FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 15, 2007

CONTACT: JULIE McENROE
PHONE: (305)296-9694
EMAIL: JulieMcEnroe@Earthlink.net

Maritime Art, Literature, and Culture Featured at Pirates in Paradise 2007

(Word version of release)

KEY WEST, FLORIDA . . . Celebrating Key West’s rich and colorful maritime history, Pirates in Paradise has gathered together some of their favorite local, national and internationally renowned writers, artists, and historians for its 2007 festival. Schedule for November 29 through December 2, 2007, activities and special events take place at historic venues throughout Old Town Key West, including Fort Taylor, El Meson de Pepe, the USS MOHAWK CGC (WPG-78) Memorial Museum and aboard the Conch Republic Flagship Schooner WOLF. The Pirates in Paradise Festival also includes book, poster and DVD signing and receptions with artists, writers and historians.

The festival pays homage to the visual arts, offering artists and art aficionados alike a variety of maritime art related events and exhibits to enjoy. The Custom House, the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum, Heritage House Museum, Wrecker’s Museum/Oldest House and Pirate Soul each offer ongoing shipwreck, treasure, pirate, and maritime art exhibits.

Literary luminaries returning for the annual Pirates In Paradise Festival include Sandra Riley, whose works illustrate the ties between the Florida Keys and the Bahama Islands' going back to the time of Columbus; Jazz icon 'Queen of Swing' Norma Miller, recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts 2003 National Heritage Award and author of “Swingin' at the Savoy”; Don Maitz, whose pirate art is hung in maritime museums around the country, Janny Wurts, whose illustrations grace the covers of her fourteen novels, including the Empire trilogy. and local author Carol Shaughnessy, whose book, “Diving into Glory” tells the story of the salvaging of three Florida Keys shipwrecks – the Atocha, Santa Margarita and Henrietta Marie) and of the efforts to find and preserve the artifacts of the St. John’s wreck, which was found in Bahamian waters.

On Thursday afternoon, November 29, the public is invited to join guest authors and historians, along with the cast of the Pyrate Tryal of Anne Bonny & Mary Read, for a pirate sail aboard the topsail schooner Wolf, Flagship of the Conch Republic. Docked at the Historic Seaport during the Festival, the Wolf is patterned after the schooners of the turn of the century, which plied the waters of the Florida Straits and Caribbean.

Following the Authors’, Artists’ and Historians’ Sail aboard the WOLF, the pubic is invited to El Meson de Pepe’s 5th annual Literature & the Sea Caribbean Pirate’s Buffet. After dinner, Don Maitz will present a slide show of his award winning pirate art and will be signing copies of this year’s Pirate’s in Paradise Festival program that features his “Cascabel Ashore,” which was inspired and painted during Key West’s first annual Pirates in Paradise Festival in 2000. The evening also features book and DVD signings with “Queen of Swing” Norma Miller and local author Carol Shaughnessy.

On Friday, November 30 at 4 p.m., the Third Annual ‘Official End of America’s Hurricane Season Party takes place at the USS MOHAWK CGC (WPG-78) Memorial Museum Ship’s Truman Waterfront Pier. The Conch Republic Pirate’s Shipwreck Ball which begins at 6 p.m. features the big band sounds of Mike Emerson and the Southernmost Brass Band. A Silent Auction, benefiting the Key West Maritime Historical Society, the USS MOHAWK CGC (WPG-78) and Friends of Fort Taylor Pirate Fest and Village Market, will feature the works of our visiting authors and artists.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 30, December 1 and 2, Fort Taylor's Pirate Fest, Pirate Pub & Village Market offers a chance to learn more about pirates and the history of the Florida Straits. Vendors at the Village Market will be tempting one and all, with their exquisite handmade jewelry and period arts and crafts. The Schooner Wolf, along with the schooners Liberty, Appledore and Jolly Rover will be offering Pirate Sails for those adventurous souls wishing to step back in time and set sail aboard a traditional tall ship, bedecked with pirates in colorful garb.

On Saturday, December 1, an historic re-enactment of the pirate trial of Bonny & Read, written by T. Eastman, author of The Tryals of Bonny and Read, will take place at 11 a.m. inside the Fort’s Pirate Fest. In the evening, everyone is invited to celebrate Ms. Miller’s 88th Birthday with a Tribute to the Legends of Jazz and Swing at the BottleCap Lounge & Liquor, 1128 Simonton Street. The joint will be hoppin’ to Mike Emerson’s Southernmost Brass Band, who will play the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, as well as favorites from the Blues Brothers and other bands.

Sponsored in part by Cape Air, Bicycling Through History, WIIS Island 107.1 FM, Pirate Soul, Cypress House, Days Inn and Courtyard By Marriott Waterfront, Pirates in Paradise Festival also includes a host of piratical escapades for both old and young alike. For a complete schedule of festival events, call (305) 296-9694, or visit our website at PiratesInParadise.com.
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