Ziggy Marley, The Wailers, Peter Tosh and Yellowman, all of whom have in past years been more than happy to share the stage with the talented local musicians of Key West Florida. "I worry about it right up until show time, but I know I've put together a good show when we see people from our many island weddings down here enjoying themselves still dressed from the ceremony!"

For more information on the Roof Top Cafe, visit: www.rooftopcafekeywest.com

Jack Terry is a travel and lifestyle writer who lived in Key West for several years.